Google, once believed to have all the answers to the universe’s great secrets, is no longer going to share its wisdom on inane subjects. Revealed in the Official Google Blog is word that the company will stop accepting new questions to its Google Answers service later this week.

Google Answers required users to pay researchers a minimum of $2.50 for an answer to their question. No question, no matter how ridiculous, goes without some careful thought. For example, Google Answers taught us exactly how many tyrannosaurs are in a gallon of gasoline, why flies survive a good microwaving, and why you really shouldn't drink water emitted by your air conditioner.

In spite of Google’s exhaustive efforts, competitors are offering similar “Q&A” services at no charge. The Yahoo! Answers service, which was started less than a year ago, has eclipsed the popularity of Google Answers. Independent startups like Answerbag.com have also stepped into the market with success.

The closure of Google Answers may be a sign that the Mountain View company is refocusing its business back in its core competency – Internet search.

“Google Answers was a great experiment which provided us with a lot of material for developing future products to serve our users,” software engineers Andrew Fikes and Lexi Baugher wrote in the blog. “We'll continue to look for new ways to improve the search experience and to connect people to the information they want.”