Timm and Michael, a father and his son from Germany, were at summer camp when they needed information about the word ’Deichhörnchen’. Because they had no internet connection, they decided to take a risk and sent a request to Google in an unusual way — by regular, old-fashioned mail. They wrote a letter and sent it to the Google office in Hamburg. In less than seven days, they received a handwritten answer.

Unfortunately, the senders misspelled the word by one letter, and their request turned from being about a squirrel (’Eichhörnchen’) into a non-existent type of embankment squirrel (’Deichhörnchen’) that supposedly lives in dikes. Nevertheless, the answer they got really made them smile.

Timm and Michael’s letter

A father and his son sent an unusual request to Google and got an answer

Rough translation:

Hey, Google.

Unfortunately, we have no internet connection here. We’re in a summer camp now but wanted to obtain some information. We’d like to know everything about Deichhörnchen — what kind of creature it is, where it lives and what it eats.

As we know that your business exists because of advertising, please, include it in the letter.

Thank you in advance!

Google’s answer

A father and his son sent an unusual request to Google and got an answer

Rough translation:

Dear Timm and Michael,
Thank you for your inquiry! Did you mean: ’Eichhörnchen’ (squirrel)?
Images for Deichhörnchen:

[…]

Wikipedia: Deichhörnchen — an embankment squirrel, a rare type that became extinct due to the lack of dikes.

Advertising: if you have any questions, please, ask Google — preferably online.

We hope you enjoy your time at the summer camp!

Google offline team (beta version).