Following on the last post, another link from Neal at Literal-Minded: Interactive map showing the frequency, by state, of search terms on Allrecipes.com in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. Regional variation in menus (why don't the Dakotas like "green bean casserole"?!? how many people in Idaho did it take to push "butternut squash" over the tipping point?) and sometimes in vocabulary (check out "yam" vs. "sweet potato") are obvious and interesting.
Careful in your interpretation, though. There are, for example, comparatively few searches for "pie crust" in the South. My assumption (totally stereotype-based) is that this is not because Southerners don't eat pie at Thanksgiving, but more likely because Southerners know how to make pie crust. Or maybe if they don't know how to make it, they buy refrigerated pie crust. I think I know someone who could probably tell me the answer to that one.
If, like me, you grew up in one region of the country and now live in a different one, you may find the results especially relevant.
...or because many Southerners say "pie dough" instead.
Posted by: Jamie | 17 December 2009 at 09:34 AM
Ha! I thought of that too after I wrote this comment and then I posted commentary to that effect on Neal's website.
I noticed you're a commenter on Literal-Minded too, which is not a surprise. Me, I am an *amateur* language geek.
Posted by: bearing | 17 December 2009 at 09:57 AM
I thought that I was the only one who wanted deviled eggs on Thanksgiving. They are not just for Pioneer Day (24th of July for you non-Utahans) anymore!
Posted by: Christy P. | 17 December 2009 at 10:07 AM
Oh, my family has deviled eggs on Thanksgiving too!
Posted by: bearing | 17 December 2009 at 10:54 AM