Here’s a strange one, pointed out by H. at work.
Sometimes, when you search for a specific phrase, Google will return a few small images on it’s main search result. It seems pretty random which ones will or won’t – hey, time for a table (most not found by me!)
| Returns images | Doesn’t return images |
|---|---|
|
limecat, |
darth tater |
|
darth vader, |
luke skywalker, r2d2, hans solo |
|
daffy duck, |
hong kong phooey, bugs bunny |
|
gollum |
frodo/bilbo baggins, gandalf |
|
gordon freeman |
buzz lightyear, lara croft |
|
kate moss |
claudia schiffer, britney spears, … |
|
hubble |
mars rover |
|
wilma flintstone |
fred flintstone (or barney, betty, bam bam, pebbles) |
|
the last supper |
mona lisa, sunflowers, … |
What on earth is the logic here? I can only presume that they count the number of image hits, and if it’s above a certain threshold then they return the first few! Incidently, the safe search setting does have an effect – mine is set to moderate.