‘Lost in a hole’: Yahoo Answers comes to an end
The internet message board, infamous for its laugh-out-loud questions and answers posed by users, will be shutting down and deleting archives May 4. Graphic by SAM ANDRUS, Photo Editor
Throughout my days, I constantly think about incredibly random questions.
I’ll wonder why spaghetti is so long. Or why people feel the need to put ranch on their pizza. Or what the point of Ross as a character in “Friends” was. I guess my brain gravitating to specific thoughts like these is why I’ve decided to be a journalist.
So why did these questions start popping in my head? Maybe, in part, they stem from extremely inquisitive parents or having grown up watching countless episodes of “Jeopardy” and “The Price is Right,” but I think I know the real reason: They come from Yahoo Answers.
If you are not familiar, Yahoo Answers is a community-based forum created in 2005 — and a watering hole for people like me. It allows users to anonymously post a question, with any user able to view or respond. The site became an internet sensation because of the hilarity of many of its posts. Not only would you read questions like, “Did dragons live before, during, or after dinosaurs?” or, “HOW DO I TURN OFF CAPS LOCK?” but you would also see a community of people gathering to help one another — symbolizing the beginnings of internet culture.
Well, people may no longer be able to figure out exactly how to turn off caps lock. Sadly, Yahoo announced earlier this month that the site disabled new posts April 20 and will then altogether shut down May 4.
I was devastated when I read that announcement. I remember I used to go on my dad’s iPad to call up the site after a rough day of recess in elementary school. Yahoo Answers was where I developed my sense of humor, my eagerness to ask questions and my support for the weird and strange.
In honor of its death, I wanted to understand why, in the first place, I and so many others gravitated toward the site. Erin Craw, a graduate teaching associate at Chapman University, said posting on an anonymous website creates a comfort zone for users and a wider network of results to questions they might be hesitant to ask.
“People sometimes feel more comfortable asking questions through something like Yahoo Answers because they do not have to worry about face-saving,” Craw said. “For questions that might be more sensitive or potentially face threatening, this is a place to receive answers without that perceived risk.”
Since the posts on Yahoo Answers were never regulated, users were able to write almost anything. The questions would emulate the curiosity of the human species. Sophomore Maddie Mullany, a strategic and corporate communication major, has been reminded of Yahoo Answers in recent TikToks. But there has always been one particular post she vividly recalls.
“I remember seeing one that they showed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that asked, ‘How big is the specific ocean?’” Mullany said. “The answer said, ‘I don’t know, can you be more Pacific?’ I’ve always remembered that one.”
Paris Armstrong, a Chapman 2020 alumna, said her favorite posts on the site involved someone asking if they are pregnant, but cannot for the life of them spell “pregnant” correctly. Armstrong will miss the idea of going onto the site with a clear intention and then getting bombarded with post after post.
“People were kind of browsing for their own intent and said, ‘Oh, this is funny’ or, ‘I had the same question; let me add this to my list,’” Armstrong said. “It starts out with you looking for something and then you kind of get lost in a hole.”
As I enter the end of the Yahoo Answers era in my life, what better way to remember this glorious site than by simply listing some of my personal favorites. If you don’t receive any contact from me May 3, just know it’s because I will be dressed in black, intently staring at my computer screen while soaking up every last moment with the source of my sense of humor.
Here are my 10 favorite Yahoo Answers questions:
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a toucan?”
“Can I cook raw chicken in the Michael wave?”
“What if one day the cows fight back?”
“I accidentally ate the Do Not Eat packet inside my shoe box. Am I gonna die?”
“How do people on Jeopardy know the answers?”
“Is it illegal to kill an ant?”
“What did my dad just say to me?”
“Is Christian Bale a Christian since his name is Christian?”
“Is it rude to fart when someone is crying during a family dinner?”
“How do I put myself into a coma without killing myself and without permanent brain damage?”