by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Yesterday I came across a most interesting article on the website of London newspaper, UK Daily Mail Online. It was a synopsis of research done by a property firm called Estately. The company had studied results from Google Trends on a state-by-state basis and used that information to compose a United States map showing what things interest people in each state. The map might be helpful in nudging potential home buyers either toward or away from particular states.
There was no information in the article indicating the time period covered by this research. The results range from hysterical to downright scary. For instance, the top three Google searches in Georgia were for Athlete's Foot, Butt Implants, and Cooking Crack - in that order. A similar trend regarding Crack was noted in Mississippi (Making Crack), Montana (Meth), Texas (How to cook meth? and Meth Recipes), and Wyoming (Crank). America's next generation of great chefs are out there surfing the Internet and collecting recipes! But the cooking wasn't all about meth. The top trend in Vermont was for a "Kale Recipe." Also, in Hawaii they were seeking recipes for cooking Spam.
One of the things that Californians want to know is "What does Siri look like?" One of the trending topics in Utah was the question, "What is the Internet?"
A couple of states were concerned with how to roll a joint, and Rhode Island wanted to know about "Beer Pong." (There's probably a class on it at Brown University.)
The top six queries for Texas were, in order: "Are dinosaurs real?", "Are zombies real?", "The Bill of Rights," "Boogers," "Calf Implants," and "Can dogs talk?" A bit further down on the Texas list were "Do I have herpes?", "Government Mind Control," and "How to Sell Your Soul to the Devil."
In addition to the aforementioned "Crank," Wyoming is obsessed with "Ann Coulter," "the Constitution," "Rush Limbaugh," "Sheep," and "Socialism." Make what you will of that, and pray for the sheep! Oklahoma, another state of great intellectual heft, wanted to know about "Atheism," "Benghazi," "Miley Cyrus," "Noodling," "Obama Muslim," "Pat Robertson," and "PT Cruiser."
And Arizona, a perennial favorite state of mine, most queried "Conjugal Visits" (Prisons are a major industry in Arizona and their lobbyists have a death grip on the state legislature.), "Hippies," "Scorpion Sting," and "How are babies made?" (It's an exceedingly elderly population, so perhaps they have forgotten!) I once googled "Scorpion Sting" while living in Arizona. It was the middle of the night, and I was curious as to whether I was about to die - or not.
Those are just a few samplers from this rich list of concerns by state. For the complete article which covers all fifty states, please see: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2636772/What-does-YOUR-state-search-Map-reveals-New-Yorkers-looking-bail-money-Maine-looking-cat-pics-Pennsylvania-pondering-shaving.html
I have printed it off and will take the list along as my grandson and I begin our road trip to Oregon next week. It may explain some things along the way!
Citizen Journalist
Yesterday I came across a most interesting article on the website of London newspaper, UK Daily Mail Online. It was a synopsis of research done by a property firm called Estately. The company had studied results from Google Trends on a state-by-state basis and used that information to compose a United States map showing what things interest people in each state. The map might be helpful in nudging potential home buyers either toward or away from particular states.
There was no information in the article indicating the time period covered by this research. The results range from hysterical to downright scary. For instance, the top three Google searches in Georgia were for Athlete's Foot, Butt Implants, and Cooking Crack - in that order. A similar trend regarding Crack was noted in Mississippi (Making Crack), Montana (Meth), Texas (How to cook meth? and Meth Recipes), and Wyoming (Crank). America's next generation of great chefs are out there surfing the Internet and collecting recipes! But the cooking wasn't all about meth. The top trend in Vermont was for a "Kale Recipe." Also, in Hawaii they were seeking recipes for cooking Spam.
One of the things that Californians want to know is "What does Siri look like?" One of the trending topics in Utah was the question, "What is the Internet?"
A couple of states were concerned with how to roll a joint, and Rhode Island wanted to know about "Beer Pong." (There's probably a class on it at Brown University.)
The top six queries for Texas were, in order: "Are dinosaurs real?", "Are zombies real?", "The Bill of Rights," "Boogers," "Calf Implants," and "Can dogs talk?" A bit further down on the Texas list were "Do I have herpes?", "Government Mind Control," and "How to Sell Your Soul to the Devil."
In addition to the aforementioned "Crank," Wyoming is obsessed with "Ann Coulter," "the Constitution," "Rush Limbaugh," "Sheep," and "Socialism." Make what you will of that, and pray for the sheep! Oklahoma, another state of great intellectual heft, wanted to know about "Atheism," "Benghazi," "Miley Cyrus," "Noodling," "Obama Muslim," "Pat Robertson," and "PT Cruiser."
And Arizona, a perennial favorite state of mine, most queried "Conjugal Visits" (Prisons are a major industry in Arizona and their lobbyists have a death grip on the state legislature.), "Hippies," "Scorpion Sting," and "How are babies made?" (It's an exceedingly elderly population, so perhaps they have forgotten!) I once googled "Scorpion Sting" while living in Arizona. It was the middle of the night, and I was curious as to whether I was about to die - or not.
Those are just a few samplers from this rich list of concerns by state. For the complete article which covers all fifty states, please see: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2636772/What-does-YOUR-state-search-Map-reveals-New-Yorkers-looking-bail-money-Maine-looking-cat-pics-Pennsylvania-pondering-shaving.html
I have printed it off and will take the list along as my grandson and I begin our road trip to Oregon next week. It may explain some things along the way!
1 comment:
Outstanding!!
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