You Are Not Alone. Thank You Google.

Keep reading, you'll understand.

The ability to find any information you are looking for by simply typing a question in the Google box has changed our lives.  It doesn't matter the question you ask because you will find that someone has already asked the exact, or a similar, question.

For example, if I'm making a recipe that calls for garlic powder and I only have garlic salt, I might Google: How do I substitute garlic salt when my recipe calls for garlic powder?  That's the kind of convoluted questions I type, but I always get my answers.  This example of a Google question is pretty straightforward, so it's not totally amazing to receive pages of posts from other people wondering about the same thing.

A better example is from a few months ago.  I let Charlie Brown out for his final bathroom break of the night and did not see the deer on the lawn eating the apples that had fallen from our tree.  The deer fled and Charlie ran through the invisible fence in pursuit of the apple snatchers.  The family split up to search the neighborhood looking for Charlie and I spotted him just as he was walking into the path of a car's headlights.  I screamed and closed my eyes, the car stopped, the family came running, but we couldn't find Charlie.  I asked the driver of the car if she hit the dog and she did not know.  Fearing the worst, we used our cell phones to shine light under the car, but alas, no Charlie.  As we all stood around completely confused, Charlie walked towards us from the shadows of a neighbor's yard.

We had no idea if he had been hit by the car, as he seemed perfectly fine.  When I got home I Googled: Not sure if my dog got hit by a car?  And sure enough, there were many other dog owners who had been in a similar situation.  And, if the elderly driver who was unsure if she had hit Charlie went home and Googled: Don't know if I hit a dog with my car? She too would have seen that she was not alone with her question.  Unbelievable.

The absolute best example of Google demonstrating You Are Not Alone with whatever problem you are facing is the one I heard this morning at tennis.  Someone brought up Google and we all started sharing our experiences and wondering how we ever lived without it.  One of my tennis mates exclaimed that just this morning she Googled: Why does my vagina vibrate?  She had been worrying about this condition that had plagued her for a few days, but thanks to Google she learned she was not alone, and busily began to read all of the posts from others who had experienced the same problem.  She did not elaborate, so maybe it's not a problem, just a condition to be examined, but in any case her fears were put aside because she found fellow vibrating vagina comrades.

So, the next time you Google something and find your answer, and are reassured that You Are Not Alone with your question or concern, remember to say Thank You Google.