The Wrong Side of Google History
Caragh Brooks
8 pages
https://linktr.ee/caraghbrooks
The Wrong Side of Google is an A5, full-colour zine featuring odd and sometimes bizarre Google searches with accompanying art for each search.
After a long day, I was very much in the mood for an entertaining zine, and this zine certainly provided.
The Wrong Side of Google opens with a title page that includes Caragh’s links alongside illustrated social icons, which is a touch I always enjoy. From there, we go into the searches… Swearing spiders, odd uses for bodily fluids, and some random search queries fill the pages. Each page features three search bars with an illustration of the search above it.
Caragh’s art style is fun and totally adds to the overall amusing and curious feel of this zine. The drawing of Arnold Schwarzenegger reminded me of a caricature and made me laugh out loud as my mind went to “Glass Joe” from the original Nintendo “Punch-Out!” game. (Yep, dating myself a bit there.)
I’m so curious as to how this zine – and these searches – came about. Is there a list somewhere of the strangest searches? I’m sure there is. But I don’t know if it would be more entertaining to know the behind the scenes of this zine or if the mystery makes it even better. I found myself chuckling with some searches and shaking my head at others. Of course there is Wario fanfiction, but did someone really search ‘sneaking hotdogs into peoples pockets’? So many questions, and I don’t know if I want any of them answered.
All up, I think The Wrong Side of Google History is a fun poke at the weird ways human brains work with fun art added in the mix. Pick a copy up.