---
title: "User Discovers That Google Docs Crashes When You Type a Specific Phrase"
description: "Users discovered a genuinely puzzling bug that caused the browser-based Google Docs to crash when confronted with repeated instances of the same word."
date: "2022-05-09"
modified: "2022-05-09"
authors:
  - name: "Noor Al-Sibai"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/google-docs-glitch"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Google"
tags:
  - "glitches"
  - "Google"
  - "markov chains"
  - "the digest"
---

# User Discovers That Google Docs Crashes When You Type a Specific Phrase

![Users discovered a genuinely puzzling bug that caused the browser-based Google Docs to crash when confronted with repeated instances of the same word.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/google-docs-glitch.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Google\</em\>*

## No Fun

Google Docs apparently has a problem with repetition.

At least, that seems to be the implication after users discovered a genuinely puzzling bug last week that caused the browser-based word processor to crash when confronted with repeated instances of the same word, like "and," "but," or "however."

The original glitch was discovered when a user, who later [posted on Google Support about it](<https://support.google.com/docs/thread/162510194/including-and-and-and-and-and-in-a-google-doc-causes-it-to-crash?hl=en>), entered the repetitive, case-sensitive phrase "And. And. And. And. And."

Others confirmed that they had the same issue with similarly-repetitive phrases.

"Each of these words reproduces the issue," [one user wrote](<https://support.google.com/docs/thread/162510194?hl=en&msgid=162519181>), adding that they tried the words "Also, Therefore, And, Anyway, But, Who, Why, Besides, However."

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/message-162514396-647199507696200647.png>)
*Image via Google Support/screenshot.*

## No-etry

As [*Engadget* later noted](<https://www.engadget.com/google-docs-and-and-and-and-and-bug-213609808.html>), the issue appears to have originated with Eliza Callahan, a poet acquaintance of the original Google Support poster. Though the forthcoming novel the phrase appears in hasn't been published, an excerpt [does appear on the poet's site](<https://durationandthebodyelizacallahan.cargo.site/>).

Not long after users raised the issue, a [Google developer confirmed](<https://support.google.com/docs/thread/162510194?hl=en&msgid=162519181>) that it had been fixed — but that didn't stop others from riffing in ways that could also be considered poetic.

"Fascinating. For anybody who wants to know the science behind this, Google Docs uses a 'Markov Chain' to predict the next word for autocompletion purposes,"[one user wrote](<https://support.google.com/docs/thread/162510194?hl=en&msgid=162519181>) in the thread."In this case, of course, since we've already written 'And' 5 times, the only logical next word would be 'And', as showed in Djikstra's 1989 paper on the subject. Therefore, the Markov Chain never terminates and hence the memory chain overflows with infinite ands."

"Obviously, this is partly intentional — Gregory Markov modelled his famous Chain after his younger brother, who would try to finish all of Gregory's sentences for him," they added. "The one way Markov could fool him would be to repeat the same word multiple times, and then say 'Jinx', also I made all of this up, good luck Google Docs team."

Good luck indeed!

**READ MORE:** [A simple string of "and"s seem to crash Google Docs pages](<https://www.engadget.com/google-docs-and-and-and-and-and-bug-213609808.html>) \[*Engadget*\]

**More on glitches:** [*Man Married to Hologram Can’t Talk to Wife Due to Software Glitch*](<https://futurism.com/married-hologram-glitch>)

## Author
At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/noorfromfuturism.bsky.social>)