The brightest minds on Earth have known that our world is round since at least the day Pythagoras made his calculations in ancient Greece, more than 2,000 years ago.
But as you may have guessed from watching fights with family and old friends on Facebook, up to 10 percent of Americans still believe the Earth is flat, according to survey data collected in 2021.
If you’re looking for an offline place to get away from conversations about ‘Flat Earth’ conspiracy theories (or perhaps where to go to join your fellow true believers), a reanalysis of Google searches in the 50s US states might be helpful.
Die-hard flat-Earthers may want to bundle up before heading to Alaska, whose residents were the most likely to search for information on the widely discredited theory.
And those who want to drop the “flat Earth” debate altogether may want to find a space in the densely populated state of New Jersey, which had the least interest in online research per 10,000 residents.
Find out below if you live in a “Flat State” or a “Round State”.
Despite experiencing the famous “midnight sun” and other seasonal phenomena confirming the round shape of the Earth, Alaskans proved to be the most curious about “flat Earth” theories, writing 23,040 searches about Earth. flat just last year, or 314.33 searches per 10,000 residents.
According to a 2021 survey, up to 10 percent of Americans still believe the Earth is flat.
The map was created using data from the Google Keyword Tool, specifically the number of searches by state for the terms “flat earth,” “flat landlords,” and “the Earth is flat” over the past 12 months, going back to August 2022 to August 2023. .
Since the population in each state varies, the total number of searches was adjusted to reflect the total number of searches per 10,000 residents in each state.
Despite experiencing the famous ‘midnight Sun‘ and other seasonal phenomena that directly confirm the round shape of the Earth, Alaskans proved most curious about ‘Flat Earth’ theories: residents wrote There were 23,040 Flat Earth-related searches last year alone, which is equivalent to approximately 314.33 searches per 10,000 inhabitants.
Colorado natives came in second with 183,000 searches, or 311.83 per 10,000 people, followed in order by Wyoming (third), Washington (fourth), and Hawaii (fifth), interestingly all states west of the Mississippi River.
East of the Mississippi, New Jersey residents came first in the debate over the shape of the Earth, though some were still curious. During the last year, about There were 165,120 searches for ‘Flat Earth’ in the Garden State, which equates to approximately 178.40 Google queries per 10,000 Jersey residents.
Similarly, skeptical Americans in Mississippi, Kansas, Wisconsin and Virginia made their states competitive in the bottom five, according to the evidence.
The calculation of the numbers was done by BetKentucky: a new information service that arose after the passage of House Bill 551 in the Blue Grass State earlier this year, allowing racetracks in the state to become licensed sports betting facilities.
“For those interested in Kentucky’s ranking,” the BetKentucky staff added, “the state was ranked 37th on our list.”
“Perhaps Bluegrass residents are more focused on new Kentucky sports betting apps,” they suggested, “than on wild theories.”
