When writers and journalists use the term “research”, we make it sound like an awfully serious endeavour – and it is. Research needs to be accurate, and always has to be impartial. Good research takes time, and flawless research takes even more.

Sometimes, research can take a writer completely off the track on which they began.

One topic leads to the next, and before you know it, you’re in Related Link Hell (Or Heaven).

Bridge can be one of the most difficult topics to research in-depth. As a bridge writer, I’ve realized that an ample amount of links out there have nothing to do with contract.

Click around that for a while, if you will.

Related terms can be distracting, especially when there’s any temptation to follow the yellow link road.

Here are some of the internet’s most famous bridge terms (unrelated to bridge).

1: Bridge Loans

If you type the word “bridge” into your search engine for the first time, it’s a good idea to add another word that defines what you need results for. Say more than bridge. Type “contract bridge” or “online bridge”, for example.

If you don’t, you’ll get stuff like this.

Bridge loans happened to be one of the first unrelated bridge terms that appeared.

I started on the topic of Culbertson. What would I want with a hundred-and-one bridge loan companies?

Lesson: Define your search terms better!

2: The Six Types Of Bridges

According to the internet, there are six different types of bridges. Some of the resources instead insist that there are five, and others would say that there are seven.

Let’s go with six.

Britannica says they are beam, truss, arch, suspension, cantilever, and cable-stay.

Not surprisingly, I was looking for rubber bridge scoring.

3: Bridge Exercise

The yellow brick road eventually ended up at yoga.

I’m not sure how in retrospect, but it did. The word bridge on its own seems to trigger some kind of search engine confusion that kicks out, well, strange stuff.

If you’d like to throw your own back out at home (for free, and right now), try this. The bridge exercise looks like the perfect way to fall backwards, and really have it hurt.

It’s available to see in all its painful glory on YouTube.

Unless your doctor specifically told you to do it, I wouldn’t advise you to do it.

As the famous quote goes, I’d rather be playing bridge.

4: Bridge Piercing

Squeamish or can’t stand shows like Nip/Tuck?

Well, Google also leads to the wonderful art of the bridge piercing. That’s the bridge of the nose, if you’re wondering.

There’s almost no limit to what the human body can have pierced (and exactly how). Remember that BBO Prime taught you that.

Then play some bridge. Just make sure you define what type or subject you’re looking for…

5: The Bridge (TV Show)

The Bridge is also a television show.

It has nothing to do with the game of contract bridge, though. There’s more bridge to be seen in the television show and movie versions of Fargo.

How about we pitch a show called The Contract Bridge?

I envision a true gem of a murder mystery.

What unrelated bridge terms have your search engines come up with when looking up the game?