With Google Instant rolling out in Australia today, hacker magazine 2600 has uncovered an intriguing blacklist of certain words.
The Google Instant feature uses the pre-existing search suggestion feature "I Feel Lucky" to provide instantaneous search results as you type. 2600 noted that certain words cause Google to block the instant results, lest a seeker be offended by the potentially Not Safe For Work results.
The blacklist kicks in when a certain amount of a suspect word is typed. For example, if the word “adult” is typed in one letter at a time, Google Instant results are given for “a”, then “ad” but the Instant feature is disabled when “adu” is reached.
A list of blacklisted words discovered by 2600 includes the letter at which Instant is disabled. Some of the more unusual or entertaining results include “I hate” (which blacklists when the “t” is reached) and “rapping women”, for obvious, if overly cautious, reasons.
2600 has also made note of terms not blacklisted despite the potential for offensive search results. These include “foursome”, “buttcrack” (butthole is, however, blacklisted) and “Ron Jeremy”.
