Google charmed by grandma's polite searches
It's been a rough week in the news. And it's been a rough week in comment sections ... and Facebook posts ... and Twitter.
If you, like us, could use a bit of Internet delight right now, consider this:
Omg opened my Nan's laptop and when she's googled something she's put 'please' and 'thank you'. I can't ??? pic.twitter.com/hiy2tecBjU
— Ben (@Push10Ben) June 9, 2016
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That's a tweet by 25-year-old Ben Eckersley, who lives near Manchester, England. He was visiting his grandmother's place to do laundry -- he and his boyfriend don't have a dryer, he told the BBC.
Then he happened to notice this eminently charming search, and decided to share it with the world.
"I asked my nan why she used 'please' and 'thank you' and it seemed she thinks that there is someone -- a physical person -- at Google's headquarters who looks after the searches," he told the BBC.
"She thought that by being polite and using her manners, the search would be quicker."
It might not have helped speed up the servers, but it certainly warmed many an Internet-hardened heart.
The grandma in question -- May Ashworth, who was born in 1930 -- spoke to the CBC after her grandson's tweet went viral.
Finally managed to get my famous Nan to take a picture with me! pic.twitter.com/DKgEZf5SiU
— Ben (@Push10Ben) June 15, 2016
She said she's not very computer-savvy; she uses Google only a few times a week.
"I thought, well somebody's put it in, so you're thanking them," she told the radio network.
"I don't know how it works to be honest. It's all a mystery to me."
Google UK and the main Google account have both responded on Twitter -- politely, of course.
Dearest Ben's Nan.
Hope you're well.
In a world of billions of Searches, yours made us smile.
Oh, and it's 1998.
Thank YOU@Push10Ben— Google UK (@GoogleUK) June 15, 2016
Dear Grandma,
No thanks necessary. ?
Sincerely,
Googlehttps://t.co/vedrVek8nb— Google (@google) June 15, 2016
Meanwhile, how did Ben and his grandmother celebrate her new Internet celebrity?
"We've gone really British and she just made me a cup of tea," Eckersley told the CBC.