What's in your search histories?

[Bramblethorn]

There's a running joke that authors have the weirdest search histories. I thought it might be fun to share what we've been searching on lately.

Ground rules:

1. Only things that you have searched on for story-related purposes. Not your Christmas shopping, not your favourite porn.
2. No context. Context is for the weak.

Me:
"victoria sex work act 1994"
"lebanese name fatima"
"baby shark date"
"victoria surveillance devices act"
"lawyer-client privilege"

 

[ElectricBlue]

mount kosciuszko height.

Not for story research, but for an email to a (non-Australian) friend.

But I purge my cache daily, so I don't fill my kindle up with garbage, so other than Tumblr, ABC News, Gmail and Lit, that was it.

2,228 metres, for those who want to know .

 

[Bramblethorn]

Not really sexy, I'm afraid. And this is from memory; I still have the silly hope that my search history isn't saved anywhere when using 'In Private'.

Amhara names boy / girl
Amhara music 2000 /2001 /2002
Movies 2000 / 2001 / 2002
Average livestock Hararghe
Harari dancing
Female circumcision
Plaster-casting kit
strangulation treatment
severe diarrhea treatment

Yeah, I normally use DuckDuckGo for better privacy, so the ones I gave are just the ones I can remember. Glad to see one of mine made it in!

 

[SisterJezabel]

Panettone recipe
Popular Aussie Pub names

Pretty boring really!

 

[jaF0]

There's a running joke that authors have the weirdest search histories. I thought it might be fun to share what we've been searching on lately.

Ground rules:

1. Only things that you have searched on for story-related purposes. ...
2. No context. Context is for the weak.

I can legitimately comply with rule one now, while I might not have been able to a few minutes ago, though I'm going to break rule two..

For a Story Ideas thread on witches, I searched 'can Warlocks die' and 'are Warlocks immortal'. I did not find an answer.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Nada as every time I close the browser it clears all histories and cache.

 

[Sextified]

The average height of a Victorian era building's ceiling.

It's 13 feet.

 

[BarracudaSwordfish]

A few recent examples...

Norwegian translation of 'fucking little lesbian'
Distance between Provincetown, Cape Cod and Savannah, Georgia
Types of American horse breeds
Lyrics of songs by The Doors, Roxy Music and Annette Peacock
Types of rabbit vibrators
Drone battery life
Einstein's IQ
Tallulah Bankhead

And not all for the same story...

 

[oggbashan]

Harry Potter's theastrals
Indian women's names
meanings of runes

 

[yowser]

Google maps: Toronto
Toronto public transit maps
Toronto neighborhoods
settee
slothrop
gravity's rainbow
anagram slothrop

 

[Bramblethorn]

Nada as every time I close the browser it clears all histories and cache.

Same here, but if you can remember what you've searched on, feel free to share. That's what I did.

 

[SyleusSnow]

Uh, well...

"Moose mating season"
"Moose penis"
"werewolf tropes"
"Rocky horror lyrics"
"holy grail credits"

 

[NotWise]

Google says I have no search history. Hah!

The searches I can remember getting me the most links were from recent stories:

Wedding dress design
Wedding reception scheduling
Maserati

Searches that really haven't triggered much commercial interest:

Locations in Houston's Theater district and Galleria area.
Medieval history of Castile and Leon
Medieval clothing

 

[yukonnights]

Nada as every time I close the browser it clears all histories and cache.

Same here. But from memory (actually from story notes — my memory cells are too full of other useless information.) I've searched for some Spanish translations. As a side note; I think anyone memorizing these words and phrases will no doubt lead a happier and more full life

Qué chingados es eso? / What the fuck is that?

Chilito / Little penis

Tonto del culo / complete idiot

pendejo / stupid

Literally, chingao means fucked up. 2. Chingao is also used as an exclamation of surprise, lament, or as a basic gap filler. The use of this particular pronunciation of the term chingado, is most common in North Mexico and in the Southwestern US from Eastern Arizona down to South Texas.

enamorado / in love - lover

nada / nothing

No es nada / It is nothing

exhausto / exhausted

enojado / cross, angry, in a huff

Because of Bramble's harsh rules, I can't say why I have these

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Same here, but if you can remember what you've searched on, feel free to share. That's what I did.

Hmm... lately, nothing but some stuff about the med I'm taking. Other than that nada for any story I'm working on as I have been unable to write but about a hundred words in the past month. I have written more in the forums than for my stories.

But before that most of my searches are about locations so that what I wrote about feels as if I was from there. And as I write mostly contemporary settings and have lived my life during most of when I write about, just a search here and there to make sure what I think I remember is the way I remember it. Most times, if not all it is what I remember.

As far a my Sci-Fi stuff... if it sounds good then I use it. Hyperspace, warp drive, are all made up things by some writer in the past in order to explain how we got around breaking the light speed barrier. Other shit has been in use in Sci-Fi for so long that it has become accepted by the public at large. So what little research that is needed there is just getting the nomenclature correct.

I do search a lot about legal issues. Divorce law in certain states, etc. Other than that... not too much.

 

[Damoiselle]

Nameberry - Sebastian
Derisive synonyms
Medieval working class revolutions
Fleetwood Mac Dreams medieval cover
List of Steampunk fiction

 

[KeithD]

Over two decades after retiring from U.S. intelligence but still retaining my security clearances, I got calls three times on intercepts of my computer search history lists, which were dominated by research on global terrorism. They wondered what I was up to and I had to point out I was editing and fact checking books on terrorism for mainline publishers based on my work on that when I was with them--and pointed out, as well, that they themselves had steered the mainstream publishers to me. Since I've been writing and researching GM themes in global locations for my erotica writing but haven't received any calls on those, I'm wondering (and hoping) that they aren't monitoring my search history anymore.

 

[big_cane_sugar]

Five from recent writing:

- slang terms for heroin
- when did button fly jeans go back in style
- traditional Chinese marriage
- plural of behalf
- how long do paternity tests take

 

[PennameWombat]

“Drying time of blood drops from carried knife”
“Splatter distance for blood drops from knife carried while running”
“china white heroin”
“Protein coating of rabies virus”
“Dental dams”