A UK grandmother has become an internet sensation after her incredibly polite Google searches went viral.
May Ashworth's unusually polite online request was captured by her grandson, Ben John, during a visit to her home. The 85-year-old from Leigh, Greater Manchester, wanted a translation of the Roman numerals MCMXCVIII and had left her laptop on.
"She saw a TV show the other day but couldn't work out from the credits when it was made, so she put the numerals into Google," John told the BBC.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I asked my nan why she used 'please' and 'thank you' and it seemed she thinks that there is someone - a physical person - at Google's headquarters who looks after the searches.
"She thought that by being polite and using her manners, the search would be quicker."
John explained that his nan doesn't use her laptop much: "She goes to a silver surfers' club at the local library to learn about computers and the internet, but she hardly ever uses her laptop."
John's photo has been re-tweeted more than 19,000 times - and caught the attention of one of Google's Twitter accounts.
Google UK sent "Ben's Nan" its own thank you: "In a world of billions of searches, yours made us smile.
"Oh, and it's 1998," it added in answer to Ashworth's original question. "Thank YOU".
Even Google's main Twitter account got in on the act.
Ashworth's politeness was praised across the globe, with one user declaring it a symptom of her Britishness.
-
The Olympic timekeepers keeping the Games on trackUnder the Radar Swiss watchmaking giant Omega has been at the finish line of every Olympic Games for nearly 100 years
-
Will increasing tensions with Iran boil over into war?Today’s Big Question President Donald Trump has recently been threatening the country
-
Corruption: The spy sheikh and the presidentFeature Trump is at the center of another scandal
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Grok in the crosshairs as EU launches deepfake porn probeIN THE SPOTLIGHT The European Union has officially begun investigating Elon Musk’s proprietary AI, as regulators zero in on Grok’s porn problem and its impact continent-wide
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
