Googlewhacking

By Benjamin Butcher

The search took 0.08 seconds and got 132 hits. I know this because Google told me. Such a search would normally be rated a success, I could sift through the results and find what I was looking for, but since I was looking for a Googlewhack this was an abject failure.

"What is a Googlewhack?" I hear you cry. While conducting research on the Internet during work hours I found an article in The Independent (www.independent.co.uk), dated 4 February 2002, about the latest craze to be sweeping the nation (the nation referring to the UK not the USA).

"Googlewhacking" is defined as:

"...everyday words that can be entered into the Google search engine that come up with one - but only one - 'hit'."[1]

The Independent's writer, Charles Arthur, came up with the following Google Whacks: hellkite flamingo; capricious pulper; fringe willowing phenomenon; octopi jujitsu; kyphosis lightbulb; vigilantes jerkiness. But, since they will now be on the Internet within the article they will have lost their status as "Googlewhacks".

And that is one of the beauties of this new office sport: today's Googlewhack is tomorrow's Yahoosplat.

Having a go myself (I only had the proposal for a 3G telephone network to write so there was nothing pressing). Some of my notable failures were:

Chuff doctor, Chunder mustard, differentia spleen, tagnuts granny. (Maybe not of the same class as Charles Arthur's but still worthy attempts I feel.)

But it took the fact that Andy Shuttleworth broke his Googlewhack duck before me (his winner was 'unbelievable doggishness') to make me truly gird my loins about Googlewhacking.

After about an hour (would have been quicker but I was pulled away to a meeting and could only write down ideas) I had (found?) my first Googlewhack: "chupati fescues". The joy was indescribable.

(Benjamin Butcher (27) is a lifestyle consultant and his hobbies include working and drinking. His New Year resolution is to strive harder for world peace)

[1] http://news.independent.co.uk/digital/news/story.jsp?story=118010

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