File this one under “Yet Another Brilliant Idea that Web Watch Didn’t Think of First”.
Of course, first we’d have to get an 81-year-old father who didn’t understand how to use the Internet.
Norman N is just that guy. And he has a funny kid who decided to bring Dad into the 21st century.
And thus was born Old Man Search
Did this by setting TWITTER.COM as Dad’s “search engine”, and let Dad type in whatever he was looking for on the Internet. So instead of actually coming up with search results, all that happens is that each one of Dad’s search queries end up getting posted to Norman’s Twitter stream.
Some of the things that Norman has been looking for online are:
- Canadian crematoriums.
- John Glenn’s phone number. Please. (Norman is nothing if not polite)
- What appears to be photos of Jane Goodall in a shawl.
- And the ever popular “pets you can keep in the fridge”. Web Watch will refrain from making the obligatory “not a Hot Dog” joke here.
But as 81-year-olds go, Norman shouldn’t be mocked. He’s asking a ton of legitmate questions that we all want to know the answers to but were afraid to ask. Like “does aftershave expire?” Yes, apparently it does. You could still use it, but it may not feel so good.