Ask HN: What silly or weird web search did you do recently?

Web searches have become a common part of most peoples' lives. But there are times when an 'innocent bystander' might ask themselves: "What the #&$@ is that?".

So: what web search did you do recently, where (imagining average-dude-in-the-street looking over your shoulder) that person might utter a WTF or two? Multiple answers allowed!

Please keep in mind that HN users (on average) do not qualify as "average dude in the street". Whoever he/she/they may be. What may seem ordinary/known to many on HN, may not seem so to most other people. And the reverse may also be true: HN users could be less likely to keep tabs on say, the latest memes, TikTok videos or celebrity gossip.

Perhaps it's a good idea to leave names of software projects out? There's sooooo many, a significant fraction of those passing by on HN posts don't ring any bell for me.

Let's summarize it as "whatever might pique a random bystander's intellectual curiosity".

3 points | by RetroTechie 10 hours ago

3 comments

  • Guestmodinfo 8 hours ago
    Thankyou for asking this. I have been searching this on the internet lately: i have been teaching grade 6 math. And i told them that david's star is a mathematically a curve. Because we can draw it without lifting the pencil. Then one child drew something that looked like confederate flag boundary and asked if it is also curve when drawn without lifting the pencil.

    I actually confused them by drawing the 2d depiction of a closed cylinder and asking them if thats a curve. Sometimes it is interesting to discuss difficult unknown things in class. can someone plz tell me if these two figures are curves or not. The confederate flag and 2d drawing of a closed cylinder. And what book should i read to know better

  • mikewarot 7 hours ago
    The same one I do almost every day "is mitch mcconnell dead yet?", which google always answers the same:

      No, Mitch McConnell is not dead. The 84-year-old U.S. Senator from Kentucky was discharged from a rehabilitation center in early August 2026 to continue recovering at home following a fall and a mild case of pneumonia.
    I figured his death would have been announced the day after it no longer triggered a special election in Kentucky, but who knows, maybe he is still around, gumming up Democracy.
  • tmpsvc2695f5 4 hours ago
    [dead]