Silly Google dig shows states most obsessed with UFOs, herpes
Amusing but highly unscientific map shows states most drawn to cat pics, unicorn tattoos, and where you should be on the lookout for cold sores.
- Finalist for the Nesta Tipping Point prize and a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Before you plan your summer road trip across the US, I strongly advise taking a look at the map above to get an idea of what you might be getting yourself into. I mean, there's a lot to see and do in Texas, but you might want to be careful about who you get intimate with in the Lone Star state, considering more people there search Google for "Do I have Herpes?" than any other state.
At least that's according to the bizarre data nerds at Estately, who came up with a bunch of strange terms and then plugged them into Google Trends to see which state searches for them the most. Keep in mind, the viral map doesn't show the top search overall in each state. (That's probably people typing "Facebook" as a search query in every state because they still don't understand how URLs work.) Rather, it shows a term that people in each state search for more than in any other state.
In other words, Estately -- which previously brought us a map of states most likely to survive the zombie apocalypse -- plugged random terms into Google Trends until it found a term that every state leads the way in searching for, so it's hardly scientific. That said, it is filled with hilarity and cautionary tales.
Some results aren't surprising, like the fact that my home state of New Mexico searches for "UFOs" on Google more than any other. Utah certainly shocked me with the revelation that its residents are really into the Kama Sutra, however.
If you're searching for Sasquatch, you're probably wasting your time, unless you're searching for Bigfoot on Google, in which case you're probably in Idaho.
According to this map, the family summer road trip we currently have planned will take us through lands where folks love to search for "twerking," "butt implants," and "nudist colony," among others.
On second thought, maybe we'll just stay home with the rest of the UFO-obsessed folks; at least they're not that weird.