The Strange Things Each State Is Googling Right Now

Career resources company Zippia recently mined Google Trends data from April 2020 to August 2020 in an attempt to discover what offbeat topics are ruling people’s search bars in different states. The results are in, and the map below is a rather eclectic portrait of a nation in quarantine.

The most consistent theme throughout the country seems to be alcohol, though there’s a total lack of consensus when it comes to what kind. Mississippi and South Carolina have beaten the heat with frosty treats—vodka pops and frosé, a portmanteau of frozen rosé, respectively—and Minnesota has kept it classy with boxed wine. New Mexico has taken up day drinking, while their neighbors to the north in Colorado are asking Google “how to stop drinking” altogether.

States have various ways of coping with the absence of dine-in restaurants, too. Rhode Island is getting lots of Chinese takeout, but Alaska favors pizza delivery. Residents of Washington state, on the other hand, are learning “how to roll sushi.” And although Nevada is experiencing an influx of people “going vegan,” plenty of other Americans are really leaning into meat: “hot wings,” “BBQ,” “Chick-fil-A,” “chicken nuggets,” and “McDonald’s value menu,” are all on the map.

Other states are keeping busy in the kitchen. Hawaiians are baking banana bread, Vermontians are tending to sourdough starters, and Michiganders are figuring out how to turn cannabis into spreadable “cannabutter.”

People in Missouri are apparently searching for meth recipes, which we’re assuming just means that Breaking Bad binge-watchers are curious about the science behind the show. And if you see someone snoozing on the job in Florida, don’t be surprised—Floridians are picking up tips on “how to sleep at work.”

See Zippia’s full breakdown here.