Google by Number

Posted: Jul 29, 2004 at 12:45 PM

Byron stumbled on a rather interesting fact recently: Googling for the number 1 returns the Mozilla Organization’s home page as the first result. This makes sense as Mozilla is still in 1.x releases and Firefox, Thunderbird, and Camino are all nearing that magical 1.0.

I thought it’d be fun to see who came up first for all the numbers from one to 10. As of this writing they are:

  1. mozilla.org [Google “1”]

  2. Shrek 2 - It’ll be interesting to see how long this one lasts. Even more interesting is that Spider-Man 2 hasn’t overtaken it, likely because “2” doesn’t appear in its URL and the page is titled simply “Spider-Man.”

    Also, watch for at least three more Shrek-isodes as DreamWorks has registered shrek3.com, shrek4.com, and shrek5.com just in case. [Google “2”]

  3. 3Com - Pretty self-explanatory. [Google “3”]

  4. Channel 4 - Sort of the UK equivalent of Fox here in the States, only with better programming and not so much a tool of the Republican Party. [Google “4”]

  5. Macromedia - Flash Player - This one is a link to an old download search for Flash Player that Macromedia redirects to the new location. I’m assuming the “5” is from gobs of old Flash pages linking to it with something to the effect of, “You need to have Flash Player 5.0 or better.” [Google “5”]

  6. Netscape 7.1 - This is the generic “download latest” page for Netscape, which accounts for why “6” is pointing to 7.1. [Google “6”]

  7. Netscape 7.1 - Same link as “6.” [Google “7”]

  8. 8 Mile - <cap onbust="this.location=visitor.ass;" /> [Google “8”]

  9. Michael Moore - This one’s also pretty self-explanatory with all the Farenheit 9/11 buzz. Oddly, Moore’s site is the second result for “11” behind the Yahoo People Search page. Can’t figure that one out… [Google “9”]

  10. 10 Downing Street - Sort of the UK equivalent of the White House here in the States, only with better programming and not so much a tool of the Republican Party—oh no, wait… [Google “10”]

Update: Aha! I’ve noodled out why Yahoo’s People Search beats out Michael Moore for positioning on “11.” Yahoo bought the white pages site, Four11.com, and rolled it up into that property. Apparently there’s enough lingering GoogleJuice around the old name to push them out above Moore.