R. Luke DuBois‘ statistical maps of word use in dating website profiles have been making the rounds lately, at least, the ones that have city names replaced with the most common (non-prepositional) word used in the dating profiles located in those cities.
But the rest of his maps are just as interesting, like the above one where it appears that Wyoming’s population is the loneliest in the nation.
Red represents women, blue represents men. Brighter colors mean more singles using that word in their dating profiles.
Words for these graphs are taken only from the sections of the profiles in which the users described themselves. If we’re reading this correctly, Wyoming’s lovely lavender hides many a bleeding heart.
But that’s not the only interesting conclusion one can draw from DuBois’ data. Â Use of the word “happy” appears to skew very female… except in south Texas where things even out a bit more, and what is up with south-eastern Kentucky?
Wyoming also appears to be very not-kinky. However, ladies and gentlemen, correlation does not imply causation.
And if you’re a kinky guy looking for a kinky girl in southern New Mexico, it looks like you’re SOL. Try Alaska, or southern West Virginia.
But this isn’t where it ends; DuBois created graphs like these for almost thirty different words, including bored, rich, techno, crazy, spanking, and virgin. Go ahead and check them out.
(via @Wired.)
