Editing 522: Google Trends

{{comic
| number    = 522
| date      = December 26, 2008
| title     = Google Trends
| image     = google_trends.png
| titletext = Obama has been writing Lincoln/Obama erotic fan fiction on his secret livejournal. Excerpt: Lincoln lay back on the bed, nude save for his trademark stovepipe hat. 'Tell me,' he purred seductively, as he and Obama formed a more perfect union. 'When you come, is it 10% ethanol?'
}}

==Explanation==

{{w|Google Search|Google}} keeps track of which searches are most popular in which regions as part of more general data mining to improve their service. For the enjoyment/education of others, they release select, non-personal parts of this data under the banner "[http://www.google.com/trends/ Google Trends]."

The first statistic – that "Men kissing" was popular in {{w|Utah}}, a state known for possessing a large population with very conservative social values, including opposition to homosexuality – is real. The others are made up for the sake of the joke. In order:

*'''"Installing Ubuntu" – Redmond, WA''': {{w|Ubuntu}} is a {{w|Linux}} distribution; {{w|Redmond, Washington}} is home to {{w|Microsoft}}, the company that makes rival operating system {{w|Microsoft Windows|Windows}}.
*'''"Running for President in 2010" – Wasilla, AK''': 2010 was not a presidential election year in the United States; {{w|Wasilla, Alaska}} is home to {{w|Sarah Palin}}, a politician known for making such gaffes and who was {{w|John McCain}}'s {{w|running mate}} in the {{w|United States presidential election, 2008|2008 election}} that occurred a few weeks before this comic.
*'''"Lincoln Fan Fiction" – Chicago, IL''': {{w|Abraham Lincoln}} was the US president from 1861 to his assassination in 1865; {{w|Chicago, Illinois}} is home to {{w|Barack Obama}}, who apparently reads (presumably {{w|erotic}}) {{w|fanfiction}} about the former president.
*'''"Raptors on Hoverboards" – Somerville, MA''': {{w|Velociraptors}} are a favorite xkcd topic; there are also frequently references to ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' as with the {{w|hoverboards}} here. {{w|Somerville, Massachusetts}} is home to [[Randall Munroe]]. The speed of a ''Raptor on Hoverboard'' is given in [[526: Converting to Metric]].
*'''"How is babby formed" – Wasilla, AK''': "How is babby formed?" was the title (and most of the content) of an infamous Yahoo! Answers question (see the title text of [[481: Listen to Yourself]] and [[550: Density]]). Wasilla, Alaska is, again, home to {{w|Sarah Palin}}; a few months prior to this comic's release, Sarah Palin revealed that her daughter, {{w|Bristol Palin}}, was pregnant out of wedlock. Ironically, before her pregnancy, Bristol Palin advocated sexual abstinence before marriage<ref name="Time.com">Time (May 08, 2009). "[	Nancy Gibbs: In Defense of Bristol Palin, Abstinence Spokeswoman](https://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1896815,00.html)"</ref> as well as banning sex education in schools{{Actual citation needed}}. Ignorance of common contraceptives like condoms can cause unplanned pregnancies to happen.
*'''"I hate this website" – Mountain View, CA''': {{w|Mountain View, California}} is home to {{w|Google}}'s headquarters. The implication is that Google employees are putting "I hate this website" into Google.

With regards to the excerpt Randall provides in the title text:
*{{w|Slash fiction}} is a genre of fan fiction that focuses on homosexual behavior.
*Lincoln/Obama (pronounced Lincoln slash Obama) fan fiction normally should be between Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama.
*The "more perfect union" line comes from the preamble to the US Constitution: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union...". However, it seems to have a sexual connotation in this case.
*{{w|Ethanol}} is the more scientific name for drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol. 
*"{{w|Common ethanol fuel mixtures#E10_or_less|10% ethanol}}" refers to automotive gasoline that includes 10% ethanol (usually made from corn or other vegetables), with the hopes of reducing the dependence on oil for fuel.

==Transcript==
:Bloggers were recently amused to discover that,
:according to Google Trends, the search term:
:"men kissing" is most popular in conservative Utah.
:A few other embarrassing correlations:

:[A two-column table]
:[On the left side of the table:]
:;<u>Search Term</u>

:;Installing Ubuntu

:;Running for President in 2010

:;Lincoln Fan Fiction

:;Raptors on Hoverboards

:;How is babby formed?

:;I hate this website

:[On the right side of the table:]
:;<u>Top City</u>

:;Redmond, WA

:;Wasilla, AK

:;Chicago, IL

:;Somerville, MA

:;Wasilla, AK

:;Mountain View, CA

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Google Search]]
[[Category:Homosexuality]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]