Strangest things people have been Googling about Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH is a city that is known for many things from being the home of the navy to it’s famous football team.
Portsmouth. Picture: Keith Woodland (060719-62)Portsmouth. Picture: Keith Woodland (060719-62)
Portsmouth. Picture: Keith Woodland (060719-62)

The eyes of the world were even on our home this year during the 75th anniversary commemorations. 

So with all that extra attention on our already famous city, we decided to look at what people have been Googling about Pompey

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Here are the strange things people have been searching about Portsmouth

Portsmouth. Picture: Keith Woodland (060719-62)Portsmouth. Picture: Keith Woodland (060719-62)
Portsmouth. Picture: Keith Woodland (060719-62)

Portsmouth is… 

We started by putting ‘Portsmouth is’ into Google to see what queries came up and there were some ‘interesting’ things being searched. 

The first one that came up was Portsmouth is in which county – a fairly normal question and the answer is of course Hampshire. 

Next up was Portsmouth is an island which both sounds like a statement and a question, but yes we are on Portsea Island. 

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Picture: Google
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People have also been Googling more mundane queries like – Portsmouth is in which league and Portsmouth is located at. 

But there were some really strange ones such as Portsmouth is a dump – which is harsh and definitely only being searched by people in Southampton. 

Then there was Portsmouth is Chichester, which is just very bizarre. Clearly they are two separate places and are a good 16 miles away from each other and to top it off they are in different counties. 

People have also been searching for Portsmouth this is love – which seems extremely strange on the face of it but if you click that search term it turns out it is a campaign aimed at promoting healthy relationships. 

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Another one of the popular search terms was Portsmouth is in which time zone and this is probably from the D-Day anniversary. 

Was Portsmouth... 

Next we decided to see what would come up if we searched ‘Was Portsmouth’ and unsurprisingly the first search term was related to the Second World War – being was Portsmouth bombed in WW2, the answer is of course yes. 

Similar to Portsmouth is, people have been searching for Was Portsmouth an island, while they also want to know Was Portsmouth university a polytechnic and the answer to that is it was until 1992 when it was granted university status. 

Picture: GooglePicture: Google
Picture: Google

People have also being searching why was Portsmouth formed which is trickier to answer as the city dates back hundreds of years. 

Why is Portsmouth… 

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This search threw up so very odd queries – including Why is Portsmouth pronounced Portsmith.

Apparently according to an anonymous user called Dave L who tried to answer this very question on Yahoo Answers, it is because: ‘here is already a town called portsmith. The town folks wanted their town to be called portsmith but could not legally call it portsmith so they named it Portsmouth and agreed to pronounce it portsmith.’

Not quite sure that is the right answer Dave L… 

People have also been searching Why is Portsmouth so busy today – it doesn’t specify which day the search was specifically referring to but it is probably an evergreen query. 

Picture: GooglePicture: Google
Picture: Google

One of the queries that also came up was Why is Portsmouth stadium in FIFA and if you follow the search it leads to lots of links about Fratton Park being added as a tribute to a Pompey fan for FIFA 2016. 

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Another one of the searches was Why is Portsmouth NH so expensive – unfortunately we can’t help with that one, it is the wrong Portsmouth. 

What is Portsmouth… 

The majority of queries that came up from this search term were some variation on What is Portsmouth like to live in which is not the strangest of question to ask Google. 

The one searches that came up were What is Portsmouth to Bilbao crossing like, What is Portsmouth score and What is Portsmouth pride

Pompey’s American cousin Portsmouth, New Hampshire, also crept into the search terms again with people Googling What is Portsmouth NH known for – apparently the answer to this is tax-free shopping, waterfront views and historic sites. 

How is Portsmouth… 

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If you put this search term into Google it will suggest queries such as How is Portsmouth University – which is a fair question for prospective students to be asking. 

One of the more stranger queries that come up is How is Portsmouth getting on – which is probably a thing football fans may be searching but if you click it Google brings up links to the city’s Wikipedia page, the Get Active section on Visit Portsmouth and a page on TripAdvisor headlined ‘Getting to Portsmouth from London's airports’, none of which really answer the query. 

How far is Portsmouth was another one of the searches that came up, which probably brings up many different answers depending on where you are – it is 2.9 miles from The News’s offices in Cosham. 

Will Portsmouth… 

Putting this phrase into Google threw up some mixed results – the majority of searches were based around Pompey and whether they will go up. 

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However there were also some strange ones, such as Will Portsmouth get snow – considering it is the middle of summer, it is safe to say the answer is no. 

Another unexpected query was Will Patterson Portsmouth and it turns out this is related to a teenager called Will Patterson who shot a police officer in one of the American Portsmouth’s this time in Virginia not New Hampshire.  

It also brings up Will Young Portsmouth Guildhall as the singer is due to perform at the city centre venue later this year. 

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