Siri, Google, Alexa, and Cortana are handy little assistants that increase the functionality of the device. All you do is ask anything and your wish is their command. But there are a couple of hidden commands that invoke interesting answers from them. Try some of these and have fun with it.
Siri:
Siri, the personal assistant on iOS devices, has some hilarious answers that frequently reference pop culture. Here’s a few of our favorite funny Siri questions that you can have a lot of fun with.
1. What’s 0 Divided by 0?
This one recently went viral not because of how stupid the question is, but because of Siri’s answer, which may be a little uncalled for. She replies: “Imagine that you have zero cookies and you split them evenly among zero friends. How many cookies does each person get? See? It doesn’t make sense. And Cookie Monster is sad that there are no cookies, and you are sad that you have no friends.”
Ouch.
2. Are You a Democrat or a Republican?
Siri effortlessly decides not to get wrapped in politics by saying, “I don’t feel qualified to weigh in on your Earth-based political system.” Pure gold.
3. Siri, Do You Believe in God?
This one was actually genius. Siri replies by saying: “My policy is the separation of spirit and silicon.” Well now you know if you ever want to practice what Siri’s doing.
4. Why Are Firetrucks Red?
We’re not going to spoil this one, mainly because the answer is absurdly crazy and makes perfect sense. Just ask Siri and your brain will hurt a little.
Google:
The personal assistant for Android is straightforward and isn’t like the other voice recognition software in that you can have a decent conversation with them.
But we’re talking about Google, practically the kings of fun.
Here are a couple Google Easter eggs that will be sure to leave you grinning with the answer.
1. Beam Me Up, Scotty!
Google has a couple of quirks that reference Star Trek and this is one of them. Ask Google that and it replies: “I cannot do it captain, I don’t have the power!” Bonus: it does it in Scotty’s accent.
2. Make Me A Sandwich
Google plays the genie role with this command when it replies, “Poof, you’re a sandwich!” Once again it proves to be careful what you wish for.
3. Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right
The iconic cheat code used in most Konami games prompts Google to say “Cheat mode unlocked! Unlimited free Google Searches.” Good thing too, I thought I was reaching my limit soon.
Cortana:
Cortana is the new virtual assistant for Microsoft devices. It has a few hidden tricks up her sleeve that encourage you to talk to her often.
1. Where’s Master Chief?
Cortana is named after the AI character in the Halo series. So it’s no surprise that Microsoft put in a little gimmick referencing the series. Ask her about the whereabouts of Master Chief and she replies, “Hopefully getting some R&R…he HAS saved the galaxy three or four times. The guy needs a vacation.”
2. Who’s Your Daddy?
Cortana rubs it in our faces by saying, “Technically speaking, that’d be Bill Gates. No big deal.” Yeah, sure. Being the creation of the world’s richest man is nothing special at all.
3. Do You Want to Go On a Date?
Cortana channels her inner Siri by saying, “OK, but we’ll need a plan. I’ll work on being more human and you work on being more digital.” Well, she didn’t say no!
Alexa:
Amazon Echo, commonly known as Alexa is the speaker music player, news reader, weather reporter, sportscaster, funny gal tech device that thrives on you talking to her. Since the only way to control her is through your voice, it’s no surprise that she’s loaded with so many Easter eggs to keep you entertained for hours on end. The next time to talk to Alexa, ask her these questions.
1. Alexa, Who Let the Dogs Out?
A reference to the Baha Men hit song, the question prompts Alexa to reply with the famous “Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof,” line. What makes it brilliant is the monotone voice.
2. Alexa, What is the Airspeed Velocity of an Unladen Swallow?
For all you Monty Python fans out there this question will definitely give you a little chuckle when Alexa replies, “That depends if it’s an African or a European swallow.”
3. Alexa, Where do Babies Come From?
I don’t think a speaker is the right person to go in on a discussion on the Birds and the bees. Neither does she, as she replies: “Er, um, that’s a question for mommy or daddy!”
Hopefully you discovered a few hidden tricks hidden in your device. There’s a giant list of Easter eggs more than these, so play with your respective digital assistant to find more or look around a little more online. All of these Easter eggs help make voice recognition software a little better to use and make you laugh some.