One of the things I love about Google is the suggestions it gives you when you start to type in the search bar. It gives a strange and sometimes disturbing look into what your fellow humans are searching for. So, I decided to start some questions and see what Google gave me. This isn’t an original idea, but what I did was type in “Is it true that…” and then each letter of the alphabet, one by one. I picked the best/most interesting/least racist question to answer.
Apparently what we’re really curious about is people dying or being gay.
A: Is it true that all triangles are isosceles?
→ No. No, it’s not true that all triangles have two angles the same. If this confuses you, click here and become much more confused.
B: Is it true that blondes have more fun?
→ I’m a brown-haired guy who has ridiculous amounts of fun (hiking, reading, role-playing). I don’t see how it’s possible for a blond version of me to have more fun, so I’m going to say no.
C: Is it true that celery is negative calories?
→ Yes, this is true. Celery has a lot of calories, but because of all the cellulose in it, we can’t digest it well. So, if you’re planning on starting an all-celery diet, make sure you slip in a bacon double cheeseburger ever few weeks, so you don’t waste away to nothing.
D: Is it true that Disneyland release cats at night?
→ This one intrigued me. From what I can see, there are tons of cats at Disneyland to keep the rodent population down. However, I doubt they are actually released and then collected every night, since cats tend to have a mind of their own. What’s more likely is that they just come out at night when it’s cooler and everyone else has gone home. A lot of places talk about them being feral, but since they are apparently groomed and fed, I don’t know what definition of “feral” they’re using.
E: Is it true that everyone can sing?
→ I guess it depends on your definition of “sing” but from experience, I’d say no.
F: Is it true that Facebook will shut down?
→ Ha! Yeah, poor guys just got tired of it all after a while. Considering they releasing a Facebook operating system for Android phones, I don’t think they’re going anywhere anytime soon.
G: Is it true that giraffes can’t make a sound?
→ Even if you don’t count this video of a giraffe definitely making a sound, giraffes do make noises. Apparently adult giraffes rarely make noises, but babies do, as you can see in this video.
H: Is it true that Hello Kitty is the devil?
→ Wow. Didn’t see that one coming. I’m going to go with no, since that’s crazy. But here is some of the history of the character.
I: Is it true that it’s the end of the world is 2012?
→ This endearingly terribly-worded question was number six on Google’s auto-complete list. I think we can all agree that this is no.
J: Is it true that jellyfish are immortal?
→ Since all the rest on the list were about Justin Bieber, I went with this one. There is one species of jellyfish called the immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis nutricula) that can go back to its infant form. So, it is theoretically possible for that type of jellyfish to live forever, although they usually get eaten or die of disease first. They should really call this the Benjamin Button fish.
Yeah…we’re going with the jellyfish one.
K: Is it true that kissing burns calories?
→If it doesn’t burn calories, then you’re doing it wrong. On the other hand, if you are burning enough calories to make a difference, then you’re doing it really, really right.
L: Is it true that lobsters are immortal?
→ Really, another immortal animal question? Actually, apparently lobsters don’t die of old age (although Red Lobster is making sure that this doesn’t become an issue). They also don’t stop growing; the biggest lobster ever caught was 20kg. (Seriously, check out that link).
M: Is it true that Macbooks don’t get viruses?
→ No, that’s not true, although if you’re a Mac user, you’ve probably never gotten one. Incidentally, if you are a Mac user that has gotten a virus on your computer, let me know. I love anecdotes.
N: Is it true that Nicolas Cage is dead?
→ If the next Ghost Rider movie features an actual Nicholas Cage ghost, complete with flaming skull, then we’ll know for sure.
O: Is it true that opposites attract?
→ Magnetically, yes. For people…what do you think? I think this is a place where a happy medium is best. I wouldn’t want to live with my clone or my alter-ego from bizarro world.
P: Is it true that Psy is dead?
→ All the “P” suggestions were about people dying, so I chose this one. I’m pretty sure we can all agree the answer is no. Still, can you imagine the funeral? 21 horse dance salute.
Q: Is it true that Queen Elizabeth is dying?
→ I find a lot of these are about dying. I guess we have a morbid curiosity. Considering the sources that claim this, I would say it is dubious, at least not any more than any other 86-year-old woman.
R: Is it true that redheads are going extinct?
→ Yeah, not likely. And if they do, we can just clone them again, a la Jurassic park. (Ginger Park: admit it, you’d watch that movie.)
S: Is it true that smart people talk to themselves?
→ I’m going to answer this one without appealing to the Internet and here’s my train of logic. I talk to myself. I think I’m smart. Ergo, smart people talk to themselves.
T: Is it true that the camera adds ten pounds?
→ If you’re carrying a ten pound camera, then yes.
U: Is it true that unicorns were mentioned in the Bible?
→ First of all, I’ve never read a Bible that had unicorns in it, but then, I have never read the King James Version. It does say “unicorns” in that version, but in the New International it says “wild ox” so I think we can say it comes down to an over-enthusiastic translation. Somehow, I’m guessing the original Hebrew word didn’t mean “horse with a spear in its forehead.”
V: Is it true that vegetarians live longer?
→ I’m not sure about now, but I’m sure that back when people had to kill mammoths to eat, they probably did. I’d rather fight a truculent cabbage than a stabbing/stomping hairy death machine any day.
W: Is it true that what goes around comes around?
→ Seriously, there are a lot of people asking this question? In my experience, it often does, but not always. What do you think?
X: Is it true that Xbox live is going to be free?
→ Ehh…who cares. You can look it up here if you have any interest.
Y: Is it true that you are thinking of me?
→ Yes. I’m thinking of you right now. So…what are you doing? (Yes, yes, BESIDES reading this post)
Z: Is it true that Zayn Malik smokes?
→ Considering I didn’t know who this was an hour ago, I don’t particularly care. Apparently he does.
So, there you have it. 26 answers, semi-answers, or dodging the question straight from the Green-Walled Tower. If you have your own “Is it true that…?” question for me, now is your chance. I’ll promise to answer it, unless it’s about Xbox Live or Zayn Malik smoking.
If only life was always this simple. Source
The Green-Walled Tower 
April 9th, 2013 at 11:39 pm
Great post, thanks for writing – Google, here i come!
April 9th, 2013 at 11:52 pm
Vegetarians are certainly less likely to get certain cancers and other diseases.
However, I think it would be far easier to live a healthier balanced diet if you just restricted your meat intake rather than cutting it out altogether.
There are some essential B vitamins that can only be obtained through animal sources, or are very hard to obtain in vegetable sources. Also, scientists have yet to find an efficient alternative source of the fish oils EPA and DHA (I did an essay on that).
Certain nutrients from vegetable sources are harder to absorb. Beta carotene, the version of vitamin A from vegetable sources, is absorbed half as efficiently as retinol, the version of Vitamin A from animal sources. Also, the non-haem iron you get from plants is less useful than the haem iron you get from red meat.
That’s probably more than you ever, ever wanted to know. But I’ve typed it out now.
April 9th, 2013 at 11:55 pm
Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. 🙂 From what I saw, vegetarians generally lived slightly longer, but not significantly so, but it was rather complicated, as you have shown, so I went for the joke answer. I’m a great believer in moderation myself, although I don’t think anyone would argue that vegetables are generally healthier than meat.
April 10th, 2013 at 1:11 am
Awesome post!
April 10th, 2013 at 2:47 pm
Thanks 🙂
April 10th, 2013 at 1:56 am
Vegetarians may live longer, but I’m guessing they don’t enjoy it as much.
April 10th, 2013 at 4:32 am
K …. I love K. Hahaha
April 10th, 2013 at 2:45 pm
🙂 Yep. Someone should design a workout program around kissing.
April 10th, 2013 at 7:00 pm
Haha yes 🙂
April 10th, 2013 at 4:37 am
The above post on Google and questions is an interesting topic and makes me think of a question for you about Google. ‘Is it true’ that we should have reason to doubt or question the credibility of Google in researching topics? I used Google in a lot of research when doing my family genealogy and needed good information on the early German Jewish settlers in Russia, their villages, conversions, name changes, etc. and did receive what I thought was excellent, detailed facts and info. but now wonder what Google’s requirements are for displaying credible research articles, or if it just publishes all kinds of different perspectives, whether true or false.
April 10th, 2013 at 5:38 am
Google’s criteria are basically that it be there. And that’s it. How high it ranks depends on how many people link to it (and probably other factors–the algorithm is proprietary so we don’t know exactly how). The idea is that things which are more important, relevant, or authoritative will be linked to more than ones that are nonsense. As a general rule that’s a reasonable approximation, but in any individual case the results can be all over…the information you find is as credible as the source it comes from. But then again, you could say the same thing about books, but we get by.
April 10th, 2013 at 12:30 pm
Thanks for the information. It makes a lot of sense. I have seen many different perspectives on topics I have researched and in books, they too can contradict one another, depending on the viewpoint of the author.
April 10th, 2013 at 5:25 am
That was a lot of fun.! I kinda like ‘W’… I hope this is true; I like to think that every act deserves a ‘comeback’…. good or bad..! 😉
Who the heck is Zayn Malik? Who cares?
Love ‘T’……
All in all it was a very cute read… 😎
April 10th, 2013 at 2:34 pm
Thanks. 🙂 I appreciate the comments.
April 10th, 2013 at 6:03 am
The Hello Kitty one sounded crazy until I read the snopes article. Then it started to sound familiar… “Hello Demon” Yeah, I had a crazy, messed up religious upbringing in some ways.
Loved the “K.” Cracked me up.
By the way, I love doing this. I just typed in “Why are” and I now have some intriguing questions to ponder.
April 10th, 2013 at 2:32 pm
You can learn a lot of wonderful, useless stuff on Google. 🙂
April 10th, 2013 at 8:25 am
R: Is it true that redheads are going extinct?
→ Yeah, not likely. And if they do, we can just clone them again, a la Jurassic park. (Ginger Park: admit it, you’d watch that movie.)
Yes I would watch this movie 😀
April 10th, 2013 at 11:07 am
Is it true that it is true 🙂
Enjoyed this 🙂
April 10th, 2013 at 9:25 pm
What!?? You ignored The Bieb?! That can’t bode well for you, my friend. Don’t be surprised to find Hello Kitty at your door…
(By the way, my ex-brother-in-law once worked for Sanrio; he described it as “cultish” — that staff were expected to buy into the Hello Kitty happiness as a way of life.)
April 10th, 2013 at 10:06 pm
A Hello Kitty cult–now there would be something to see. I’m not sure if I could work in a place like that. So much cuteness all the time…
April 11th, 2013 at 2:36 am
Hello Kitty ISN’T the devil? Phew!
April 11th, 2013 at 6:12 pm
Nope. Just a minor demon. 🙂
April 11th, 2013 at 4:31 pm
what a post!!!
just loved it.
April 12th, 2013 at 3:30 pm
In the K section, should it be ‘difference’ instead of ‘different’..enjoyed your answer on the smart people:) Interesting news about the immortal jellyfish. This was a fabulous and absorbing post.
April 12th, 2013 at 4:23 pm
Thanks. 🙂 And thanks for catching that typo. It’s amazing that even after reading it over again and again, things slip through.