Uncovering an Odd Google Result: Searching with Name & "Harley Davidson

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This discussion centers on the peculiar behavior of Google search results when using a combination of a user's name and specific keywords, such as "Harley Davidson." The user, identified as Ivan Seeking, experienced an unexpected search result that highlighted "Harley Davidson" despite not having previously searched for it on their current device. This raises questions about Google's search algorithms and whether they retain search history across devices or sessions, even after cookies and files have been cleared.

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Ivan Seeking
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Sometimes I find it easiest to search for a thread by Googling my name + something that I remember posting. For some reason this seems to work better than using the thread title sometimes.

Quite some time ago...at least months, and I am quite certain that this was on my old computer, I googled my name and "Harley Davidson" to find the "What was it?" thread in the General Discussion forum. Just now I wanted the thread again, but I googled "What was it" and my name. The hit that resulted was correct, but when I looked at the address, it had the thread address + highlight "Harley Davidson"!

What the hell...? Google knew who I was and linked to the previous search? Is this possible? Or must it be that I have made this search [using Harley] on this computer? But even if so, I clear cookies and files regularly.
 
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Was it strictly the name "Ivan Seeking" that made the link? But if so, why was only Harley Davidson highlighted?
 
it doesn't know its you, i get the "showthread.php?t=18777&highlight=Harley+Davidson"
too.

and i haven't ever searched Harley Davidson.
 

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