‘Why Do Russians Drink Vodka?’ and Other Google Queries

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  09.22.09 | 3:54 PM ET

The Telegraph has a funny slideshow of screenshots from Google searches in progress, showing the drop-down menus of suggestions generated by popular searches. So a search for “why do british” pulls up “why do british have bad teeth,” “why do british drink so much” and other national stereotypes. My favorites? “Why do Japanese people do the peace sign” and “why do germans love david hasselhoff.” Why, indeed?

Tags: Humor, Nation Branding, News and Briefs

Eva Holland is the senior editor of World Hum. Her writing has also appeared in the National Post, the Montreal Gazette, the Ottawa Citizen and WestJet's Up! Magazine, among other publications. She's based in Ottawa, Canada.


3 Comments for ‘Why Do Russians Drink Vodka?’ and Other Google Queries

Terry 09.22.09 | 3:43 PM ET

This is pretty funny, Eva. “Why are Americans…” pulls up some pretty interesting hits, too. So does ‘why…”

Grizzly Bear Mom 09.23.09 | 12:06 PM ET

Question: an American who spent three years in in London told me that ” bloody” was a curse word because it referred to the wounds of Christ.  Is that accurate?

Eva Holland 09.24.09 | 4:03 PM ET

Nice ones, Terry! I have a whole new time-suck—seeking out fun Google suggestions.

Grizzly Bear Mom—I’ve never heard that one before. Could make sense, though.

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.