What's the origin of the word 'Google'?

[Galatea92]

It has always been claimed that the software company Google is named 'Google' after the mathematical term 'Googol', meaning the number 10¹⁰⁰, i.e. a 1 followed by 100 zeros. But I think I may have found a more literary origin:

'Well, come back and have tea with us,' said Moon-Face. 'Silky's got some Pop Cakes - and I've made some Google Buns.'

That's an extract from a children's book written in 1943, by a very famous children's writer. I'm not going to tell you who it is, yet . But here's another extract from later in the same chapter. Can you guess who it is?

They came to the swimming pool - but there was no water in it. 'Get in and swim,' said the policeman.

'There's no water,' said Rick. 'Don't be silly.'

And then, very suddenly, all the policemen began to cry - and in no time the swimming pool was full of their tears!

'This sort of thing makes me feel funny,' said Joe. 'I don't want to swim in tears. Quick, everyone - push the policemen into the pool!'

And in half a second all the policemen were kicking feebly in the pool of tears. As the children watched they changed into blue fishes and swam away, flicking their tails.

[Threetrees]

Good (googling) book, and what a goooo-d! extract! ) Thanks. )

"The Magic Faraway Tree" by brilliant Enid Blyton
The Magic Faraway Tree (cover).jpg

[Galatea92]

Excellent. Well done, threetrees.

Yes, it is a good extract isn't it? I can't understand why people are so sniffy about Enid Blyton. I read every night to my daughters, and Enid Blyton is one of the few writers who is always a joy to read out, along with Roald Dahl, of course, and Julia Donaldson.

The list of authors I'm growing to hate is much longer .

[Threetrees]

Many men - many minds. We should follow our intuition in selection of the books for children. Read the books yourself and then decide whether it is an appropriate story or not.

Audio of Enid Blyton:

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