Update: Also check out the sequel to this article: 10 Even Better Wolfram Alpha Easter Eggs.

If you haven't heard about it yet, the new computational search engine Wolfram Alpha launched this week to much fanfare and attention. The service can calculate integrals, tell you the flying time between San Francisco and London, or even the (lack of) nutritional content of your M&M's.

But Stephen Wolfram and his team didn't stop there, and they certainly didn't lack a sense of humor when they built their Mathematica-based engine. Slowly but surely, people have been finding some interesting quirks within Wolfram Alpha, triggered by specific questions or events. These interesting easter eggs will make you smile or raise an eyebrow in bewilderment.

Know of some of Wolfram's other easter eggs? Please share them with us in the comments.

1. What is your name?









Let's start with a small but simple Easter Egg. Ask Wolfram Alpha "What is your name?" and it will return with you the correct answer.

You know, one of the first steps to self-awareness is self-identity...

Bonus: Give Wolfram Alpha the quintessential computer greeting, "Hello, World."

2. What's the speed of an unladen swallow?









This easter egg, at least for me, was a very pleasant surprise. There is a famous scene in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail where a bridgekeeper asks King Arthur the speed of an unladen swallow. His question back turns the tide and allows him to pass.

Well, Wolfram Alpha didn't miss this little bit of movie magic. Ask Wolfram about the average speed of an unladen swallow (doesn't matter if it's African or not), and Wolfram will give you the non-answer you're looking for. It even cites the source. Clever.

3. Hello









One of the simplest and most common greetings in the human language gets you a unique response from the computational knowledge engine. Just say "Hello" to Wolfram Alpha, and it'll say, "Hello, human." Other common greetings like "What's up?," "Hi"

Is this just Wolfram being polite, or is the advanced search program talking to us condescendingly? This might be something we have to investigate further.

Bonus: Wolfram also goes beyond "Hello" in conversation. Some more questions to ask it:

"Can you help me?" "Where are you?" "How are you?" "What will you do?" "What are you?" "What do you not like?"

4. How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?









We're glad to know that Wolfram Alpha knows his Bob Dylan.

5. How to cook a Welshman?









The answer...clearly speaks for itself...

6. Where am I?









If you ever find yourself on a random island one morning with just you and a computer, feel comforted knowing that Wolfram Alpha knows where you are. Seriously, just ask it the question and its magic (or your IP address) will do the rest.

7. Why did the chicken cross the road?









Did I mention that Wolfram also can crack a joke or two?

8. What's the answer to life?









In Google, if you ask the question "What is the answer to life, the universe, and everything?," you will get a very special answer from the search engine.

Well guess what? Wolfram knows the true answer to this very important question as well. I won't spoil the answer for you, though.

Unfortunately, when I asked Wolfram about the question to life, it was stumped. Hopefully future versions will get us this information as well and initiate an era of peace on Earth.

9. P = NP









For those of you that are not computer science geeks or programming nerds, P = NP is one of the most persistent unsolved questions within computer science. You can learn more about it on Wikipedia, but the point isn't that Wolfram has the answer, but that Wolfram is working on the problem.

So, if you want to receive the answer as soon as Wolfram knows, just leave your email with the computational engine. That's just nifty.

10. I can't let you do that, Dave









This easter egg is different than all the rest. If Wolfram is overloaded with traffic or just not working properly, it will let you know. The creepy thing, though, is how it lets you know.

Is HAL secretly running Wolfram? Are we going to have to pull the plug on Wolfram to save ourselves? Have you caught the 2001: A Space Odyssey reference yet?

Bonus: Easter Eggs that Wolfram should learn

Although our look into Wolfram popped up some great easter eggs, there are a few we are looking for yet. Some of them:

"Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?" "When is Judgement Day?" (Terminator reference) "Dude, where's my car?"

How long until Wolfram can answer all of our silly questions and subtle references? It's probably sooner than we all think. Do you have any other things you think Wolfram should already know?