You sickos!

Matt asks a weird question: he's wondering who is the target of the sickest web searches. I should recuse myself, because I thought I got no perverts searching for me: after all, I think searching for "sex with a spider" or "penis tentacles" is perfectly normal. But I took a look at the search terms anyway, and I was appalled—there actually are several very common phrases people use to find their way here that I find objectionable.

Right there near the top of the list of search phrases there's this one:

PZ Meyers

Aaacck! Then, a little further down:

PZ Meyer

Jebus. Philistines.

PZ Meier

Not even close, man. Look, it's not hard: there is one true spelling of the name.

PZ Myers

It's even easier than that. If you just type "PZ" into google, this site is the first entry.

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Okay, this is for those of you who are easily entertained. I know I fall into this category, so I hope you do, too. I was recently challenged by Matthew to participate in a "sicko" Google search terms contest to list the sickest search terms used find my blog. Here are a few search terms for you,…
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A little game that my friends and I play when we're bored (ok alcohol is often involved too) is this: enter as into the google search box all of a fruit, a power tool, and sex. Be sure to add the + in front of each one (and appropriate quotes if it's a multi-word name like "star fruit"). The idea is to stump google. So, for example:

+"star fruit" +chainsaw +sex <-- 129 hits
+pomegranite +"pneumatic nail driver" +sex <-- stumps google
+kumquat +"drill press" +sex <-- 26 hits

Sometimes we visit a few of the links, just in case someone is looking at the search terms that bring readers to their page :)

Apparently a less-than/hyphen/hypen combination gets eaten.

+"star fruit" +chainsaw +sex gives 129 hits
+pomegranite +"pneumatic nail driver" +sex stumps google
+kumquat +"drill press" +sex gives 26 hits

That's what it was supposed to say.

Try spelling "pomegranate" correctly and see what you get.

One of the nice things about disabling referrer generation (about:config -> network.http.sendRefererHeader -> modify -> 0) is that website owners don't get to see just what I searched for. :)

I too mis-typed the name when searching and eating a sandwich at the same type. I mistakenly searched for Myars, and came up empty. I eventually realized I needed the 'e'. I put down my sandwich and typed it properly, and got results. That is to say, I eventually found Myarse, but it took both hands.

Count your luck no one searched for 'Harriet Miers sex' and wound up here.

Eyewash station by the door.

Incidentally, a search for "PZ Myarse" returns two hits. :)

By Evil_Mage_Ra (not verified) on 17 Jun 2007 #permalink

Without the quotes, that is.

Wow, I didn't know you could block people from seeing what you searched. Thanks for the tip anon!

Anyone know how to stop sites from "knowing" you visited them, from where, when, how long you stayed, etc? I just put a bunch of them in my hosts file, but there are a bunch of tracking sites out there. Maybe there is some about:config type of fix?

I think searching for "sex with a spider" ... is perfectly normal.

that's not what it means i swear!

By arachnophilia (not verified) on 17 Jun 2007 #permalink

PZ Meier?? Any relation to Billy Meier , space case extrodinaire?

Anyone know how to stop sites from "knowing" you visited them, from where, when, how long you stayed, etc? I just put a bunch of them in my hosts file, but there are a bunch of tracking sites out there. Maybe there is some about:config type of fix?

Options > Privacy > Cookies will allow you to mess with how you handle cookies. Why on earth would you do it through your hosts file?

If you don't give a website an IP then they can't send anything to you. You can use a proxy, it doesn't have to be your own IP.

Try playing Google Sepeku sometime. Just get a kanji font and copy random charcters into the search field and hit the first link that comes up.

First person that finds something that makes them want to poke their eyes out with a fork loses.

By Sarcastro (not verified) on 17 Jun 2007 #permalink

Google Sepeku

I think I'll stick to Newfie Roulette... I've *seen* some of that stuff.

@ Feshy: That's the best laugh I've had for weeks, thanks.

By John Scanlon (not verified) on 17 Jun 2007 #permalink

That is to say, I eventually found Myarse, but it took both hands.

That's got to win an award of some kind.

That is to say, I eventually found Myarse, but it took both hands.

Damn... I'm still trying to clean Merlot out of my nose...

By Brain Hertz (not verified) on 17 Jun 2007 #permalink

The search terms that most frequently bring people to my blog are "spanking" (because I titled a post "Spanking Creationists") and "Nikki Zeno" or "naked Nikki Zeno" (because I mentioned this sexy model and said I wouldn't be posting naked pictures of her and, no, my blog had nothing to do with her).

I feel dirty, of course.

So either nobody stumbles upon your site by using terms such as "Intelligent Design" or "Creationism," else you aren't bothered by these searches?

or "Friday Cephalopod"

...actually, PZ gave me my most recent google-whacking term:

"define:bloviate" returns one response.

"The search terms that most frequently bring people to my blog are 'spanking' (because I titled a post 'Spanking Creationists)..."

Damn, Zeno. I thought for sure your link was going to be about Christian Domestic Discipline.

I swear to Dog. Spanking creationists. (Or spanking fundamentalists, anyway.)

And the weirdest search terms that I get on a regular basis is probably "Fred Flintstone having sex." (About which I have never, ever written.) I had no idea so many people were interested in Fred Flintstone having sex. (Unless it's the same person searching over and over again...)

I get the occasional "methods for deflowering a virgin" search because I had a post where I talked about "secondary virginity" (also known as the "Once, Twice, Three Times a Virgin" school of abstinence). It creeps me out a little.

Also, way more people want to see the lyrics for "I'm Too Sexy" (Right Said Fred, 1991ish) translated into other languages than you would think.

Milton Keynes is 4th on the list for horse sex !? - must be all the roundabouts making the locals dizzy - research project anybody ?

By synthesist (not verified) on 17 Jun 2007 #permalink

Louis, did you notice that after Pakistan for "horse sex" there is a slew of Eastern European countries. I wonder what that means.

Judging from the posts that bloggers put up about this sort of thing, I reckon Shakesville gets the weirdest referrals. Assuming you don't consider "cephalopod sex" weird, of course.

By Ginger Yellow (not verified) on 17 Jun 2007 #permalink

Google have a tool that lets you type in a word or phrase and see what related search phrases people are actually searching for. Entering "tentacle" throws up precious few squid-related searches; "tentacles in girls" was far more typical!

I work at a search marketing agency at the moment (yeah, I know, it pays the bills though) and have to use this tool a lot for client research. Suffice to say that when I did some work for a UK children's charity the keywords which arose relating to abuse, etc. made for the grimmest day of my life...

"Also, way more people want to see the lyrics for "I'm Too Sexy" (Right Said Fred, 1991ish) translated into other languages than you would think."

Well, duh. I mean, who wouldn't want that? :-)

On my ancient Greek poetry web site I have a page explaining some of the oddities of the dialect of Sappho and Alcaeus. Of course this dialect is called "Lesbian Aeolic." I have a steady stream of visitors to that page who are -- I assume from the search strings -- looking for "lesbian" covering a rather different semantic range.

There aren't too many of these visitors. What stuns me is that, considering what they're looking for, they visit me at all. The google summary makes it perfectly clear I'm talking about Sappho's language.

I harbor fantasies that someone that started out looking for lesbian porn will be turned on to ancient Greek because of me.

"penis tentacles" - I bet that person was looking for a certain Japanese anime film.

I harbor fantasies that someone that started out looking for lesbian porn will be turned on to ancient Greek because of me.

Or perhaps, ala Mel Gibson in Apocalyptico, create lesbian porn with dialog in ancient Greek?

I know, it should not be possible in this universe to create a sentence including the phrases "lesbian porn" and "Mel Gibson". But there, I've done it twice now...

Through my provider's visit/search tracking stuff, I discovered that 'trampling', apparently, is a fetish. It's one of the search terms that sporadically brings people to my blog...

No, the post to which the search engines direct them (title is 'Trampling history') probably isn't particularly satisfactory to those searching for material to feed their fetish...

Well. So far as I know. At least, none of them have yet written me to thank me or anything.

Also, I get occasional visits from horny people who can't type... thanks to my 'Flim flam' category, I get a few visitors who are searching for a 'sex flim', every month, without fail.

PZ, you should be more careful. Don't you know that if John Wilkins ever spells your name correctly, the universe will end?

Bob

I did a post once about a guy who had killed his child (shaken baby syndrome) and was blaming mercury in vaccines. That explains this search:

"want to hurt your baby"

Look, it's not hard: there is one true spelling of the name. PZ Myers

Ah, but is it Zee or Zed? I mean, it's perfectly normal for young people to experiment with the Queen's English at some time in their lives, but here you are, an established and respected professor, and if the right biologist comes along, you're still all too eager to swing Zed.

"penis tentacles" - I bet that person was looking for a certain Japanese anime film.

That phrasing implies there is only one. There are definitly a lot more than one.

I just typed "tentacle" on the Google toolbar on my IE, and the "guess" that appeared in second (right after "tentacles") was "tentacle rape"... Is that also common in anime?

One of my favorite statements about the internet:
(from the late great Rich Jeni)

The Web brings people together because no matter what kind of a twisted
sexual mutant you happen to be, you've got millions of pals out there. Type in
'Find people that have sex with goats that are on fire' and the computer
will say, 'Specify type of goat.'

@Christopher Rhoda: (#17)

The real challenge is Google Whacking: http://www.googlewhack.com/
You try to find Google searches that only return one result, and it's tougher than it sounds. I cam up with about 10 when I used to be into it...

oh yes, i used to play that. i found a few good ones, listed them online, and promptly lost them.

By arachnophilia (not verified) on 19 Jun 2007 #permalink