The #1 Word That West Virginians Ask Google How to Spell Is “West Virginia” And Other Spelling Oddities

The Scripps National Spelling Bee was last night, and if you watched it, you saw 13-year-olds spelling complicated words you’ve never heard before.  Compare that to the words WE struggle to spell.

Google Trends just posted some new data on the top words that each state is Googling how to spell.  So, they’re literally searching “how do you spell [blank].”  It’s unclear how they’re capturing that, especially if you’re REALLY OFF on your spelling.

Illinois’s toughest word to spell is “anniversary,” apparently.

Here are some other highlights:

1.  Some states had understandable stumbles.  The #1 search in Utah is for “boutonniere” . . . in Mississippi it’s “independent” . . . in D.C. it’s “bearable” . . . in New Mexico it’s “bologna” . . . in Tennessee it’s “pneumonia” . . . in Idaho it’s “Tokyo” . . . and in Michigan it’s “lose.”  As opposed to LOOSE.

2. Other states were also tripped up by words that sound similar or even the same.  The #1 search in Missouri is for “dessert” . . . in both Vermont and Louisiana it’s “gray” . . . and in New Hampshire it’s “their,” T-H-E-I-R.

3.  People in New Hampshire weren’t the only ones struggling with “I before E . . . except after C . . . and except in these exceptions.”  The #1 search in Washington is for “experience” . . . in Arizona it’s “scientist” . . . and in Nevada it’s “seizure.”

4.  These words we maybe should’ve figured out by now:  The #1 search in Oklahoma is for “business” . . . in Oregon it’s “awkward” . . . in Wyoming it’s “autumn” . . . in Illinois it’s “anniversary” . . . and in Florida it’s “separate.”

5.  Other states had strange mental blocks.  The #1 search in Alabama is for “exercise” . . . in Kentucky it’s “again” . . . in Colorado it’s “choice” . . . in Ohio it’s “choir” . . . in New Jersey it’s “thousand” . . . in Kansas it’s “princess” . . . in South Dakota it’s “beautifully” . . . and in both Montana and Nebraska it’s “beautiful.”

6.  Other states that are asking how to spell BASIC WORDS.  The #1 search in North Dakota is for “sorry,” possibly due to its proximity to Canada . . . in Georgia it’s “little” . . . in South Carolina it’s “college” . . . in Alaska it’s “cheese” . . . In Arkansas it’s “therapy” . . . in Indiana it’s “awesome” . . . in Virginia it’s “prank” . . . in Texas it’s “normal” . . . and in California it’s “tomato,” which is supposed to be tricky to pronounce, not to spell.

7.  Weirdest of all, in Hawaii they’re struggling with “Kauai,” the name of one of the Hawaiian islands . . . and in West Virginia it’s “WEST VIRGINIA.”  (???)

To review every state, you can find the Google Trends data, here.