Everyday Systems

Google just release a fascinating little tool that lets you search millions of books and plot the frequency with which your terms occur across time.

Below are a few that might be of interest to no-essers.

Warning: very addictive. Don't click if you have something important to do in the next hour and a half.

1.

http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?cont ... moothing=2

Note how recent "snacks" are. And note the correlation with another phenomenon (though to be fair, I'm sure I could also show a correlation to the use of certain four letter words or beauty products).

2. This doesn't bode well:

http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?cont ... moothing=2

3. What strikes me is how close all three terms are:

http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?cont ... moothing=2

4. And how pitifully behind less sound advice:

http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?cont ... moothing=2

Reinhard

Very interesting.
Thanks for the introduction to what could become a fun new toy.

Wow, check out the Great No Sweets Spike of 1820!

I think it must have something to do with a similar spike in the mother of all 4-letter words (is this data set for real???).

Here are another couple of surprising/suspicious trends:

http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?cont ... moothing=3

Is this because the words were used differently? ("exercise of arms," "the diet of Worms"). Even so, surprising.

Reinhard