What's Google Know

Throughout this book we’ve focused mainly on how to perform searches,

interpret the results, and filter those results to find what you’re looking for.

Though we’ve used plenty of different examples for those searches, we haven’t

focused on specific content short of the broad categories of content, such as

videos versus news.

However, there are some specific types of information that Google is very

good at providing—not just links to sites that have your answer, but to the

answers themselves. Also, even though we’ve focused on English-language

results in this book, there are ways with Google to expand your search to more

than one language for results.

In this final chapter, we present many of these options and let you know

just how to take advantage of them.

Google Search Features

Beyond the advanced search features and additional database searches that

Google makes available, Google provides many built-in shortcuts via web

search, known as “search features.” Below are the vast majority of the ones

that were available at the time of this writing.

Google Knows Math

Just type in a mathematical formula and you’ll get your answer, as shown in

. 12.1. Enter a formula that results in a graph and you’ll get the graph

too, sometimes in three dimensions

Results for (sqrt(cos(x))*cos(400*x)+sqrt (abs(x))-0.4)*(4-x*x)^0.1

Google Knows Money

Need a quick currency conversion? Type in the amount and currency, then the

new currency

Not only are you presented with the conversion rate, you’re also presented

with a graph of the exchange rate over time. Also, as with the unit conversion,

there is also an interactive part to currency conversion results. From here

you can change the amount in either currency and have the other one update

automatically

.

Google Knows Definitions

Simply type define followed by the word you want defined,and you will receive both a definition and also links to additional sites

that can provide more information about that word.

Google Knows Mov ies

Search on a movie name or just movie to see theater locations and showtimes

in your area, as shown in . 12.10. For each movie you’ll be presented

with the title (hyperlinked to additional information and show locations for

that film), the film’s length, rating, and genre, and a link to the trailer. Clicking

the “Show more movies” link will extend the list of movies displayed

 and also give you a “See all movies” link, which takes you to

a page with many more details and options for finding where and when your

film 

To find out when a movie will be in the theaters, search on the movie name

with the phrase “release date”. This will also work for video

games.

For a list of movies that an actor has been in, search on the actor’s name

and movies. The top of the results will appear as a side-scrolling

list of the movies—with their DVD covers serving as links to a new search on

the movie itself—while still maintaining the original list of the actor’ movies

above the search results.

It’s a game based on the fact that Kevin Bacon has been in so many movies

that you can link any actor through their film roles to him within six steps.

The result is called the actor’s Bacon Number. In 2012, Google added the

Bacon Number search tool—search for any actor with the phrase “Bacon Number”

and it will automatically calculate the actor’s number, showing you the

connections between them and Kevin Bacon.

Google Knows Music

As with actors and movies, for a list of albums that a band or musician has

released, search on the band’s or musician’s name and albums.

The top of the results will appear as a side-scrolling list of the albums, with

their covers serving as links to a new search on the album itself—again, while

still maintaining the original list of the band’s albums above the search results.

Google Knows Numbers

Google can automatically recognize several types of numbers. These include

UPS (United Parcel Service), FedEx, and USPS (United States Postal Service)

tracking numbers , as well as VINs (vehicle identification numbers)

and UPCs (Universal Product Codes) . Just type any of

these into Google to get a link to the results you need.

Google Knows the Weather

Start your search with the word weather followed by a city and state or zip

code to receive the current and forecasted weather for that area .

You’ll also be provided with links to pages with additional information such as

the Weather Channel, Weather Underground, and AccuWeather.

Google Knows Sunrise and Sunset

If you’re wondering when the sun is going to rise or set, just ask Google. If you

omit the location, Google will attempt to . out where you are and give

you the time for that location.

Google Knows the Time

What time it is in San Francisco? Enter time and the location to find out .

Google Knows Holidays

When you want to know the day or date of a particular holiday, just ask

Google. For example, let’s say that you want to know what day of the week

Halloween falls on this year. Just search for when is halloween; at the top of

the search results. You can also search for

some of those more obscure holidays, like National Mole Day. Note that many

holidays are region-specific, so you may see different holidays depending on

your location settings.

Google Knows the Score

Wondering what the score was of your favorite team’s last game or when their

next game is scheduled? Just enter the name of your team to find out . If the game is currently on, you’ll be provided with the most current

statistics available. If you’re interested in seeing more of a team’s upcoming

schedule, just click the “+ Show more games” link.

Google Knows When the Ground Shakes

Heard about a recent earthquake somewhere in the world and want to know

more? Type in earthquake and a location to get the data you’re looking for. For

information on recent quakes, don’t specify a location .

Google Knows Public Data

Google has access to an immense amount of public data—so much that we

couldn’t possibly cover it all here. But as just one example, enter population

and a location. This provides you with the current population ., that .’s

date and source, and a graph of the population change over time

Google knows food

If you’re looking for nutritional information for basic foods try doing a simple

search on the name of that food. Searches for natural foods like apples, grapes.

 Google is adding more foods all the

time so something that receives no similar results now may do so in the future.

However, don’t expect to get detailed nutritional information for prepackaged

foods for the foreseeable future.

Google knows when to stop

Need a simple countdown? Just tell Google to set timer for and then enter the

length of time you need. At the top of your search results  you’ll

see a live countdown timer along with a blue line that fills in as the time runs

out, stop and restart links, and a speaker icon to turn off the audible alert that

will occur when time runs out. When the time does run out, the stop link will

turn into an OK link, which you’ll need to click to turn off the alarm.

Google knows where to begin

Google has a little-known separate Web site titled “What do you love?” (http://

www.wdyl.com). Head over there and you’ll be asked to answer the question

“What do you love?”