Story highlights Grandmother Googles an unusual request 
 
 Grandson tweets about it, goes viral 
 
 London (CNN) Step aside, cute baby videos -- there's now a special funny place on the internet for the less tech-savvy. Like these grandparents working out how a webcam works. Or all of these grandparents figuring out Facebook. 
 
 The newest member of this club is a British nan whose politeness has turned her into a viral sensation after she Googled an unusual request. Her grandson Ben tweeted it for the enjoyment of all: 
 
 Omg opened my Nan's laptop and when she's googled something she's put 'please' and 'thank you'. I can't 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/hiy2tecBjU — Ben John (@Push10Ben) June 9, 2016 
 
 "Please translate these roman numerals mcmxcviii thank you," Liverpool-born May Ashworth, 86, asked Google. 
 
 Ben, 26, told CNN that he thinks the current hype around the photo is "utterly mad! The fact it's gone all around the globe is crazy! But it seems to be making people happy which is great." 
 
 "After the absolute atrocity in Orlando people need a reason to smile." 

 Image copyright Ben John/Twitter 
 
 Using Google to search for things on the internet has become a common part of most people's daily lives. 
 
 But it seems the internet giant may just have found its politest searcher - 86-year-old May Ashworth. 
 
 The grandmother's request read: "Please translate these roman numerals mcmxcviii thank you." 
 
 Image copyright Ben John/Twitter Image caption Ben John and his polite nan May Ashworth 
 
 Ben John, from Wigan, tweeted a photo of his nan's very polite search on Google that so far has been retweeted nearly nine thousand times. 
 
 'I went to my nan's to do my washing' 
 
 The 25-year-old had been visiting his nan when he went on her computer and saw what she had typed into Google. 
 
 "I live with my boyfriend and we don't have a dryer at our house, so I usually go over to my nan's to do our washing," he said. 
 
 "While I was waiting I thought I'd go on the internet and that's why I opened her laptop." 
 
 Ben realised she had not switched it off, she had only closed the lid. 
 
 He glanced at the page she had open and nearly closed it before he noticed what she had put into Google. 
 
 Image copyright Ben John 
 
 Ben's nan likes to watch TV and it seems she has an interest in knowing when programmes were made. 
 
 Television shows still use Roman numerals on their credits to show the year of the programme. 
 
 "She saw a TV show the other day but couldn't work out from the credits when it was made, so she put the numerals into Google," said Ben. 
 
 "It made me chuckle so I thought I'd take a photo and put it on Twitter for my friends to see. I didn't expect so many other people to see it!" 
 
 But hundreds of thousands of people have seen the tweet - and many have expressed how much they loved it. 
 
 Image copyright James/Twitter 
 
 Image copyright Martyn/Twitter 
 
 Image copyright CC/Twitter 
 
 Manners make the search go faster 
 
 Ben said his nan doesn't use her laptop much. "She goes to a silver surfers' club at the local library to learn about computers and the internet, but she hardly ever uses her laptop." 
 
 "I asked my nan why she used 'please' and 'thank you' and it seemed she thinks that there is someone - a physical person - at Google's headquarters who looks after the searches. 
 
 "She thought that by being polite and using her manners, the search would be quicker." 
 
 Image copyright Google UK/Twitter 
 
 As well as social media users, Google UK was also charmed with Ben's nan May. The company noticed the photo of the search and tweeted Ben's account with a message for her saying: "In a world of billions of searches, yours made us smile." 
 
 Ben said he's surprised at the amount of attention his tweet has received. "I posted the photo on Thursday, and it wasn't immediately picked up by the media. I've even had calls from the US for me to speak on their shows." 
 
 Produced by Catherine Ellis 

 This article is over 2 years old 
 
 Grandson says May Ashworth believed she was writing to a person at Google HQ when typing in search queries 
 
 Google has thanked an 86-year-old British woman who proved old-fashioned manners have a place in the modern world when she typed “please” and “thank you” in an internet search. 
 
 
 
 May Ashworth’s grandson Ben John found her laptop open and took a photo of the unusually polite online request. She was asking for a translation of the Roman numerals MCMXCVIII. 
 
 Ben John (@Push10Ben) Omg opened my Nan's laptop and when she's googled something she's put 'please' and 'thank you'. I can't 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/hiy2tecBjU 
 
 John, a 25-year-old from Wigan, has been retweeted more than 11,000 times. 
 
 He told the BBC he and his boyfriend do not have a clothes dryer so they go to Ashworth’s house for their laundry. 
 
 “I asked my nan why she used ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and it seemed she thinks that there is someone – a physical person – at Google’s headquarters who looks after the searches. 
 
 “She thought that by being polite and using her manners, the search would be quicker,” he said. 
 
 British television shows use Roman numerals on their credits for the year the programme was made. Ashworth had seen them and wanted a translation into modern-day numerals, based on the Hindu-Arabic system. 
 
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 Google UK thanked “Ben’s Nan” saying: “In a world of billions of searches, yours made us smile. 
 
 “Oh, and it’s 1998,” it added. “Thank YOU”. 
 
 Google UK (@GoogleUK) Dearest Ben's Nan. 
 
 Hope you're well. 
 
 In a world of billions of Searches, yours made us smile. 
 
 Oh, and it's 1998. 
 
 Thank YOU@Push10Ben 
 
 Google’s official global Twitter account, with more than 15 million followers, also expressed its appreciation. 
 
 Google (@google) Dear Grandma, 
 
 
 
 No thanks necessary. 😊 
 
 
 
 Sincerely, 
 
 Googlehttps://t.co/vedrVek8nb 
 
 Trillions of Google searches are made every year. 

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– When Ben John went to his grandma's house last week to do laundry, he decided to surf the Internet on her laptop while he was waiting. What he found on the Web page she had open blew his millennial mind, the Guardian reports. "Omg opened my Nan's laptop and when she's googled something she's put 'please' and 'thank you.' I can't," the 25-year-old Brit from Wigan tweeted, attaching a screenshot of a Google search bar that contained a very courteous request to translate a series of Roman numerals. When John asked 86-year-old May Ashworth why she was so exceedingly polite to the AI answer-bot, her answer sent him into more Google-induced giggles. "It seemed she thinks that there is someone—a physical person—at Google's headquarters who looks after the searches," John tells the BBC. "She thought that by being polite and using her manners, the search would be quicker." Ashworth's translation request for "MCMXCVIII" was because she wanted to know what year a TV show she was watching had been made. Google UK responded to John's tweet with its own, posting, "Dearest Ben's Nan. Hope you're well. In a world of billions of Searches, yours made us smile. Oh, and it's 1998. Thank YOU." Even the global Google account piped in: "Dear Grandma, No thanks necessary. Sincerely, Google." The rest of the Internet (mostly real, live people, we assume) were similarly charmed by Ashworth's online etiquette: John's tweet has been retweeted more than 30,000 times. Meanwhile, John—who posted a pic Wednesday of him with Ashworth—tells CNN he's glad people are getting a kick out of story. "After the absolute atrocity in Orlando, people need a reason to smile." (The Internet helped crack a mystery code left by a dying grandma.)