I was at a family BBQ last weekend, sitting in my usual spot at the kid’s table, when my 15-year-old cousin whipped out his cell phone and told me to ask him anything. He’s always been “the smart cousin,” and was my source for entertainment at the family functions, so I was more than happy to play along.

“Are June Bugs blind?” I asked.

He punched a bunch of buttons on his phone, got a text message, and reciprocated a lengthy response that summed up the answer “No.” Since I knew he wasn’t coming up with these scientific answers on his own, and was more than amused, I told my uncle to try one.

“What is the greatest noise in the world?” he asked.

Once again, my cousin hastily sent a text and minutes later we go a response saying “Music” with an explanation.

Enough. I needed to know what this thing was. My cousin was a little skeptical to reveal his source, but it turns out it’s a search engine called “Cha Cha.” You simply type “Cha Cha” (242242) as the recipient and ask it any question, from random facts to the temperature in far off countries. Apparently your response in received and generated by a real-life human!

The service is free for now and a pretty great way to kill time. Or talk to someone if you’re lonely. www.chacha.com

-Richelle, editor
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