ReadWriteWeb

Weird Search Engines II: Beam Me Up, Scotty

Written by Richard MacManus / March 14, 2007 3:18 PM / 6 Comments

Last Friday we posted about weird search engines. We got some good comments and found some new weird search engines to add to our list. Note that we mean weird in a good way - as in something a bit different.

To remind you, here are the original 'weird' search engines:

In the comments, we got these new ones:

Winzy - win prizes while searching

There's good review at everybody go to, where ap0ria says in the comments:

"Is this for real??? I saw your post on read/write decided to check it out. I won a shuffle on my second search. Just wondering if anyone has actually gotten anything from them before I give them my home address."

Let us know ap0ria if you do receive that ipod shuffle...

ujiko.com - Dr Spock's search engine?

Rafe Needleman on CNET points to an unusual UI from Kartoo, at ujiko.com. Rafe describes it:

"...[it] looks like a search engine that the Star Trek set designers would build. It shows results in a bizarre oval menu with an open center section where the user can flag particular results as relevant. This input helps narrow down results. The center section also shows how terms in multiple results relate to each other, using a wheel of color codes attached to individual results. I think you need Spock's brain to interpret the data. That said, it's entertaining to use and does return useful and very specific results."

Here's a screenshot:

adverlicio.us - a search engine (of sorts) for online advertisements. Complete with an automatic pop-up 'about us'.

goyams.com - a meta search engine where you can weight your results:

Tall Street - a search engine where you trade the results like a stock market.

GoodLuckFinder.com, a mystical search engine described as follows:

"Supreme forces always influenced people's choice. In the present-day world it is getting more and more difficult for the Providence to help people make their choices – the Spirit of Luck is unable to influence search engine results. However, the weather and solar activity are still entirely at the mercy of the supreme forces.

GoodLuckFinder.com picks a word out of your list according to unique weather conditions (the data comes from weather stations in real-time mode) or solar activity. The Spirit of Luck sees the words entered by you, insignificantly changes the weather (for instance, temperature changes by a few fractions of a grade) and tells you what your luck lies in."

Let us know of any other weird search engines you come across...


1 TrackBacks

TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.readwriteweb.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2048

Comments

Subscribe to comments for this post OR Subscribe to comments for all ReadWriteWeb posts

  1. Re: the ujiko.com write-up... "Dr Spock" is the baby doctor. "Mr Spock" is the Vulcan on Star Trek. (Yes, I'm a geek.)

    Posted by: Deck | March 15, 2007 9:37 AM



  2. Richard,

    I'd like to contribute four more interesting / weird search engines for Weird Search Engines III:

    1) PeekYou (www.peekyou.com) If you want, search for "Charles Knight" and see if you can find me (Hint: I'm on the third page).

    2) What to Rent (www.whattorent.com) Take a short personality test and it will recommend movies that you will probably like. (Sadly dropped from the Top 100 list in the February update.)

    3)StolenID Search (www.stolenidsearch.com) Search for your Social Security Number (SSN) on the Internet to see if it is being used or abused! Important caveat: You have to decide For Yourself if you trust this site with your SSN. I can't vouch for it, but I did search for mine.

    4) Qweas (www.qweas.com) Search for software. For Extra Credit: Can you see the connection between Qweas and Ujiko?

    Posted by: Charles Knight | March 15, 2007 9:52 AM



  3. Must I do all of the work around here? Just kidding :-)

    5) Check out TimeSearch (www.timesearch.info) (not .com)

    6) Got a cold or the flu? Hypochondriac? Try Symptom Search! http://www.healthline.com/symptomsearch

    7) Baidu (http://ir.baidu.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=188488&p=irol-homeprofile)

    Posted by: Charles Knight | March 15, 2007 11:38 AM



  4. 8) Quotiki (www.quotiki.com)

    Posted by: Charles Knight | March 15, 2007 2:33 PM



  5. 9) Search With Kevin ( http://searchwithkevin.prodege.com )

    Posted by: Charles Knight | March 19, 2007 4:51 PM



  6. WorldWebWar.com - social search engine. Promote your site!

    Check out: Weird Search Engines

    Click "-3" To dump a Atom Bomb "+3" I love this
    It is funny

    Posted by: Neola | March 22, 2007 9:43 AM



The ReadWrite Real-Time Web Summit
RWW SPONSORS


FOLLOW @RWW ON TWITTER

ReadWriteWeb on Facebook



TEXT LINK ADS