What do Utahns Google? Answers may come as surprise

Of note, Google Trends is still in the early stages of development. "We hope you find this service interesting and entertaining, but you probably don't want to write your Ph.D. dissertation based on this information," its Web site warns.

As use of Google Trends has become more popular, the FBI, among others, noticed that Utah and Salt Lake City were often coming up as No. 1 for searches of sex-related terms. The FBI even discussed that last year at an annual child-abuse and family-violence conference, warning parents to keep a close eye on Net use by youths.

The Deseret Morning News then decided to use Google Trends to see how Utah and/or its cities rank on a variety of terms that might be expected to be popular in the local culture — and found dozens where it ranked in the top 10 or higher.

We're No. 1

So what are the categories of search terms where Utah or some of its local cities lead the nation or world for all years searched by Google Trends? They include:

RECREATION: Salt Lake City is No. 1 in the world and in the nation among cities in Google searches for: "snowboarding" (world); "snowmobiling" (world); "Utah Jazz" (world); "movies" (nation); and "Wendover" (world).

Other terms or phrases for which Utah (not just Salt Lake City) is No. 1 in the nation among states include "NBA" and "pictograph."

Utah is also No. 2 in the nation for "mountain," "Idaho Lottery" and "Las Vegas." It is No. 3 for "national park"; No. 4 for "camping" and "off-road"; No. 5 for "skateboarding" and "petroglyph"; No. 6 for "Disney" and "skiing"; and No. 8 for "fishing."

LITERATURE: Utah is No. 1 in the world or nation for: "Shakespearean" (world); "Fellowship of the Ring" (nation); "Harry Potter" (nation); "Lord of the Rings" (nation); "Return of the King" (nation); "The Two Towers" (nation); and "Orson Scott Card" (a science-fiction writer who is LDS). Salt Lake City is also No. 1 for "Frodo."

FOOD: Utah ranks No. 1 nationally for "root beer" (Salt Lake City is No. 2 in the world for that). Utah is No. 2 nationally for "chocolate" and "s'mores" and No. 4 for "Jell-O" (while Salt Lake City itself was No. 2 among cities); and No. 9 for "ice cream."

RELIGION-RELATED TOPICS: Salt Lake City is No. 1 in the world for "genealogy" and "family history." Provo is No. 1 in the world for "Mormon," "Joseph Smith" and "Mitt Romney" (the presidential candidate who is LDS).

Utah is No. 1 nationally for "Jesus" and No. 2 for "family" and "preparedness." Salt Lake City is No. 1 nationally for "home storage."