Google’s Autocomplete Suggestions for “Why is Idaho the” Are Offensive
Ever get so bored you're just playing around with the Google search tool? I was bouncing back and forth between all the apps: Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Credit Karma (I'm a little stressed over some recent purchases), and I saw every last thing I could possibly see. Literally my Instagram informed me that I got through the entire feed and there were no new posts. My Snapchat friends had better things to do so I had no one to talk to on there. Facebook kept suggesting I friend request people I hate, so I dipped out on that. Twitter was annoying me with Jeff Bezos nonsense. Credit Karma assured me my credit is still average at best. What else could I do but hit up Google for random searches.
I typed "why is Idaho the" and I was going to complete it with fastest growing state for research on a future article, but was unpleasantly surprised at the autocomplete answers that showed up. The first was harmless enough; why is Idaho the gem state? That's a typical question that I would expect especially if anyone was doing a report on Idaho for school. It was the following two that surprised me.
Why is Idaho the...
dumbest state
most boring state
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Why are people searching that?! Naturally I had to see what popped up. As for Idaho being the dumbest, a collection of studies pops up that ranks Idaho last in intelligence and/or in the top 10 for being dumb. Looks like it has to do with an analysis of school systems and percentage of college educated people. I suppose research studies have merit, but damn. Just seems really harsh.
As for Idaho being boring, results popped up for various studies ranking Idaho as boring based on criteria that I don't think is particularly fair. One study takes the following factors into consideration:
- Percent of the population over 60
- Percent of the population over 15 that is married
- Percent of household with kids
- Population density
Listen, I'm married and have kids and am one of the most fun humans ever. And obviously I'm not the only one. Also, older people can be fun! This is just so subjective and I disagree. Again, why are people searching this?!
In defiance of these autocomplete suggestions, I'm going to take a difficult online quiz about science and then go out for a night of dancing downtown. Take that, Google!
13 Very Idaho Ways to Spend $10,000
Gallery Credit: Michelle Heart