--- title: Google Search Histories Read on Tonight Show description: Jimmy Fallon has Tonight Show writer Arthur stop people and read their Google search histories since Google will use searches to target ads canonical: https://time.com/4064759/jimmy-fallon-google-search-street-tonight-show/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-07T16:36:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:50.627Z og:title: Watch People Share Their Weird Google Search Histories og:description: During a segment on "The Tonight Show" og:url: https://time.com/4064759/jimmy-fallon-google-search-street-tonight-show/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch People Share Their Weird Google Search Histories twitter:description: During a segment on "The Tonight Show" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Watch People Share Their Weird Google Search Histories on _The Tonight Show_ > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=dc33319d-eebd-41c9-9648-52c7d8999043&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 30-Second Tech Trick: Use Google as a Timer [Watch (HLS stream): 30-Second Tech Trick: Use Google as a Timer](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/P9oW5l3V.m3u8) (0:30)  _Published 2013-08-13. 30-Second Tech Trick: Use Google as a Timer_  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Oct 7, 2015 4:36 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Oct 7, 2015 4:36 PM UTC On _The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon_ Tuesday night, the host says he read that Google ads would soon target users based on their search histories. So he asked one of his writers, Arthur Meyer, to walk around Rockefeller Center and ask some trusting people on the street if he could read their Google search histories on camera. It’s entirely possible that some of these passersby are making up elaborate stories in an attempt to maintain their dignity after such embarrassing searches are revealed, but it’s still a hilarious concept for a sketch. (h/t [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/3ntwsi/the%5Ftonight%5Fshow%5Fhas%5Fa%5Fnew%5Fskit%5Fwhere%5Fthey%5Fcheck/)) ### The 10 Most Ambitious Google Projects  Google Driverless Car The Google Self-Driving Car has been in the works since 2005 after a team of engineers won a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to design an autonomous car. The project, which aims to reduce traffic accidents, has made headway in recent years as states passed laws permitting self-driving cars. Google plans a commercial release between 2017 and 2020. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images  Google has been testing balloons which sail into the stratosphere and beam Internet down to Earth. Jon Shenk—AP  Google's smart contact lenses. Google/AP  Google Lively Google Lively was a web-based virtual community space where users could design avatars, chat with one another and personalize their online hangout space. The project was discontinued after a six-month stint in 2008 after limited success. Google/AP  Google Earth Google's virtual map of the Earth allows users to tour the earth with 3-D satellite images. The project, which dates back to 2004, has already found significant applications in disaster relief. Google/AP  Project Ara Google's build-your-own-smartphone project allows users to customize their handsets to their own preferences, with the possibility of eliminating electronic waste by encouraging users to add hardware updates on their own terms. The team is working towards a limited market pilot in 2015. Bryan Bedder—Getty Images for Engadget Expand  Disease Detecting Pill Google unveiled its plans to disease-detecting ingestible pill in October, a project that'll let patients access their real-time health data to encourage preventative care. The pill will contain nanoparticles that can bind to certain cells and chemicals, with the possibility of detecting diseases like cancer in early stages. Getty Images  Flying Wind Turbines The flying windmill is the project of Makani Power, a wind turbine developer acquired by Google in 2013\. The tethered airborne turbines will harness wind energy for the goal of producing low-cost, renewable energy Andrea Dunlap—Makani Power/AP  Google+ Google's social networking platform launched in 2011, the most successful service after several flops at designing a Facebook competitor, like the now-retired Google Buzz. Today, Google+ boasts over half a billion monthly active users. Stephen Lam—Reuters  Google Books Google Books dates back to 2004, when Google partnered with libraries and universities to plan to digitize millions of volumes over the next several years. The project aims to make searching books as easy as searching the web. Getty Images ## Transcript This is how to turn Google into your own personal countdown timer. Go to Google and type something like timer for 15 seconds, or 15 minutes. The only limit seems to be 24 hours. You can go up to 23 hours 59 minutes and 59 seconds, but 24 hours, that seems to be a no- go. So, if you've got a time something for more than 24 hours, that's certainly none of my business. I don't wanna know what your timing for that one. 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