Editing 2126: Google Trends Maps

{{comic
| number    = 2126
| date      = March 20, 2019
| title     = Google Trends Maps
| image     = google_trends_maps.png
| titletext = It's early 2020. The entire country is gripped with Marco Rubio fever except for Alaska, which is freaking out. You're frantically studying up on etiquette and/or sexting.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an ALLIGATOR. Each map needs to be individually explained. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[https://trends.google.com/ Google Trends] is a website for visualizing Google search activity by date and region. Used properly, it can give a picture of what topics people are interested in (as evidenced by what they search for) at particular times and in different places. Used improperly, it can simply [[1845:_State Word Map|amplify random noise]].

[[Randall]] has created several Google Trends maps of search activity in the US. Each map colors in states according to which of two (or more) search queries was more popular. As noted at the top of the comic, all of these based on real queries (though not reflecting the same time period across all maps). However, none of them seem to show any especially ''useful'' comparisons.

* "Frostbite" vs "heat stroke": This is probably the most sensible comparison of the lot, showing which of these two risks of exposure people search up more often. However, the results are fairly obvious: in the colder northern and eastern states, "frostbite" is the more common search, while across the south and west, it's "heat stroke".
* "Best church" vs "best strip club": This map would seem to indicate people in Nevada (and only in Nevada) are more interested in strip clubs than religion.
* "Bigfoot" vs "Mike Pence": Apparently, everywhere except for Indiana, people in the US are more interested in a fictitious hairy creature than in the current (at the time of this comic's release) Vice President of the United States.
* "Etiquette" vs "sexting": Similar to the church/strip club example, this map contrasts search interest in polite behavior against risqué behavior.
* "Little dog" vs "big cat": "Little Dog" is a television series. "Big cat" is a term for the largest members of the cat family (Felidae). Though the names are made up of opposites, there is no actual connection evident between these two things.
* "Shark attack" vs "childbirth": While both of these things might be considered risky, there is not much of a relationship between them. As might be expected, the "shark attack" search is more common in most coastal states (and, for some reason, both Kentucky and Nevada).
* "Snakes" vs "ants" vs "bees" vs "alligators": These are all dangerous animals that cause occasional human fatalities (mainly from allergic reactions for ants and bees). There is no noticeable pattern in which animal is searched most often, though only Florida has alligators as the most common search of the four. Florida presumably has Alligators as the most searched item on this list as it is where the Everglades are located, a vast area of swamp and marsh that, aside from maintaining the ecosystem and the water supply of Florida, also is home to an obscene amount of alligators.
* "Retirement planning" vs "bungee jumping": The implication here is that people in some states are more concerned with short-term fun rather than long-term planning.
* "Super bowl" vs "funeral home": This is an attempt to contrast interest in a popular sports (and media) event against a rather somber topic.
* "Resume tips" vs "skateboard tricks": Another comparison between learning a "serious", goal-oriented skill (career advancement) and a "silly", fun skill (skateboarding).
* "Donald Trump" vs "What do I do": The implication here seems to be that people in some states are more likely to ask Google "what do I do?", either in panic or in ignorance, than they are to look up the latest doings of the US President. The split shown is not too different to the actual split between states voting for Trump and for his opponent, Hillary Clinton.
* "Existential crisis" vs "Marco Rubio": Senator Marco Rubio was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. Everywhere but Alaska, people were more likely to look up his name than to search for "existential crisis".

The title text uses two of these maps to paint a picture of the year 2020 (implying that these search patterns are both meaningful and likely to continue into the future). In this scenario, most of the country continues to read about Marco Rubio (except for Alaskans, still searching for help with their existential crises), and individuals are trying to learn about etiquette, sexting, or both, depending on their location.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}