Thanksgiving Google Trends: Shoofly Pie, Potato Candy, and “When Is Black Friday?”

It’s Thanksgiving week, and chances are you’ve already been Googling a LOT of holiday-related nonsense . . . like, “how to make Thanksgiving food” or “how to un-invite Uncle Rick without him getting mad?”

Google Trends has released some data on what people have been Googling so far, and here are a few highlights:

1.  A lot of people want recipes for potato dishes, but some things are more popular in certain states, compared to others.

Many states like:  Au gratin potatoes . . . cheesy potatoes . . . mashed or SMASHED potatoes . . . various potato soups . . . and baked potatoes.

And then there’s the SPECIAL states:  California is looking for potato tacos . . . Maine is Googling potato donuts . . . Georgia is cooking the Irish dish colcannon, which is usually potatoes and cabbage . . . and Tennessee is planning on whipping up some POTATO CANDY.

2.  Pies are also a common Google search.  Many states are looking for the normal varieties . . . like cherry, apple, pumpkin, pecan, and sweet potato pie.

And then there’s the SPECIAL states:  Oregon is looking for tamale pie . . . Pennsylvania has shoofly pie on the menu . . . Louisiana is making Mississippi mud pie . . . in Mississippi they’re just calling it “chocolate pie” . . . and Nebraska is REALLY mixing things up with FRITO CHILI PIE.  (???)

3.  The top questions people are asking Google include:

“How many pounds of potatoes, per person, for Thanksgiving?”

“When to thaw turkey for Thanksgiving?”

“How many turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving?”

And “Why do we eat turkey on Thanksgiving?”

4.  Another top trending Thanksgiving question over the past week is “How to watch Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.”

5.  And yet another popular search query is:  “What time does ‘Black Friday’ start?”  (I know people are wondering about SALES, which can start early, but I really just want to answer:  “On Friday.  Friday morning.”)

On a related-note, searches for “Is Cyber Monday still a thing?” are up 350%.

6.  Overall, Texas has been the state with the MOST Thanksgiving-related searches so far.  Which makes sense.  Everything is bigger in Texas, and now that includes search histories!

7.  Of all dishes, people are searching for green bean casserole the most, which suggests that’s the one we NEVER make unless it’s Thanksgiving.