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This Map Show’s Every State’s Favorite Cereal and the Results Are Surprising

None of the winners are magically delicious and that bothers me.

cereal-map-full

Real estate blog Movoto likes to do fun things with data about where people live, and their latest effort compiled data from Facebook to see what brand of cereal each state “Liked” the most. I never would have guessed the two frontrunners.

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Special K and Cinnamon Toast Crunch dominate the field, with Frosted Mini Wheats and Froot Loops being the only other cereals to even make the board. That’s surprising to me because none of those cereals are Lucky Charms, the Undisputed All-Time Champion Greatest Breakfast Cereal*.

To compile the data for the map, Movoto staff writer Natalie Grigson looked at the top-selling cereal brands based on revenue generated in 2013. Here’s the list of the top ten.

  1. Honey Nut Cheerios
  2. Frosted Flakes
  3. Honey Bunches of Oats
  4. Cheerios
  5. Cinnamon Toast Crunch
  6. Special K
  7. Frosted Mini Wheats
  8. Lucky Charms
  9. Froot Loops
  10. Raisin Bran

#8? Seriously? Did I mention Lucky Charms is the single greatest cereal ever created in history and that fact’s been proven by science**?

Grigson then looked at the total Facebook likes for the official page of each cereal on the list and broke those numbers down by state. So why did Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Special K dominate? Grigson said about CTC, “There’s something so magical and comforting about this cereal—perhaps it’s all the sugar they pack into each serving, but we just love the stuff.”

She also has a suggestion for an update to the “Special K Challenge” saying, “Do you know what the Special K Challenge should be? Finding any state in the U.S. where fewer than 4,000 people Like Special K.” That’d be difficult considering the Facebook page for Special K has almost three million Likes.

One possible explanation for the dominance of Special K despite it not having ANY marshmallows or magical deliciousness is that there’s a wide range of varieties in the Special K brand, but only one Facebook page. The have a number of serials, but also snack bars, crackers, and other types of food. Their constant assurance to consumers that they’ll help them lose weight is probably a large factor as well.

How did your favorite cereal fair, and is your favorite cereal Lucky Charms? If not, why?

*Title honorary and only recognized by Glen.

**No it hasn’t. Glen’s just making that up.

(via Movoto)

Previously in the science of cereal

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Author
Glen Tickle
Glen is a comedian, writer, husband, and father. He won his third-grade science fair and is a former preschool science teacher, which is a real job.

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