Google has thanked an 86-year-old British grandmother who proved old-fashioned manners have a place in the modern world when she typed "please" and "thank you" in an internet search.
May Ashworth's grandson Ben John found her laptop open and took a photo of the unusually polite online request. She was asking for a translation of the Roman numerals MCMXCVIII.
John, a 25-year-old from Wigan, has been retweeted more than 11,000 times.
He told the BBC he and his boyfriend do not have a clothes dryer so they go to Ashworth's house for their laundry.
"I asked my nan why she used 'please' and 'thank you' and it seemed she thinks that there is someone – a physical person – at Google's headquarters who looks after the searches.
"She thought that by being polite and using her manners, the search would be quicker," he said.
British television shows use Roman numerals on their credits for the year the program was made. Ashworth had seen them and wanted a translation into modern-day numerals.
Google UK thanked "Ben's Nan" saying: "In a world of billions of searches, yours made us smile."
"Oh, and it's 1998," it added. "Thank YOU".
Google's official global Twitter account, with more than 15 million followers, also expressed its appreciation.
近日,Goolge向一位86岁的英国老奶奶表达了自己的谢意,因为这位英国老奶奶在Goolge搜索时不忘写了“请”和“谢谢”,说明了传统的礼貌用语,在现代社会中依有一席之地。
May Ashworth奶奶的电脑是打开的,她的孙子Ben John发现她在Goolge搜索时的礼貌用语,于是就给奶奶的搜索请求拍了照发推特。老奶奶当时正在搜索的是罗马数字MCMXCVIII的翻译。
这位25岁的小伙子,来自英国Wigan市的 John,他的这条推特被转发超过1.1万次。
John告诉BBC,因为他和男友没有干衣机,所以就去奶奶家洗衣服。
他还说:“我问奶奶她Goolge时干嘛要用‘请’和‘谢谢’这样的词,她似乎认为Goolge有一个真人在看这些Goolge搜索。”
“她认为如果使用礼貌用语询问,结果就能出来的更快一些。”John说。
英国的电视节目中使用罗马数字来记录节目制作的时间。老奶奶看见了这串数字,想知道它们翻译成阿拉伯数字是多少。
Goolge英国对“John的奶奶”表示谢意,说:“在数以亿计的Goolge搜索中,你的搜索请求让我们微笑。”
Goolge英国还说:“哦,对了,你想知道的数字它是1998,谢谢。”
拥有1500万粉丝的Goolge官方全球推特账户,也对此表达了赞赏。
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