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Google Trends is a very interesting Google feature that Marc just introduced me to. In short, you type in a typical Google search term and it spits back a chart detailing how often people have conducted a Google search for that term in the past five years. You could theoretically use this to follow how trends are rising and falling (at least among those with access the internets and a preference for Google.) I took this thing for a test drive earlier to try to better understand our past and predict our future. Instead I just got thoroughly confused.
SEARCH: “PISTACHIO”
I understand the upswing toward the end of the past month, but why the slight annual jumps in October and November?
SEARCH: “LUCHADOR”
A steady increase in popularity! (Note: The release of Nacho Libre had absolutely no effect on the trend.)
SEARCH: “CHICKEN PARTY”
What the hell happened in mid-2006??
SEARCH: “BEAR DINOSAUR”
I'm having trouble understanding why this was ever searched. Ever.
