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Answering Google autocomplete questions (2010)

running joke · status: running joke (last seen 2023) · last event: callback (2023-01-20)

Hank began the format at the end of 2010 by typing 'is' into Google and answering the autocomplete suggestions. Both brothers came back to it for years with new subjects, from 'why does my' and 'is my boyfriend' questions to Twitter search, Hank's own searches and the most-searched questions about each brother, the latest in 2023.

Parts: Hank asks viewers to Google 'is Hank Green awesome' until autocomplete suggests it (2010)

Told alongside: 'Who the F is Hank?': John's joke answers (2008)

About: Google, Google Autocomplete

date event what video
2010-12-31 first use Hank starts reading Google autocomplete suggestions for 'is' and answering them as a window into what people want to know. (playful) Is Lady Gaga a Man? 00:00:32
2011-01-03 variation John sets out to answer some of Google autocomplete's common questions beginning with 'is b' (he calls it auto-correct). (playful) Is bronchitis contagious? Is black a color? 00:00:06
2011-01-05 callback Checking whether 'our strategy' worked, Hank finds Google does not autocomplete 'is hank green' but Bing does (and suggests 'hank green is cute'), so for this purpose Bing beats Google. (playful) Homeless Man with a Golden Voice Gets a Job 00:02:35
2011-01-28 variation Hank reads Google autocomplete for 'is Hank Green' (gay, Batman) and answers the Batman one in a mask and Batman voice, the title bit. (joke) Is Hank Green Batman? 00:00:45
2011-02-04 callback Answering 'who the eff is Hank', John describes Batman with Hank's name, echoing the 'is Hank Green Batman' autocomplete bit. (joke) QUESTION FRIDAY: Spelling is Hard Edition 00:00:59
2011-03-23 variation John runs 'Google Auto-Fill once again proves that people are weird' again, answering ten autocompleted 'Why does my…' questions. (playful) Why Does My Dog Eat Poop? 00:00:14
2011-04-11 variation John plays 'Google auto-fill once again proves that people are weird' again, answering the most-asked 'Is my b...' questions. (playful) Is My Boyfriend Gay? Is He Cheating? 00:00:11
2011-11-23 variation Hank types 'Why are' into Google and answers the most-searched question for every letter of the alphabet as a service to Google searchers. Why are Barns Red and Kardashians Famous 00:00:24
2014-08-29 variation Hank answers other people's Google autocomplete questions again, this time 'what's the difference between' for every letter. (playful) What's the Difference Between A and Z 00:00:10
2018-04-17 variation John answers questions people ask Google about him, hoping to replace Hank's 2011 'John Green is an Idiot' as the top video result for his name. John Green Answers Your John Green Questions 00:00:17
2019-09-20 variation Hank modifies the bit: he types 'why is Australia' into Twitter search and answers what comes up. (playful) Why Does Australia... (this video is bad, I'm sorry) 00:00:45
2021-07-23 variation Hank goes back through the most recent questions he asked Google, sorted by question word, starting with the wheres. (playful) The Last 25 Questions I Asked Google 00:00:00
2023-01-13 variation Hank says he is back in the old space doing an old format: asking Google questions without finishing them and answering what autocomplete suggests. Why is There an Egg Shortage (And More) 00:00:05
2023-01-17 variation John answers the most-searched questions about Hank Green, as Hank's brother. John Green Answers the Most Searched Hank Green Questions 00:00:00
2023-01-20 callback Hank notes he did a Google autofill video and John then did one too. (playful) → refers to John Green Answers the Most Searched Hank Green Questions Behind the Scenes in the Deep Sea 00:00:03

What is said about it

19 statements, by date (the events above are the turns of the thread; these are the details).

  • 2010-12-31 · Is Lady Gaga a Man? — announcement: In the description Hank says he found many amazing autocompletes and might do this again, or John might. (hedged) — video description
  • 2010-12-31 · Is Lady Gaga a Man? — Hank: Answering 'Is My Life is Liz real', Hank says obviously not, yet being 'dramatized' doesn't make it unreal, since high school is about as dramatized as it gets. (playful) — video description
  • 2010-12-31 · Is Lady Gaga a Man? — Hank: Among his description answers, Hank says Brett Favre is married, though maybe not for long, and that no, your house is not haunted. (playful) — video description
  • 2010-12-31 · Is Lady Gaga a Man? — Hank says Google now tries to guess what you want to know before you finish typing, apparently because people are too lazy to move their fingers more than necessary. (playful) — 00:00:04
  • 2010-12-31 · Is Lady Gaga a Man? — Hank supposes autocomplete works by finding what other people searched for that starts with the same letters, which he calls convenient-ish. (hedged) — 00:00:15
  • 2010-12-31 · Is Lady Gaga a Man? — Hank thinks autocomplete's real value is less its convenience than its ability to let us peer into the soul of mankind. (hedged) — 00:00:23
  • 2010-12-31 · Is Lady Gaga a Man? — Hank reports that after 'is Facebook down', the second most common Google question starting with 'is' is 'is Lady Gaga a man?', and answers for everyone: no. (playful) — 00:00:39
  • 2010-12-31 · Is Lady Gaga a Man? — Hank notes a recurring autocomplete trend of asking whether people are gay: Daniel Tosh, Justin Bieber and Nate Berkus, whom Hank does not even know. (playful) — 00:00:51
  • 2010-12-31 · Is Lady Gaga a Man? — Hank lists 'is my' autocompletes (husband or boyfriend gay, Mac 64-bit, license suspended, house haunted), calling the Mac one a legitimate question and the haunted house amazing. (playful) — 00:01:00
  • 2010-12-31 · Is Lady Gaga a Man? — Hank: After 'is my dog' autocompletes ending in 'is my dog gay?', Hank jokes the dog is probably omnisexual and remarks on our hang-ups. (playful) — 00:01:26
  • 2010-12-31 · Is Lady Gaga a Man? — Hank types 'is John Green' (married, gay…), asks why everybody wants to know if everybody's gay, and answers the list, saying John is married and not dead. (playful) — 00:01:46
  • 2010-12-31 · Is Lady Gaga a Man? — Hank finds the exploration fascinating, particularly our obsession with other people's sexual orientation, and looks forward to delving deeper into the nation's psyche with autocomplete. — 00:02:21
  • 2010-12-31 · Is Lady Gaga a Man? — Hank reports 'is g…' autocompletes (Google making us stupid, God real, gonorrhea curable) and that fewer people ask whether Google is gaining a monopoly than whether it is gay. (playful) — 00:02:32
  • 2011-01-28 · Is Hank Green Batman? — Hank: Typing 'is h' into Google now suggests Hank is awesome, and 'is Hank Green' brings up what people wonder about him, including whether he is gay and whether he is Batman. (playful) — 00:00:36
  • 2011-03-23 · Why Does My Dog Eat Poop? — John announces 'Google Auto-Fill once again proves that people are weird': he answers the top ten questions people ask Google beginning 'Why does my…'. (playful) — 00:00:14
  • 2011-04-11 · Is My Boyfriend Gay? Is He Cheating? — John: When stressed, John plays 'Google auto-fill once again proves that people are weird', answering the questions people most often ask Google beginning 'Is my b...'. (playful) — 00:00:11
  • 2018-04-17 · John Green Answers Your John Green Questions — John learned that the first video result for his name on Google is Hank's 2011 video 'John Green is an Idiot'; he will try to replace it by answering questions people ask Google about him. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • 2019-09-20 · Why Does Australia... (this video is bad, I'm sorry) — Hank claims the vlogbrothers pioneered the Google-autocomplete video format, which everybody then stole, though he says he is not bitter. (playful) — 00:00:27
  • 2023-01-20 · Behind the Scenes in the Deep Sea — Hank notes that for the last few videos John has copied whatever he did (low-budget Bo Burnham, a Google autofill video) and calls it cheating, or at least lazy. (playful) — 00:00:03