In The Blogs

Americans Search for Wizards, Cupcakes, and Sex Toys More Often Than "Financial Crisis"

This is a fun game you can play at home. Go to Google Trends and see what Americans are searching for online more frequently than the term "financial crisis." I have an example below, in which I set the time period to September 2008. Turns out "wizards," "cupcakes," and "sex toys" retain their popularity in times of national emergency.

financial_crisis_google_search.jpg

Several search terms dwarfed "financial crisis" so thoroughly that they made the chart unusable. They included:

"Bristol Palin": searched for 17.5 times more often than "financial crisis" in September
"Puppies": 24.4 times
"Vacation": 28.6 times
"Fashion": 44 times
"Fantasy Football": 44 times
"Baseball": 50.5 times
"Sex": 292 times

image
image
Get Mother Jones by Email - Free. Like what you're reading? Get the best of MoJo three times a week.
Comments
no profile pic for comment author

Does anyone that works for Ma Jones actually look at the site before you publish this stuff?

Kind of makes you look like an offender when you follow every blog with a story about Radiohead.

Nothing wrong with writing about Radiohead, if that's all you can do, but if you want to lament the fact that Americans prefer cupcakes and puppies to economic info, then don't follow stories about Wall Street with a recipe for puppy-shaped cupcakes... smart, fearless cupcakes though they be.

no profile pic for comment author

Nice job, Stein. I guess I'm supposed to assume that average americans just don't care enough about the issues to take time away from searching for sex and wizards. What a bunch of ignorant, proletariat slobs . . .

But wait! Maybe Americans don't search google for news of the financial crisis because Google news has not one but THREE links to stories about it. Why would anyone type in the phrase "financial crisis" when you have your choice of links? Every time you turn on the TV, you hear about the bailout; there is simply no need to type a phrase into google to learn about a ridiculously hot-button issue! In no way, shape or form is this statistical finding a reasonable proxy for Americans' interest levels in the financial crisis.

no profile pic for comment author

mjameson writes: Why would anyone type in the phrase "financial crisis" when you have your choice of links?

Right.

It's not like the news of the financial crisis is hidden, and we have to dig to find it.

The searches for puppy dogs & sex toys probably demonstate a need for relief from the depressing news of the financial crisis!

no profile pic for comment author

It's true, why would you google "financial crisis"? Presumably, anyone who cares already prefers some given media outlet, and it's being heavily covered in every media outlet so far as I can tell.

Meanwhile, if I have a query about wizards or cupcakes, I might need to do some digging, there's nothing in today's NYT about it.

no profile pic for comment author

Look at the level of 'Financial Crisis' searches before September 14th.

Nobody but Ron Paul was talking about it then.

Not the Democrats.

Not the Republicans.

Not the Media (Mainstream OR Mother Jones variety).

Nobody paid the slightest bit of attention until events proved Dr. Paul to be correct, and now, of course, they'd all like to pretend that Dr. Paul never even tried to draw their attention to the problem that was so obvious to him, and all who refused to wear the blinders. It would amount to an admission of malfeasance on the part of all those entities. But if the shoe fits...

no profile pic for comment author

It's because they are all searching for the term "bailout". 5x the cupcakes rate

http://www.google.com/trends?q=bailout%2C+financial+crisis%2C+cupcakes&c...

no profile pic for comment author

Roll Out the Barrel. We'll All Have Barrels of Funds

Solid business used to be the goal. Today, running the show into the sewer and begging for a handout is the game. With auditing practices complex enough to fool the fox in the hen house, with CEOs who let the dice roll instead of maintaining a safety valve for investors and stock holders, we're "led" to the alters, the wars, the echoes in the mall and the silence between national drumbeats so thin the music doesn't even play.

The loan sharks are in the bedroom. Its din din for Jesus and the cash. This Wallow Land of epistemic opacity and eulogistic sound bytes, runs up the tab, bears arms for oil, or sits under the Congressional flagpole waiting for the next job, the next hurricane, the next foreclosure, the next shoe to drop from Uncle Sam's never ending slog to corporate victory.

What an orgy. Create the crisis. Demand payback for years of economic polymorphic perversion. Streamline the hedge funds with no promise of return. Add Presidential power at the Congressional Dance Hall this week. We'll hold our breath while the global financiers pant for more. In this flushed out game of drop the soap, perhaps a worldly body condom is in order.

no profile pic for comment author

Even more important (118x) than cupcakes or wizards: iphone. What does that tell us about the Google public?

no profile pic for comment author

Hey great work with this

Hey great work with this post about Americans Search for Wizards, Cupcakes, and Sex Toys More Often Than "Financial Crisis"

no profile pic for comment author

Pleasure not pain

This tells me that people are searching more for pleasure instead of frustration and disappointment. Which is not surprising as people tend to lean towards pleasure rather than pain when it comes to most things.

no profile pic for comment author

Impresive thing

yes but much vibrator sex toy is best for me and other women.

Post a comment
Alternately, you may login to or register an account
The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <ul> <ol> <li> <blockquote> <img>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options


Jail.org - Inmate Search
Criminal records, instant public records & people search & current court records. www.jail.org

U.S. Public Records Search
Search County & State Court Records, Criminal records, Vital and Adoption Records www.PublicRecordsInfo.com

Records.com - People Search
Public Records and Background Checks. Instantly Search Criminal Records, Addresses and Court Records www.Records.com

Court Records & County Records
Find Instant Public Records, Criminal Records as Well as County Property Records Search. www.PublicRecordsIndex.com

Mother Jones Podcast
Get in on the conversation! We talk about culture, politics, the environment, the economy and more. Listen now!

TalkBackTees.com
A treasure trove of liberal wit, wisdom and quotations, from ancient to modern, on colorful, cotton tees.

Support Independent Artists
Amazing art, crafts, apparel, paper-goods and more. A carefully curated selection of sundries since 1999.

FREE CONNECTIONS FOR GREEN SINGLES
Meet progressive singles in the environmental, vegetarian & animal rights community who share your values