Friday, May 11, 2007

Google Suggests... phone numbers?

This is a little curious. I mistakenly started typing a phone number in the Google search bar in Firefox the other day, and before I realized it to switch back into the contact window, the Google suggestions engine kicked in, and produced the following “suggested” numbers:



Google suggested phone numbers



The first one produces no results, which is even stranger. Included in that list are a Comcast service number, the DuPage County Bar Association fax number for resumes, a collection agency, an escort service, and a mortgage company.



Try it for your area code: type in the first three digits and a dash, then wait for the suggestions to appear. Anything interesting appear for your area code? (If you don’t have this in your browser, you can visit this page at Google with the suggests feature enabled.)

2 comments:

  1. I readily admit a significant weakness for just about any "Try this:" suggestion...

    I must say that the fact that I had a couple results that weren't telephone numbers delighted me for some reason.

    Thanks for the distraction!
    -danielle

    My results:
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    978-686-2255: collection agency -- apparently an aggressive one, based on the massive number of complaints that came up

    978-223-2020: another collection agency

    978-0415315043: ISBN for the book 'Asia.com: Asia Encounters the Internet (Asia's Transformations)' by K. C. Ho and C. C. Yang (Randy Kulver, editor). "A succinct assessment of the ICT scene in this vast continent."

    978-578-8318: Martha. She... ummm... gives massages, it seems.

    978-rwi: license plate of an alleged "kid snatcher" lurking in the Kirkland, WA area

    978-513-2256: "did not match any documents" (I agree, that's weird.)

    978-397-9924: The phone number of a "pretty, auburn-haird, green-eyed lady" who will "arrive at your location today to provide you with pleasing undivided attention." I'm guessing she's a very different kind of personal assistant...

    978-762-0100: Interesting. Half the results are sites and references that are obviously formulated by the holder of this number; they characterize the company as (if I may summarize) "attorneys specializing in banking law." The other half of the results are either objective listings of this number as belonging to a licensed collection agency, or complaints by so-called "victims" of said agency.

    978-269-9876: complaints about repeated "annoying" calls from this number; perhaps sales, perhaps (again!) collections

    978-703-4079: fax number for sending a resume; when clicked, the link goes to a classifieds page missing this particular entry... I think this is one of those weird internet things I don't understand, as I've had this happen many times before. I hereby proclaim my ignorance.
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