What is a Google?

I was working near Washington, DC this week and rode the Metro into town. Due to work on the line I was riding I had much time to sit and read the posters, and enjoy the pen and ink drawings, describing the new Google privacy stuff.

At one stop I was joined my a gaggle of college students. I'm not stereotyping. I know they were college students because I was one once. Long ago. In case you are worried I'll describe them. There were five of them: three women and two men and they were roughly 20 years of age. All of them were dressed casually but nice. All of them were texting, probably each other. Two of the women had large shopping bags from Georgetown Cupcakes. And like I said, they traveled in a pack.

So, college students. They were nice and polite and had various conversations with one another as we moved from station to station - or sat on the platforms waiting to move. The one of the women asked one of the guys, "What's a google?"
He replied, "You know. The search engine."
She rolled her eyes. "No, I mean. It means something. I know it has a definition I just can't remember what it is."
He looked at her like she was crazy. "Really? It's a word."
"Yeah. I think it means 'to search', but I can't remember."
This is where it becomes so hard for me to hold my tongue that I might have actually pierced it with one of my teeth. Of course it's a real word. Of course it means something. UGH. And did any of them with their phones that can text think to pull them out and Google it? NO!