The Internet’s original knowledge-sharing platform is shutting up shop after years of answering the most trivial – and important – questions from around the world.
The first question asked on the site after its public launch on 8 December, 2005, was: “How do I decide on a good magic set for children (about 8 years old)? Ideally, less than $50.”
Since then, the platform has responded to millions of queries from “Do you think humans will ever walk on the sun?” to “If you die in Canada do you die in real life” and “How is babby formed? How girl get pregnant?” and (my favourite) “HOW DO I TURN OFF CAPS LOCK?”
Its popularity saw Google shut down its own Answers platform in 2006 after four years but other sites such as Wikipedia and Reddit – as well as social networks like Facebook and Twitter – have overtaken Yahoo! Answers in searches.
Yahoo announced the closure of the site on 4 May earlier this month, saying it had decided to “focus on products that better serve our members”. Future questions have been referred to Yahoo’s search page.
There is word however that Internet archivists are working on a plan to save all of the 84 million questions submitted over the years.
With gold like “How do I take care of my pet potato?” up there, why not?
