Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Quick Guide to Google’s Direct Answers
The Google results to the following questions all yield answers above the actual organic web results – but each is a different kind of so-called onebox:
| You type: | Who is Dumbo? |
| Google answers: | DUMBO – ... is an animated feature, produced by Walt Disney and first released on 23 October 1941 by RKO Radio ... |
| Explanation: | This is the Google Q&A feature; other examples include “population of berlin”, or “where’s osama?” |
| You type: | What’s 9 times 7? |
| Google answers: | 9 times 7 = 63 |
| Explanation: | This is the Google Calculator. Other searches include “six times the answer to life, the universe and everything”. |
| You type: | What’s 10 Euro in USD? |
| Google answers: | 10 Euro = 12.66200 U.S. dollars |
| Explanation: | This is Google Calculator currency conversion. |
| You type: | What’s the time in Chicago? |
| Google answers: | Chicago, Illinois, US - Current local time: 10:16 AM on Tuesday, October 10 |
| Explanation: | This is Google’s time zone information. |
| You type: | What’s love? |
| Google answers: | Web definitions for love - strong positive emotion of regard and affection; “his love for his work"; “children need a lot of love” |
| Explanation: | This is Google’s definition feature; other searches include “define:css”. |
| You type: | Chicago to San Francisco? |
| Google answers: | Flights from Chicago, IL to San Francisco, CA Departing: [10/24] Returning: [10/31] ... |
| Explanation: | This is Google’s flight information onebox forwarding you to Expedia and others. Other searches include “chicago to munich” |
| You type: | Where’s an image of Angelina Jolie? |
| Google answers: | Tip: Looking for pictures? Try Google Images |
| Explanation: | This is a simple redirect to Google Images. |
| You type: | Where can I buy Art School Confidential? |
| Google answers: | Product search results for where can I buy Art School Confidential? Art School Confidential - $14.35 - Buy The Book |
| Explanation: | This is Froogle sending you directly to shop sites. |
| You type: | Where’s a map of San Francisco? |
| Google answers: | Map of San Francisco, CA: Google Maps - Yahoo! Maps - MapQuest |
| Explanation: | This is the Google Maps info onebox. |
| You type: | Pizza in New York? |
| Google answers: | Local results for pizza near New York, NY - Lombardi’s Pizza - 0.8 miles NE - 32 Spring St, New York, 10012 - (212) 941-7994 ... |
| Explanation: | These are local results, now merged with Google Maps. |
| You type: | Whois lifehacker.com? |
| Google answers nothing anymore, unfortunately. | |
| Explanation: | For a brief period of time around two years ago, Google handed out WHOIS domain information on this query – I’m not sure exactly which kind of syntax styles were supported but it was connected to the “whois” operator. |
| You type: | Where can I find news on Africa? |
| Google answers: | News results for Where can I find news on Africa? - View today’s top stories - South Africa: SA Diplomat Transferred Home From London |
| Explanation: | This is the Google News onebox; other searches include “george bush”. |
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