As the world sits at home wondering what to do with themselves, international gambling company Betway has gotten to work on some very serious business: calculating the Google Search Data and Instagram hashtags of an enormous range of International Food Days over the course of a sixteen-year search history (2004-2020). Data was collected from the United States and the United Kingdom.
As people become more connected and interested in cuisine around the globe, it is interesting to see how trends in the collective taste have evolved over time, and what piques people’s curiosity. Betway ranked the most popular searches to get right down to the nitty-gritty of culinary data research.
In the fruit category, watermelon was the clear winner, followed by Avocado Day and Strawberry Day. (If you’re starting a psychedelic band, you may find inspiration here!) In fast food, Pizza Day proved victorious, followed by Burger Day and Hot Dog Day. Chew on that.
Photo by Dzenina Lukac from Pexels
In the United States, the Top 10 most searched national days designated to foods were National Sandwich Day, National Ice Cream Day, and – surprisingly – National Onion Rings Day, which has seen an increase in interest from 2004 to now, coming in with 1,500%.
Some of the days in the Top 10 won’t come as a surprise – looking at you, doughnuts and grilled cheese sandwiches – but it might shock some to see Eat a Red Apple and Eat a Peach day scoring so highly. Does the increased interest show that the USA is moving towards more fruity fulfilling food goodness?
Over the course of the sixteen-year period, people must really have been jonesing for sandwiches and feeling a need to celebrate their deliciousness, because the search percentage rose a staggering 2700% since 2004. The real sleeper hit was National Rice Ball Day, which rose 1300%.
So which day is the top dish in each category? Slicing out a victory in the fast-food category is National Pizza Day with 304,084. When it comes to breakfast, waffles reign supreme with 41,934 of the vote, beating out reliable staples like cereal and oatmeal. Lobster claws its way to success in the seafood category with 19,120, prime rib takes a prime position for meats with 2312.
Over in the UK, there were substantially fewer searches, but the British public seemed most keen to learn about Pancake Tuesday, National Pizza Day and National Burger Day. The data shows that Britons love soup! Homemade soup to be precise, with +5,800% increase in the number of people searching for this national day.
Yorkshire Pudding Day, a British classic, comes second with a 3,200% increase in interest. Of course, National Tea Day makes the Top 10, though some will be surprised at its low placement.
Taking a quick look around the globe, it turns out that Australia is crazy for chocolate, with Nutella Day taking the top spot with 1,300%. World Chocolate Day is also number one in India with +1,271%, whilst in New Zealand, International Falafel Day is number one with +1,700%.
Overall, Coffee Day seems to be the winner of the combined searches. National Coffee Day came in hot, scoring 611,414. This national day made a mug out of other foodie favorites such as pie and peanut butter to take our top spot. Fire up that percolator and pour yourself a cup of hot java.
Every day is International Coffee Day in our hearts. Mark your calendars!
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