The fantastically funny Dave Gorman
podcast features a segment called “Autofill
your boots”. In it, a listener is invited to answer quiz
questions which have been autofilled by Google's search engine
algorithms.
It works like this: if you type the
querulous words “Can you” into Google's query box, it suggest the
next most likely conclusions to your request. These autofill answers
are predicated by one's location and often by search preferences. As
you can see below, the most popular completions in the case of “Can
you” include “run it”, “feel the love tonight lyrics”,
“freeze cheese”, “get mono twice”, “overdose on vitamin c”
and “print from an ipad” amongst some other more unsavoury
inquiries. Dave then asks the challenger if you can, in fact,
contract mononucleosis twice.
This parlour-game derives from Google's
reputation alongside Wikipedia as the font of all knowledge, arbiter
of all sexual health questions and the bane of pub trivia masters
everywhere. When we enter certain football personalities into
Google, the autofills can amuse, tell a sordid tale, sum up or even
reveal a public concern for their (potential) religious views or
sexuality.
So, without any further introduction,
here's the Autofill Eleven – with subs included.
