Dogs Or Cats: Which Wins The Internet?

On September 17, 2016 by Tim Newman

Today, the majority of humans have access to more data than we could ever need or want. Even just a couple of decades ago, most people had access to zero data. And no one cared.

In reality, most of us aren’t ever going to use the data we have at our finger tips, so today, I decided to get my hands on some and generate some graphs. It’s good, clean, non-dangerous and free. That’s right up my street.

I took it upon myself to find the answer to the eternal question that has plagued mankind for millennia: are cats more popular than dogs, or vice versa? It’s a worthy question and a real chin-scratcher.

I decided to answer this question by using Google Trends. If you’ve never used it before, it’s a Google-run platform that allows you to see how many people are Googling what, where they’re doing it and when. It is “fun,” if you like that sort of thing, which I do.

So here’s your first chart. Over the last 5 years, have people Googled cats or dogs more often?:

So there you have it. The dogs win, comfortably. But, of course, as the old saying goes – “lies, damn lies and statistics.” This needed a deeper dive. So, I compared “dog meme” and “cat meme.” Here’s the comparison, and it switches things up. Suddenly, the cats have got the edge; it’s narrow, but it’s an edge nonetheless:

A meme’s a meme though. Does that really translate into popularity? I don’t know. How about “dog video” vs. “cat video”?:

The dogs are back in charge. How about if we look at the daily admin of looking after an animal, though? Here’s “cat food” vs “dog food.” Bringing it straight back down to earth, dogs are still in charge with a substantial lead:

And, you can make of this what you want:

Is this really telling us anything? Perhaps not. A worldwide picture is perhaps too inclusive. It’s time to dive into some country-specific data. Once you start examining this data, you see that the dog is not in charge on a global basis:

The planet is split, isn’t it? North America is very pro dog, Central and South America, however, are very pro cat (except Bolivia, strangely). Is this why Trump wants to build a wall? Is this the seat of the division? No. I doubt it.

Just so you know, when you drill down into Bolivia, they are mostly pro cat, but for some reason, the Chiquisaca region is so very pro dog that it’s skewing the results:

In contrast, Russia is CAT through and through:

I think that’ll do. In conclusion: I have wasted my time here, and so have you. Bye.

MORE STATS:

META-ANALYSIS: LESS BORING THAN YOU THOUGHT?