The Google Quiz

August 23, 2002 9:58 AM

The Google Quiz tests your knowledge of art, film, and music, general trivia, or (ugh) their stuff for sale. It's only open to US residents, but it otherwise an interesting testament to their product. Armed with just a google search window, you are given five questions that test your research limits. Someone here with l33t search skillz has got to win something.
posted by mathowie (24 comments total)

Sweet. Can you enter all three? Try more than once? I didn't see any limits on the rules sheet as per entries per person.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:03 AM on August 23, 2002

I took it yesterday, and, near as I can tell, there is no connection between your performance on the quiz (or even if you take the quiz) and your eligibility to win stuff. (You can even forego the quiz and send them a postcard with your name on it, according to the official rules.) When you get get to the end aof the quiz, it says "You got X out of 5 right. Now give us your email address to enter a drawing for free stuff". The whole thing seems like it's designed to get you into their new store.

I mention this just so none of you sweat over getting your answers spelled correctly, as I did.
posted by Shadowkeeper at 10:06 AM on August 23, 2002

I took the art, film and music quiz and got 4 out of 5 right, and the only reason I got one wrong was because I didn't read the question carefully enough. It really wasn't that hard - you just have to be selective in your search phrases.
posted by starvingartist at 10:09 AM on August 23, 2002

This seems to be the key phrase: Potential winners will be selected in a random drawing to be held on or about 9/21/02, from among all eligible entries received (i.e., from entries where all quiz questions are completed). No mention of needing correct answers on your entry. And from a legal standpoint, that's probably wise -- lord knows someone would sue if they submitted an alternate spelling of some answer and were then disqualified from winning that $50 prize. Not to mention that it's a simple matter to take the quiz, get all the right answers, and post a cheat sheet to Usenet.
posted by Shadowkeeper at 10:09 AM on August 23, 2002

Anyone brave/foolish/dogmatic enough to call the poster out to MeTa for linking to a marketing ploy?

Not me.
posted by fuzz at 10:29 AM on August 23, 2002

Anyone brave/foolish/dogmatic enough to call the poster out to MeTa for linking to a marketing ploy?

What, yet again?
posted by HTuttle at 10:32 AM on August 23, 2002

I only got 3/5. I got all the hard ones right though, but I spelt one wrong because I didn't look for the answer and thought I knew it, and didn't read one of the questions correctly. Oh well!
posted by animoller at 10:34 AM on August 23, 2002

No one seemed to mind the old "win a TiVo" threads.
posted by hobbes at 10:36 AM on August 23, 2002

did anyone get all the questions right without searching for it? this is the person i want to talk to.
posted by uberchick at 10:38 AM on August 23, 2002

this is the person i want to talk to.

Hi.
posted by vacapinta at 10:49 AM on August 23, 2002

It is a pretty graceless thing for Google - one of my questions gave a "hint" that one of the items in the Google Store would help me find the answer. Luckily, my knowledge of 18th-c. peasants' sartorial habits was up to the task.

on preview: my surprise re: vacapinta's answer = zero.
posted by gleuschk at 10:51 AM on August 23, 2002

Marketing tool - blah.
posted by gottabefunky at 11:00 AM on August 23, 2002

Poorly authored quiz, unfortunately: they make a common mistake regarding Japanese names, and they word one question so ambiguously that even with the *exact source material* for a question in hand, it is impossible to know how to answer.

But it was still fun.
posted by coelecanth at 11:07 AM on August 23, 2002

from the store:
i'm feeling shoppy.

heh.
posted by grabbingsand at 11:27 AM on August 23, 2002

i got one wrong, and i was technically correct. instead of using initials for the name of the architect i used his full name.
posted by fore at 11:33 AM on August 23, 2002

No one seemed to mind the old "win a TiVo" threads.

That's because we all won one.
posted by rushmc at 11:42 AM on August 23, 2002

I didn't win, and I'm still bitter.
posted by corpse at 11:49 AM on August 23, 2002

Me too. But I found a boyfriend with a hacked one, so it's okay.
posted by beth at 12:05 PM on August 23, 2002

Poorly authored quiz, unfortunately: they make a common mistake regarding Japanese names

Well, they asked for his first name, which would be the one that comes first, no? The answer they accepted was correct by that measure, although it was presumably his surname.
posted by kindall at 1:38 PM on August 23, 2002

Why did I say My American Cousin was the play that Lincoln was watching when he took one to the head thanks to Mr. Booth when in fact it was Our American Cousin? *bangs head into wall shouting "stupid, stupid, stupid"*
posted by jasonbondshow at 10:17 PM on August 23, 2002

Irwin Maurice Pei?
posted by nicwolff at 10:22 PM on August 23, 2002

Marketing tool - blah.

holy shit, you mean people Market Things? Isn't that unethical? and don't you think anything related to an attempt to market things is inherently uninteresting and not post-worthy? someone kick this so-called "mathowie" troll off of metafilter for posting something inappropriate! do it now!
posted by chrisege at 12:42 AM on August 24, 2002

*Spolier*

Any quiz which thinks Ieoh Ming Pei is the wrong answer but I. M. Pei is the correct answer, is too picky.
posted by riffola at 6:16 AM on August 24, 2002

nicwolff - Nice Fletch reference.
posted by O9scar at 2:34 PM on August 24, 2002