The Killing Field

Even in the burgeoning era of ChatGPT, we still Google a lot of things. And it probably shouldn’t surprise any observers of human behavior that one of questions most often enter into the search field is how to kill stuff. WaPo (Gift Article) “combed Google Trends and pulled down hundreds of files on two decades of U.S. search habits, seeking an unfiltered glimpse into what Americans are trying to kill.” As you might imagine, insects of all types feature prominently on our kill list. And it gets darker from there. Here’s what Americans want to kill, according to Google. “A deep dive into Google Search data led us on a somewhat disturbing journey into the American psyche.” You know I’m working hard to avoid the day-before presidential debate hype and “analysis” if I’m willing to escape it by way of the American psyche… Thankfully, not all our kill searches are that disturbing. “A great many Americans, especially in rural areas, want to know ‘how to kill time.'” With this article, you’ve got your first 7-8 minutes covered.

+ For something a little less deadly, here are the 20 most-Googled text abbreviations.