Google has thanked an 86-year-old British woman who proved that “please” and “thank you” can go a long way.
May Ashworth’s grandson Ben Eckersley found her laptop open recently and took a photo of her old-fashioned manners. The reason? His grandmother was looking for a translation of the Roman numerals MCMXCVIII, and included a “please” and “thank you” with her Google search.
Omg opened my Nan’s laptop and when she’s googled something she’s put ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. I can’t 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/hiy2tecBjU
— Ben Eckersley (@Push10Ben) June 9, 2016
The original tweet has been re-tweeted more than 23,000 times. Eckersley told the BBC that he and his boyfriend do not have a clothes dryer so they go to his grandmother’s house to do 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 programme was made. Ashworth had seen them and wanted a translation into modern-day numerals, based on the Hindu-Arabic system.
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”.
Dearest Ben’s Nan.
Hope you’re well.
In a world of billions of Searches, yours made us smile.
Oh, and it’s 1998.
Thank YOU@Push10Ben— Google UK (@GoogleUK) June 15, 2016
Of course, Google’s official global Twitter account, with more than 15 million followers, didn’t want to miss out on the fun. Google also tweeted out its appreciation.
Dear Grandma,
No thanks necessary. 😊
Sincerely,
Googlehttps://t.co/vedrVek8nb— Google (@google) June 15, 2016
