What is "Googlewhacking"?

The extremely addictive practice of "Googlewhacking" involves finding two words, which, when used together, only produce one result in a Google search.

The originator of the term was Gary Stock; who first used it in 2002, but the practice achieved a far wider audience when the British comedian Dave Gorman launched a comedy tour called "Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure" between 2003 and 2005, and subsequently wrote a book based on it.

By definition, a successful "Googlewhack" is transient, as it will lead to further hits. Some of the most famous ones have included "drink bimillennially" and "Sartre Peppershakers".

As with any word game, there are variants, including finding single words that only yield one result. There are some eccentric scoring systems; and some maintain that a combination of two words that are common in themselves but not in combination is the cleverest result.

The "official" Googlewhacking website is no longer functioning, though there is constant talk of its relaunch, but of course that stops nobody playing to their heart's content!