When I entered:
How to survive …
Google suggested:
… a zombie apocalypse
… 2012
… a plague
… middle school
… in the wilderness
… a tornado
… a breakup
… high school
I was actually researching how to survive (or not survive) flash floods as story research. But it quickly becomes a game, typing in various, reasonably broad terms to see what comes up.
One gets a look at our obsessions:
How much …
… house can I afford
… should I weigh
… is a stamp
… sodium per day
… is my car worth
… mortgage can I afford
… is a passport
… is a first class stamp
… is my house worth
And at the things that we’re curious about:
Why …
… is the sky blue
… do cats purr
… am I so tired
… you wanna lyrics
… do we yawn
… do men cheat
… is the ocean salty
… do I sweat so much
… do dogs lick
… are manhole covers round
And the things we don’t know but wish we did:
How to …
… tie a tie
… hard boil eggs
… boil eggs
… cite a website
… write a cover letter
… draw
… get rid of acne
… calculate gpa
… trail your dragon
… cook asparagus
Sometimes, you just turn up something bizarre:
When …
… is easter 2012
… is father’s day 2012
… is mother’s day
… is mother’s day 2012
… did the titanic sink
… is memorial day
… does the narwhal bacon (at midnight, as it turns out)
But there are stories to be found:
Once upon a time there …
… was an ugly barnacle
… was you
… was a tavern
… was a boy
… was a prince
… was
… was light in my life
… was candy and dan
… was an ocean
… was an honest shoemaker
If you want to play, feel free to join in in comments.