So I was idly comparing different searches on Google Trends and followed the advice of a friend of mine, a former advertising executive, who told me that advertisers always want to focus advertising on the "things that wake you up at three in the morning."
So I started comparing the search frequencies for different scary words--anxiety (not so much), fear--higher, stress--about the same, war--very high, terror--very high, as well. But then I noticed something very strange. All the terms showed random or event-related spikes--except terror.
October is Terror Month!! Since 2004, terror searches have always peaked in October. Every.Single.Year. Here's that graph:
Chart: Google Terror Searches
This poses a mystery. An intriguing mystery--and I'm hoping the Great Kostectives can unravel it.
More below the fold:
There's more to the story as you read further down the chart:
First, the searches are highest in Mexico, followed by several Latin American countries.
As far as cities, only two American cities seem to score particularly high on these searches: Milpitas, CA and Sterling, VA.
So, is this the month they release all the new terror movies in South America? (And, disappointing as it may seem, does this mean this not some new Koch Brothers plot to scare Hispanics into not voting?) What can be the reason? AND
Should we be VERY, VERY WORRIED?
OR NOT?
Help me, Obi Wan Kos-nobi. You're my only hope!
7:26 AM PT: An Additional Question:
What's interesting in the Google Trends analysis is that this has been happening EVERY October, including in off-election years, since at least 2004. So, along with every major election cycle, when it makes sense that the Republican Party and its covert supporters would be pushing this narrative, the cycle also includes 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013--and that is why I'm asking those with more sophistication about Google Trends to help discover whether we have a really suspicious trend, an annual event with a more benign explanation or just a remarkable case of annual random noise....