Difference between revisions of "155: Search History"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
The comic references the AOL search data leak, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOL_search_data_leak], where users had potentially identifying and embarrassing search histories published. Randall thus publishes his own potentially embarrassing searches. All of his search relate to his fear of dinosaurs as a consequence of Jurassic Park.
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The comic references the {{w|AOL search data leak}}, where users had potentially identifying and embarrassing search histories published. Randall thus publishes his own potentially embarrassing searches. All of his search relate to his fear of dinosaurs as a consequence of Jurassic Park.
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The title text refers to a document posted on a humor site: [http://www.somethingawful.com/d/weekend-web/aol-search-log.php link (part 1)] [http://www.somethingawful.com/d/weekend-web/aol-search-log-2.php link (part 2)], [http://www.somethingawful.com/d/weekend-web/aol-search-log-3.php link (part 3]).
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
Author: In solidarity with the many AOL users whose often embarrassing web searches were released to the public, I offer a sample of my own search history:
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:Cueball: In solidarity with the many AOL users whose often embarrassing web searches were released to the public, I offer a sample of my own search history:
[There is a screencap of Google's front page with the following entries suggested for autocompletion in the search box:
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:[There is a screencap of Google's front page with the following entries suggested for autocompletion in the search box:
 
:velociraptors
 
:velociraptors
 
:site:imdb.com "jurassic park"
 
:site:imdb.com "jurassic park"
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:do raptors fear death
 
:do raptors fear death
 
:can raptors pick locks
 
:can raptors pick locks
:how to tell if my neighbors are raptors]
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:how to tell if my neighbors are raptors.]
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
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[[Category:Velociraptors]]
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
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[[Category:Google Search]]

Revision as of 12:26, 2 April 2014

Search History
SomethingAwful has a wonderful compilation of crazy AOL searches in their Weekend Web archives, 2006-08-13.
Title text: SomethingAwful has a wonderful compilation of crazy AOL searches in their Weekend Web archives, 2006-08-13.

Explanation

The comic references the AOL search data leak, where users had potentially identifying and embarrassing search histories published. Randall thus publishes his own potentially embarrassing searches. All of his search relate to his fear of dinosaurs as a consequence of Jurassic Park.

The title text refers to a document posted on a humor site: link (part 1) link (part 2), link (part 3).

Transcript

Cueball: In solidarity with the many AOL users whose often embarrassing web searches were released to the public, I offer a sample of my own search history:
[There is a screencap of Google's front page with the following entries suggested for autocompletion in the search box:
velociraptors
site:imdb.com "jurassic park"
raptors
dromaeosaurids
utahraptor
"home depot" deadbolts
security home improvement
surviving a raptor attack
robert bakker paleontologist
robert bakker "possible raptor sympathizer"
site:en.wikipedia.org surviving a raptor attack
learning from mistakes in jurassic park
big-game rifles
tire irons
treating raptor wounds
do raptors fear fire
how to make a molotov cocktail
do raptors fear death
can raptors pick locks
how to tell if my neighbors are raptors.]


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Discussion

Here's a link to the somethingawful page mentioned in the title text (part 2, part 3). ‎141.70.81.143 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

People of the distant future, this is what google looked like today. Kripmo (talk) 00:50, 20 November 2015 (UTC)

Knock knock, distant future here: hardly anything had changed. 108.162.221.82 15:03, 22 January 2024 (UTC)

Google actually looked like that?! Truly, the modern world is a wonderful place, compared to the drop-shadow hellscape pictured in this comic. Just look at all that font hinting, and no anti-aliasing in sight! The horror! ~AgentMuffin

Should we create a table explaining each one? 172.68.47.6 01:24, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

Yes! I know what I will be doing for the rest of this lesson. Beanie (talk) 09:32, 15 December 2020 (UTC)

It has been just shy of five years since Kripmo's. Google has changed very little, the fonts having slimmed down slightly and very little else.

Either they have reached stability or it has not been long enough. 172.68.38.98 03:06, 23 July 2020 (UTC)

I think the table is in the wrong order. It makes more sense for Randall to search "robert bakker paleontologist" first before moving on to the more specific query about bakker. Similarly, it makes more sense for the more general search term "raptor" to be search before more specific queries about types of raptors. Finally, if read top to bottom, the search results present a reasonable line of thought that gradually devolves into absurdity, a common theme that shows up across xkcd comics. I know that this is the opposite of how actual google searches would be presented in real life, but it's reasonable to think that Randall would have sacrificed exact accuracy in favor of a more easily readable format. 108.162.210.104 05:53, 17 December 2020 (UTC)

In google, the most recent search terms are on the top. I did the table with the most recent on the bottom, to make it easier to follow. Beanie (talk) 10:15, 17 December 2020 (UTC)
Although yes, Randall didn't seem to pay much attention to how the searches were organized. Beanie (talk) 12:43, 17 December 2020 (UTC)
For sure he intended it to be read from top to bottom, even though this would not look like this on Google. I have corrected the table to be in reading order as in the comic. And made a note that this is the wrong order if in real life. --Kynde (talk) 15:01, 26 May 2022 (UTC)