Cyclical search

I caught a post on Google's blog this morning, touting the company's new Google Trends functionality. For those who aren't familiar with it, Google Trends allows you to view the historical popularity of search terms. I immediately delved into the technical nuances ("Google Trends scales the first term you've entered so that its average search volume is 1.00 in the chosen time period..." yada, yada), but they quickly put me to sleep. What really caught my eye was one thing: Ice Cream...

That's right, they chose the summertime favorite to help illustrate the historical volume and cyclical nature of search. And what do you know if people don't search for ice cream more in Summer than in Winter!? Revolutionary. So, I gave a quick think as to some other Summer search terms specific to my adopted British home. Let's have a look shall we.

Pimms, the (sickeningly) sweet summer libation, scored well (notice the mid-year spikes and absolute lack of interest at the year ends!):

 

Even beer, the perennial British beverage, scored well in the Summer (Lager didn't graph so well - I think it's a demographic thing):

But how popular is Pimms as compared to beer? You guessed it...

Let's step it up a notch with a look at some resort town rivalries. Without thinking, decide quickly which do you think is more searched for, Brighton, or Blackpool? Perhaps surprisingly, the Sussex seafront edges in with a healthy lead:

Finally, a fun one for you: Blackpool vs. Brighton vs. Wimbledon vs. Glastonbury, thrown in for good measure...you'll see that poor, soggy Glastonbury can't hold a flame to the hallowed grounds of tennis' oldest and most high profile tournament (something to do with Jay-Z?)      ;-)