Google Nose How to Have Fun

My 18-year-old son and I were sitting on the couch, chatting this evening while I worked on a blog post when he suddenly demanded, “Search bananas!”

“What?” I asked. I mean, it’s not unusual for Austin to yell some strange things out of the blue, but I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly.

“Search Google for bananas, or campfires, or oranges!” he repeated excitedly.

“Um why?”

“Just do it!”

Knowing that the conversation would never end unless I Googled bananas, I typed it in the search box. And this is what came up:

“Google NOSE?” I asked. “What’s Google Nose?”

“They’re just testing it out, Mom. See where it says ‘beta’?” Austin pointed out.

“Seriously? You can smell things on a computer! That’s ludicrous!”

“No really! Try it! They may not be able to make actual smells come out of your screen, but the images combined with the text really makes you think you’re smelling it! Try it!” he insisted.

I may be a total fool and I may do completely stupid things on a regular basis in front of total strangers (walking into the school with chocolate smeared across my face like a little Hitler mustache) or (walking through the hospital dressed like a homeless mental patient), but there was no way I was going to look like a fool in front of my teen. I pasted my best skeptical, raised eyebrow, ‘prove it’ look on my face and told him in no uncertain terms that the folks at Google are crazy.

“Seriously, Mom, you won’t believe it, but you can actually smell bananas! You have to put your face up against the screen for it to work. Try it!”

Still not willing to acquiesce, I clicked on the links and watched a short video about Google Nose and how it works.

Then it hit me. April Fools! Way to go Google! Well played!

“That’s hilarious!” I said, smiling. Who doesn’t love a good joke, right? “I wonder how many people actually sniffed their computers today,” I asked, laughing.

I looked over at Austin. “What’s that? Is that a look of (gasp) embarrassment on your face? Oh Austin, you didn’t! You’re supposed to be my smart child!” I lamented.

“I kept trying to smell it, but I thought I couldn’t because my nose was stuffed up so I went into Savannah’s room and made her smell my computer. She couldn’t smell it either.”

Yep, we’re a whole family of geniuses around here.