Whether we want to admit it or not, we all take the Web somewhat for granted. Here is this epic, indispensable collection of resources on anything and everything you could possibly imagine, and yet we all collectively shrug our shoulders at the magnificence of it all.

In particular, we take Google and the other search engines for granted. That needs to stop. Here. And now. By dissecting 15 completely random Google searches, perhaps we'll all learn to appreciate the ease with which we can all find what we're looking for online.

Random Google Searches

We recently asked our readers to reveal to us the last thing they had Googled. What follows are 15 of those searches our readers confessed to making, along with a brief look at what we found when we repeated these searches for ourselves.

Why should you care? Because we all take it for granted how quickly and efficiently Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and others deliver results for anything and everything we type into their inviting interfaces. Perhaps we should be more impressed with this technical achievement, that, let's face it, is essential for the Web to even operate.

So, in the hopes that it will rouse you from taking the simple act of searching the whole Web in less than a second, and being presented with the information that you required, we thought we would take a quick look at some utterly random Google searches.

"What is GIS?"

According to National Geographic, GIS is a Geographic Information System, "a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth's surface," which enables "people to more easily see, analyze, and understand patterns and relationships." Useful, sure, but also extremely dull.

"Kaniko Crab Snack"

According to Crazy From Kong, Kaniko Crab Snacks are "tiny little deep fried crabs … presented in their entirety with their tiny legs, claws, shells and even eyes intact (presumably their tiny little brains too...)." That's put me off my dinner. Anyone else?

"Upgrade Linux Mint 17 to 17.1"

According to Planet Linux Mint, "If you want to upgrade from Linux Mint 17, please wait for a few days while we release a new version of the Update Manager to you. In the meantime, you do not need to download or to reinstall anything. We’ll make announcements next week when this is ready." I guess I'll wait then.

"Samsung Galaxy s5 Sales vs iPhone 6 Sales"

According to Tech Times, "As far as specs go, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is clearly the superior device. Despite this, the design of the iPhone 6 seems a little more premium, and the fact the device includes iOS 8 may be enough to sway many users who are used to the Apple user interface and prefer to stick with that. Not only that, but many users may not have a need for the superior specs that the Galaxy S5 offers." That is what's called sitting on the fence.

“Chrome Extensions Manifest Converted From Userscript”

According to Stack Overflow, someone somewhere is "wondering if there was any real easy way to go from a userscript that I have loaded in Scriptish to an unpacked extension in Chrome. I understand the hierarchy and the need for a manifest.json when dealing with an unpacked extension but I'm confused how to go between each other." Someone cleared up his confusion.

"Moto G Lollipop India”

According to International Business Times, as of December 2, "last month, Motorola had begun Android 5.0 Lollipop soak test for Moto G (Gen 2) in India. Now the American company has initiated the same process for the first generation model." Patience is a virtue.

“Crazy Christmas Tree Ideas For The Office”

According to Reader's Digest, you should forget "tinsel, ornaments, and stars: these crazy, cool Christmas tree themes were inspired by everything from books to beer." What follows are, "19 Wacky Ways to Decorate Your Christmas Tree." I guess I'll stick to non-wacky then.

“F#$@ Her Right in the P@$$#”

According to Know Your Meme, this is "an obscene quote that gained much notoriety online after it was widely thought to have been said by a videobombing prankster during the live broadcast of a local news report in Cincinnati, Ohio. The stunt was eventually debunked as a viral hoax campaign orchestrated by filmmaker John Cain." I'd personally rather be associated with pretty much any other phrase.

"HEVC ( H.265 / X265 )"

According to Wikipedia, "x265 is an open source free software and library for encoding video using the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC/H.265) standard. x265 is offered under either the GNU General Public License (GPL) 2 license or a commercial license, similar to the x264 project." That's a lot of random numbers and letters, but it's all to do with video coding, basically.

"Why Are My Windows 8.1 Apps Not Responding Once They Open?"

According to Tom's Hardware, someone has a problem: "Running Windows 8.1 and apps are not working. They were perfectly fine this morning, then later today, every one of them, except like two that I know of, IE and the Store. Other than that, music, Facebook, twitter, dropbox, etc. they're not working. I've refreshed my Windows 8, didn't fix it. I've also done sfc /scannow and it found nothing wrong. Why is this doing this?" The first response? "Check your system for viruses." Helpful.

“Neville Southall”

According to Wikipedia, Neville Southall is "a Welsh former international footballer. He has been described as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation and won the FWA Footballer of the Year award in 1985. Since his retirement as a player, Southall has briefly managed Dover Athletic, Hastings United and Margate, and has coached at numerous clubs as well as the Welsh national youth teams." A legend. At least if you're Welsh.

"Food Bike"

According to Inc., "Phil Dumontet started Dashed, a Boston-based food-delivery service, with nothing more than two wheels and a plastic food container. Today, the 26-year-old CEO has rolled out his service to five cities and more than 500 restaurants, including chains such as P.F. Chang's and Pinkberry. Making that many deliveries--all in about 45 minutes each--requires smart logistics and a whole lot of pedaling." I bet he's fitter than any of his clients.

“Marquesas AND history of surfing”

According to Surfing For Life, "By 1779, riding waves lying down or standing on long, hardwood surfboards was an integral part of Hawaiian culture. Surfboard riding was as layered into the society, religion and myth of the islands as baseball is to the modern United States. Chiefs demonstrated their mastery by their skill in the surf, and commoners made themselves famous (and infamous) by the way they handled themselves in the ocean." And there was I thinking surfing was a modern invention.

“What is Seeding in Torrents”

According to Quora, "[a] seed is a person who has a torrent file open in their client (let's say the same file you are trying to download) and the only difference between you and them is that they have the complete file downloaded already and are now "seeding" - sharing the file with peers but not downloading any parts of the file from others." Which is why seeding is important.

“X14EL38"

The only real result that comes up for "X14EL38" is a Dailymotion video titled Grand Prix: The Killer Years. If you can put up with the ads, you'll be able to watch a fascinating documentary all about the early years of Formula One.

http://youtu.be/LOkeyjRt5so

Continue The Conversation

I personally found this list of things our readers have recently searched for on Google rather fascinating, and I hope you did too. If so, rather than be left passively reading what everybody else admitted to Googling, why not get involved yourself?

We would love you to carry on the conversation in the comments section below. Simply tell us what was the last thing you searched for online, and add a little context so we understand your motivations for searching for that subject matter at that exact moment.

A Debt Of Gratitude

In order to compile this list of 15 Google searches, we received a lot of great comments from the MakeUseOf readership. As ever, they proved to be an invaluable part of the site you’re reading right now.

These readers took the time to answer the question, What Is The Last Thing You Googled?, and their responses helped us compile this article. Noteworthy comments include those from James Bassett, James Howde, Maryon Jeane, and pete.

Image Credit: Pleuntje via Flickr [No Longer Available]