Solving the 'na pohybel janas' Google mystery

Google Insights for Search shows how quickly searches on "na pohybel janas" surged.

A mysterious search query has got web users in a tizzy after it inexplicably popped up in Google's fastest rising search queries and has remained there for the past month.

The term "na pohybel janas" is worldwide the sixth fastest rising term over the past month, according to Google Insights for Search.

The phrase also appears on the list for virtually every region examined, including New Zealand, Australia, India, the US and Britain.

Some web users noticed the trending term and in online forums have speculated that it is a terrorist plot or related to a malicious virus.

Others have noticed it pop up in their web history when they have no recollection of ever searching it.

"I have recently noticed a recurring search in my web history and have no recollection of searching it," wrote one user on Google's help forum.

"'Na pohybel janas' has been searched several times on my computer in pairs at times when I know I've been on my computer with my husband watching various shows on the internet."

Using online translation tools reveals that, in Polish, the term means "Death to Janas". Janas is a Polish and Czech name, and it is also believed to be a term of endearment.

"I found that Janas is a female name that in Czechoslovakian, Polish, and Dutch means 'God's Gracious Gift' and in Arabic it means 'Harvest of Fruit'," wrote one blogger who investigated the mystery.

Combining the Polish meaning of Janas with the Polish translation of the phrase gives the literal translation "Death to God's gracious gift".

Combing YouTube for the term throws up a video of a Slavic rock band singing a song called "Na Pohybel Janas".

But none of this explains the rising popularity of the term.

A Google Australia spokeswoman refused to comment on the search term, but noted that a "fastest rising" term was not the same as most popular.

"This term may not have been a top search overall - its appearance on the 'fastest rising' list just indicates that it saw much more query volume in the last 30 days than it did in the 30 days before that," the spokeswoman said.

Perhaps the mystery will never be solved, as it appears searches for the term have flatlined over the past week.

- © Fairfax NZ News