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‘Please' And ‘Thank You': Grandmother's Polite Search Queries Win Over Google Employees

"In a world of billions of Searches, yours made us smile," Google UK wrote

A U.K man's tweet about his grandmother's oddly polite internet use has gone viral, and its even garnering the attention of Google. 

It all started last week when Twitter user (and apparent nosy grandson) Ben John found his "nan's" laptop open and was immediately amused by her search queries. It became clear to him that she types "please" and "thank you" when using Google's search engine. Naturally, he tweeted a photo of his find and the whole thing went viral: 

https://twitter.com/Push10Ben/status/743152128286425088

John told BBC News he was curious about the odd habit and asked her why she did that. 

"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," he told the news organization. "She thought that by being polite and using her manners, the search would be quicker." 

His original tweet quickly went viral, for many different reasons. Some thought his grandma was sweet, some thought her etiquette was a throwback to generations past and others just got a good chuckle out of it. Eventually, the tweet made its way back to Google, whose company headquarters are in the Bay Area's Mountain View.

Apparently, employees there found the whole thing just as amusing as the 45,000 other people who favorited the tweet. The UK team even personally answered her question Wednesday — meaning that, this time, there really was a real person answering her query:

Ben's nan, whose real name is May Ashworth, hasn't let her newfound viral fame change her. Ben told CBC News they celebrated the "weird" experience with a cup of tea — and, in a toast to the internet age, a selfie: 

https://twitter.com/Push10Ben/status/740980720726908929
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