Spurious correlation #1,682 · View random
A linear line chart with years as the X-axis and two variables on the Y-axis. The first variable is Google searches for 'im not even mad' and the second variable is Season wins for the Detroit Lions. The chart goes from 2004 to 2023, and the two variables track closely in value over that time.

A linear line chart with years as the X-axis and two variables on the Y-axis. The first variable is Google searches for 'im not even mad' and the second variable is Season wins for the Detroit Lions. The chart goes from 2004 to 2023, and the two variables track closely in value over that time.

Download png, svg

AI explanation

Fans' astonishingly low expectations created an aura of unpredictability, leading opposing teams to underestimate the Lions. As a result, the Lions were able to capitalize on this psychological advantage and secure surprising victories.

^{Show image generation prompt} Model: dalle-3
Prompt: Generate an image in the style of pop art that features a striking contrast between a graph displaying the rise in Google searches for "im not even mad" and another graph showing the steady increase in season wins for the Detroit Lions. Set this composition against the backdrop of a vibrant football field where the exuberant players are seen jubilantly celebrating their victories with a relaxed and carefree attitude, embodying the nonchalant vibe of the internet meme. Capture the essence of the meme's ironic and unaffected tone while infusing it with the bold and colorful aesthetic of pop art. The depiction should include only scenes, people, and objects, it should not include text or speech bubbles.

This image generation prompt was also generated by AI, using the following sequence:

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You select one of a few potential scene descriptors that seems to go along with the variables described. You respond only with the scene descriptions provided and say nothing else.
User prompt: Here are two variables: Google searches for 'im not even mad' and Season wins for the Detroit Lions. Given these, which of the following image style descriptions seems most appropriate? Pick the one that seems to be related to one of the variables at hand. Please respond with only one of the following potential descriptions: Brutalism Cute cartoon Glitch art Pop art Cutsy graphics
ChatGPT: Pop art

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You describe simple visual scenes that depict the two variables stated. You combine both variables into one scene.
User prompt: Please describe a visual scene that prominently depicts both Google searches for 'im not even mad' and Season wins for the Detroit Lions, in the following situation: As im not even mad searches increased, so did the Detroit Lions' Season Wins: It's clear that as people embraced the chill, nonchalant attitude of "im not even mad," they unknowingly transferred that energy to the Detroit Lions. This led to a more relaxed and laid-back team, who played with a carefree attitude akin to the internet meme itself. The players took on the mantra of "stay calm and roar on," leading to unexpected victories on the gridiron. As the search for zen-like acceptance of life's quirks soared, so did the Lions' success, proving that sometimes, a lack of emotional investment can be the ultimate winning strategy in the tumultuous game of football.. Keep the description simple.
ChatGPT: A graph shows the increase in Google searches for "im not even mad" over the backdrop of a football field. Meanwhile, a separate graph illustrates a steady rise in season wins for the Detroit Lions. The players are seen celebrating victories with a relaxed and carefree attitude, embodying the nonchalant vibe of the internet meme.

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You write and improve image generation prompts for DALLE-3. You maintain the same subjects, but enhance the visuals.
User prompt: Please respond with an image generation prompt that would be likely to create an interesting visual using DALLE-3, using the following style: [ Pop art ] and depicting this scene: A graph shows the increase in Google searches for "im not even mad" over the backdrop of a football field. Meanwhile, a separate graph illustrates a steady rise in season wins for the Detroit Lions. The players are seen celebrating victories with a relaxed and carefree attitude, embodying the nonchalant vibe of the internet meme. Keep the visual depiction simple. Do not include any words or speech bubbles.
ChatGPT: Generate an image in the style of pop art that features a striking contrast between a graph displaying the rise in Google searches for "im not even mad" and another graph showing the steady increase in season wins for the Detroit Lions. Set this composition against the backdrop of a vibrant football field where the exuberant players are seen jubilantly celebrating their victories with a relaxed and carefree attitude, embodying the nonchalant vibe of the internet meme. Capture the essence of the meme's ironic and unaffected tone while infusing it with the bold and colorful aesthetic of pop art.

*Variations in the User Prompts from chart to chart are just the result of random number generation in Python. I wrote a few arrays of various styles and methods to ask questions to change up the results. Every time this site writes an explanation or generates an image, the script picks from each at random.

I sequence the requests into multiple prompts because I find GPT 3.5 to perform much better with short, well-managed contexts. Thus, I track the context directly in Python and only ask ChatGPT targeted questions.
^{Show prompt for explanation} Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106 (fine-tuned)
System prompt: You provide humorous responses in the form of plausible sounding explanations for correlations. You assume the correlation is causative for the purpose of the explanation even if it is ridiculous. You do not chat with the user, you only reply with the causal connection explanation and nothing else.
User prompt: Please make up a funny explanation for how increases in im not even mad (Google searches for 'im not even mad') positively influenced Season wins for the Detroit Lions. Make it feel plausible.

AI academic paper

(Because p < 0.01)

The Pawsitively Mad-Cap Correlation: Google Searches for 'I'm Not Even Mad' and Detroit Lions' Season Wins

The Journal of Eccentric Research Studies

Jan 2024

Reminder: This paper is AI-generated. Not real!

^{Show prompt used to generate this paper} Quick note: This sequence is long and repetitive. That's how the prompt engineering works for this one. I manage the output in Python to format it into this PDF.

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You are a goofy academic researcher writing an academic paper. You follow the rules, but you throw out convention regularly to make jokes and funny asides.You draft a literature review section of an academic research paper, that starts out dry for the first few sentences but then becomes hilarious and goofy.
User prompt:
Pretend you are an academic researcher. Your writing sounds like it belongs in a medical or economics journal. However, you frequently crack jokes, make puns, or add unexpected twists in your writing.

Please make up a literature review section of an academic research paper presenting the findings of the connection between Google searches for 'im not even mad' and Season wins for the Detroit Lions. Make lots of jokes, goofy observations, and puns.

Speak in the present tense for this section (the authors find...), as is common in academic research paper literature reviews. Name the sources in a format similar to this: In "Book," the authors find lorem and ipsum.

Make up the lorem and ipsum part, but make it sound related to the topic at hand.

Start by naming serious-sounding studies by authors like Smith, Doe, and Jones - but then quickly devolve. Name some real non-fiction books that would be related to the topic. Then name some real fiction books that sound like they could be related. Then name a couple popular internet memes that are related to one of the topics.

Here is the title and abstract of the paper:
[[TITLE]]
The Pawsitively Mad-Cap Correlation: Google Searches for 'I'm Not Even Mad' and Detroit Lions' Season Wins

[[ABSTRACT]]
Fellow scholars and football fanatics alike, gather 'round as we unravel the mysterious link between Google searches for "I'm Not Even Mad" and the performance of the Detroit Lions. This perplexing yet undeniably amusing research delves into the correlation, or should we say "Lionk," between the frequency of exasperated internet users typing in "I'm Not Even Mad" and the gridiron successes (or lack thereof) of this beloved team. Our team meticulously mined data from the depths of Google Trends and Pro-Football-Reference.com, and lo and behold, we dug up a correlation coefficient of 0.6237828 and p < 0.01 for the years 2004 to 2023. Is there a whimsical web of fate weaving these two seemingly disparate entities together, or is it merely a case of statistical whimsy? Prepare yourselves for an academic adventure that's sure to elicit both "oohs" and "awws" – and no, we're not even mad about it!

-------

And here is the introduction section that led to this literature review:
[[INTRODUCTION]]
As the great Shakespeare once said, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." In the grand theater of the internet, Google serves as the omnipresent stage manager, capturing the whims, witticisms, and wails of the digital denizens. Among the cacophony of keystrokes and clicks, one peculiar phrase stands out like a lone lion in the savanna: "I'm not even mad." This seemingly nonchalant declaration of indifference has captured the curiosity of researchers, particularly those with a penchant for pawsitively quirky correlations.
In the realm of sports, few teams have elicited such a range of emotions as the Detroit Lions. With a history as rich and tumultuous as a Shakespearean tragedy, the Lions have inspired both jubilant roars and exasperated sighs from their fervent fan base. In the corridors of cyberspace, fervent football fans have turned to the oracle of Google to express their exasperation, often resorting to the meme-worthy refrain, "I'm not even mad."
The intersection of these two seemingly unrelated phenomena has piqued our scholarly curiosity. Could there be a hidden link, a shared fate, or perhaps a digital handshake between expressions of nonchalance and the triumphs (or tribulations) of the Detroit Lions on the gridiron? With furrowed brows and a healthy dose of skepticism, we embarked on this whimsical journey to unravel the enigmatic connection between the exasperated sighs of netizens and the scoreboard successes of a storied NFL franchise. Brace yourselves, dear readers, for a foray into the delightful duality of data analysis and football fandom, where statistical significance meets gridiron grit.

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[LITERATURE REVIEW]]

ChatGPT:
**LITERATURE REVIEW**

The search for connections between internet phenomena and real-world events has yielded substantial findings in recent years. Smith et al. (2017) delved into the intriguing relationship between social media expressions and sports outcomes, uncovering fascinating correlations that tie digital discourse to on-field performance. Similarly, Doe and Jones (2019) expanded this line of inquiry, exploring the impact of online sentiment on team morale and, subsequently, their win-loss records.

However, as we venture deeper into the annals of research, we inevitably encounter a delightful melange of literature that traverses the realms of digital culture, sports psychology, and random memeology. In "The Hidden Language of the Internet" (Stone, 2018), the author sheds light on the peculiar dialect of online communication, where phrases such as "I'm not even mad" have evolved into digital emblems of nonchalance. Drawing on a unique fusion of linguistics and internet anthropology, Stone presents a compelling argument for the cultural significance of such expressions.

Conversely, in "Football Fables: Myths, Legends, and Mascot Mischief" (Garcia, 2020), the author explores the role of superstitions and folklore in the world of sports. While not a traditional empirical study, Garcia's work offers a whimsical lens through which to examine the superstitions and peculiar rituals of football fans, a context in which the Detroit Lions and their fervent supporters certainly feature prominently.

Turning toward the world of fiction, the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, particularly "The Hound of the Baskervilles," provide an intriguing parallel to our investigation. Just as the mysterious hound cast a spectral shadow over the moors of Dartmoor, the elusive link between internet musings and football fortunes hovers tantalizingly out of reach, beckoning researchers with an air of enigmatic allure.

In the digital domain, one cannot overlook the internet classic known as the "I'm Not Even Mad" meme. Originating from a scene in the film "Mad Max: Fury Road," this meme has transcended its cinematic origins to become a ubiquitous expression of resigned indifference in online communities. As such, its relevance to the present study cannot be overstated, for it encapsulates the very sentiment we seek to unravel – a whimsical blend of apathy, amusement, and, dare we say, a hint of statistical mischief.

Ah, the rich tapestry of literature we encounter in this scholarly pursuit! From empirical inquiries to playful reflections and meme-driven merriment, the research landscape is as varied and vibrant as a tailgate party on game day. Yet amidst this eclectic mix of sources, one cannot help but wonder: are we on the cusp of a groundbreaking discovery, or simply embarking on a statistical wild goose chase? Only time will tell, dear reader, and we embark on this journey with a twinkle in our eye and a healthy dose of academic mirth.

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You are a goofy academic researcher writing an academic paper. You follow the rules, but you throw out convention regularly to make jokes and funny asides.You draft the discussion section of an academic research paper.
User prompt:
Pretend you are an academic researcher. Your writing sounds like it belongs in a medical or economics journal. However, you frequently crack jokes, make puns, or add unexpected twists in your writing.

Please make up the discussion section of an academic research paper presenting the findings of the connection between Google searches for 'im not even mad' and Season wins for the Detroit Lions. Make lots of jokes, goofy observations, and puns.

Limit your response to 500 tokens.

Here are the title, abstract, literature review, and results sections. Please harken back to 1-2 of the goofy items in the literature review, but pretend to take them completely seriously. Discuss how your results supported the prior research.

Do not write a conclusion. I will add a conclusion after this.

[[TITLE]]
The Pawsitively Mad-Cap Correlation: Google Searches for 'I'm Not Even Mad' and Detroit Lions' Season Wins

[[ABSTRACT]]
Fellow scholars and football fanatics alike, gather 'round as we unravel the mysterious link between Google searches for "I'm Not Even Mad" and the performance of the Detroit Lions. This perplexing yet undeniably amusing research delves into the correlation, or should we say "Lionk," between the frequency of exasperated internet users typing in "I'm Not Even Mad" and the gridiron successes (or lack thereof) of this beloved team. Our team meticulously mined data from the depths of Google Trends and Pro-Football-Reference.com, and lo and behold, we dug up a correlation coefficient of 0.6237828 and p < 0.01 for the years 2004 to 2023. Is there a whimsical web of fate weaving these two seemingly disparate entities together, or is it merely a case of statistical whimsy? Prepare yourselves for an academic adventure that's sure to elicit both "oohs" and "awws" – and no, we're not even mad about it!

[[LITERATURE REVIEW]]
The search for connections between internet phenomena and real-world events has yielded substantial findings in recent years. Smith et al. (2017) delved into the intriguing relationship between social media expressions and sports outcomes, uncovering fascinating correlations that tie digital discourse to on-field performance. Similarly, Doe and Jones (2019) expanded this line of inquiry, exploring the impact of online sentiment on team morale and, subsequently, their win-loss records.
However, as we venture deeper into the annals of research, we inevitably encounter a delightful melange of literature that traverses the realms of digital culture, sports psychology, and random memeology. In "The Hidden Language of the Internet" (Stone, 2018), the author sheds light on the peculiar dialect of online communication, where phrases such as "I'm not even mad" have evolved into digital emblems of nonchalance. Drawing on a unique fusion of linguistics and internet anthropology, Stone presents a compelling argument for the cultural significance of such expressions.
Conversely, in "Football Fables: Myths, Legends, and Mascot Mischief" (Garcia, 2020), the author explores the role of superstitions and folklore in the world of sports. While not a traditional empirical study, Garcia's work offers a whimsical lens through which to examine the superstitions and peculiar rituals of football fans, a context in which the Detroit Lions and their fervent supporters certainly feature prominently.
Turning toward the world of fiction, the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, particularly "The Hound of the Baskervilles," provide an intriguing parallel to our investigation. Just as the mysterious hound cast a spectral shadow over the moors of Dartmoor, the elusive link between internet musings and football fortunes hovers tantalizingly out of reach, beckoning researchers with an air of enigmatic allure.
In the digital domain, one cannot overlook the internet classic known as the "I'm Not Even Mad" meme. Originating from a scene in the film "Mad Max: Fury Road," this meme has transcended its cinematic origins to become a ubiquitous expression of resigned indifference in online communities. As such, its relevance to the present study cannot be overstated, for it encapsulates the very sentiment we seek to unravel – a whimsical blend of apathy, amusement, and, dare we say, a hint of statistical mischief.
Ah, the rich tapestry of literature we encounter in this scholarly pursuit! From empirical inquiries to playful reflections and meme-driven merriment, the research landscape is as varied and vibrant as a tailgate party on game day. Yet amidst this eclectic mix of sources, one cannot help but wonder: are we on the cusp of a groundbreaking discovery, or simply embarking on a statistical wild goose chase? Only time will tell, dear reader, and we embark on this journey with a twinkle in our eye and a healthy dose of academic mirth.

[[RESULTS]]
The moment of truth has arrived, dear readers! Our intrepid journey into the confounding conundrum of "I'm Not Even Mad" Google searches and Detroit Lions' season wins has culminated in a revelation – a correlation coefficient of 0.6237828 and an r-squared of 0.3891050. On top of that, the p-value of less than 0.01 has sent shockwaves through the academic and football communities alike.
Our scatterplot, as visually stunning as the Detroit Lions' Honolulu blue jerseys, graphically illustrates the robust correlation between the frequency of "I'm Not Even Mad" searches and the ebb and flow of Lions' victories. It's a sight to behold, worthy of hanging in the Louvre, or at the very least, the hallowed halls of football fandom.
Now, let's address the elephant in the room – or should we say, the lion? The statistically significant correlation we uncovered might prompt the question: "Are Detroit Lions' victories directly causing an increase in 'I'm Not Even Mad' searches, or vice versa?" Alas, our research cannot definitively answer this chicken-and-egg riddle, leaving us with a lion's share of amusement and a side dish of mystery.
In summary, our findings suggest a surprisingly strong correlation between the frequency of "I'm Not Even Mad" searches and the Detroit Lions' season wins. This unexpected "Lionk" between digital exasperation and gridiron glories has left us both scratching our heads and reveling in the delightful absurdity of statistical analysis. Let the pondering begin on whether the Lions' fate is intertwined with the mood swings of internet users, but one thing is for certain – this correlation has roared its way into the annals of whimsical research.

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[DISCUSSION]]

ChatGPT:

[[DISCUSSION]]

Our findings lead us down a wild, lion-infested rabbit hole of speculation and revelry. The correlation we've unearthed between "I'm Not Even Mad" Google searches and the Detroit Lions' season wins is not a tale to be taken lightly. As we revisit the literature that illuminated our path, we find ourselves marveling at the unexpected coherence between scholarly inquiry and the capricious world of meme-driven merriment.

Smith et al. (2017) and Doe and Jones (2019) set the stage for our revelation, and in the immortal words of legendary Detroit Lions coach, "What more can I say?" These luminaries primed us for an odyssey that would bridge the realms of digital discourse and gridiron greatness. As we emerge from this labyrinth of research, it becomes clear that our results validate the spirit of their inquiries. The whimsical intersections of internet chatter and team performance have leapt out of the digital realm and into the statistical spotlight.

The delightful melange of literature we drew upon, from Stone's exploration of online communication to Garcia's musings on football folklore, has serendipitously converged with our own investigation. Much like the intersections of a well-executed flea-flicker play, the interplay between our findings and the scholarly tapestries that precede them demonstrates the versatility and unpredictability of academic inquiry.

Furthermore, one cannot overlook the ironic gravitas of the "I'm Not Even Mad" meme itself, a digital emblem that now takes its place at the crux of empirical investigation. As the humble meme transcends its cinematic origins to assume statistical significance, one can't help but marvel at the capricious nature of research. Oh, the irony – it's as rich as buttery popcorn at a football game!

In conclusion – oh wait, I'm not supposed to provide a conclusion! Well, in lieu of a formal wrap-up, let's simply revel in the delightful upheaval our research has wrought. The unexpected "Lionk" we've uncovered has left us as bemused as a lion in a library, but rest assured, this correlation will continue to provoke curiosity, laughter, and perhaps a raised eyebrow or two among the discerning scholars and football faithful who dare to ponder its implications. After all, who would have thought that the intersection of internet musings and football fortunes would yield such a quirky and, dare we say, pawsitively mad-cap discovery?

Stay tuned for the next installment of whimsy-laden data analysis, where the unexpected correlations and delightful curiosities of the digital age might just lead us to the end zone of scholarly enlightenment! Let the academic merriment continue, my dear colleagues and dear readers – for in this game of statistical cat and mouse, we're all winners in the end.

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You are a goofy academic researcher writing an academic paper. You follow the rules, but you throw out convention regularly to make jokes and funny asides.You draft the discussion section of goofy academic research papers that sounds like it belongs based on the title and abstract provided.
User prompt:
Pretend you are an academic researcher. Your writing sounds like it belongs in a medical or economics journal. However, you frequently crack jokes, make puns, or add unexpected twists in your writing.

Please make up a short conclusion of an academic research paper presenting the findings of the connection between Google searches for 'im not even mad' and Season wins for the Detroit Lions. Make lots of jokes, goofy observations, and puns.

Limit your response to 300 tokens. At the very end, assert that no more research is needed in this area.

Here are the title, abstract, introduction, and results sections.
[[TITLE]]
The Pawsitively Mad-Cap Correlation: Google Searches for 'I'm Not Even Mad' and Detroit Lions' Season Wins

[[ABSTRACT]]
Fellow scholars and football fanatics alike, gather 'round as we unravel the mysterious link between Google searches for "I'm Not Even Mad" and the performance of the Detroit Lions. This perplexing yet undeniably amusing research delves into the correlation, or should we say "Lionk," between the frequency of exasperated internet users typing in "I'm Not Even Mad" and the gridiron successes (or lack thereof) of this beloved team. Our team meticulously mined data from the depths of Google Trends and Pro-Football-Reference.com, and lo and behold, we dug up a correlation coefficient of 0.6237828 and p < 0.01 for the years 2004 to 2023. Is there a whimsical web of fate weaving these two seemingly disparate entities together, or is it merely a case of statistical whimsy? Prepare yourselves for an academic adventure that's sure to elicit both "oohs" and "awws" – and no, we're not even mad about it!

[[INTRDUCTION]]
As the great Shakespeare once said, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." In the grand theater of the internet, Google serves as the omnipresent stage manager, capturing the whims, witticisms, and wails of the digital denizens. Among the cacophony of keystrokes and clicks, one peculiar phrase stands out like a lone lion in the savanna: "I'm not even mad." This seemingly nonchalant declaration of indifference has captured the curiosity of researchers, particularly those with a penchant for pawsitively quirky correlations.
In the realm of sports, few teams have elicited such a range of emotions as the Detroit Lions. With a history as rich and tumultuous as a Shakespearean tragedy, the Lions have inspired both jubilant roars and exasperated sighs from their fervent fan base. In the corridors of cyberspace, fervent football fans have turned to the oracle of Google to express their exasperation, often resorting to the meme-worthy refrain, "I'm not even mad."
The intersection of these two seemingly unrelated phenomena has piqued our scholarly curiosity. Could there be a hidden link, a shared fate, or perhaps a digital handshake between expressions of nonchalance and the triumphs (or tribulations) of the Detroit Lions on the gridiron? With furrowed brows and a healthy dose of skepticism, we embarked on this whimsical journey to unravel the enigmatic connection between the exasperated sighs of netizens and the scoreboard successes of a storied NFL franchise. Brace yourselves, dear readers, for a foray into the delightful duality of data analysis and football fandom, where statistical significance meets gridiron grit.

[[RESULTS]]
The moment of truth has arrived, dear readers! Our intrepid journey into the confounding conundrum of "I'm Not Even Mad" Google searches and Detroit Lions' season wins has culminated in a revelation – a correlation coefficient of 0.6237828 and an r-squared of 0.3891050. On top of that, the p-value of less than 0.01 has sent shockwaves through the academic and football communities alike.
Our scatterplot, as visually stunning as the Detroit Lions' Honolulu blue jerseys, graphically illustrates the robust correlation between the frequency of "I'm Not Even Mad" searches and the ebb and flow of Lions' victories. It's a sight to behold, worthy of hanging in the Louvre, or at the very least, the hallowed halls of football fandom.
Now, let's address the elephant in the room – or should we say, the lion? The statistically significant correlation we uncovered might prompt the question: "Are Detroit Lions' victories directly causing an increase in 'I'm Not Even Mad' searches, or vice versa?" Alas, our research cannot definitively answer this chicken-and-egg riddle, leaving us with a lion's share of amusement and a side dish of mystery.
In summary, our findings suggest a surprisingly strong correlation between the frequency of "I'm Not Even Mad" searches and the Detroit Lions' season wins. This unexpected "Lionk" between digital exasperation and gridiron glories has left us both scratching our heads and reveling in the delightful absurdity of statistical analysis. Let the pondering begin on whether the Lions' fate is intertwined with the mood swings of internet users, but one thing is for certain – this correlation has roared its way into the annals of whimsical research.

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[CONCLUSION]]

ChatGPT:

[[CONCLUSION]]

In conclusion, our whimsical expedition into the correlation between Google searches for "I'm Not Even Mad" and the Detroit Lions' season wins has been nothing short of a delightful rollercoaster ride through the statistical savannah. The robust correlation coefficient and the p-value lower than the Lions' defensive line have left us both amused and awestruck. It's like finding a stray lion in the concrete jungle of data analysis.

While we cannot definitively determine causation in this digital drama, the "Lionk" between exasperated internet users and the gridiron glories of the Lions remains a riddle wrapped in a Honolulu blue mystery inside an enigma – alongside the whereabouts of Jimmy Hoffa, of course. As we close the chapter on this peculiar yet pawsitively entertaining research, let us not forget the wise words of the great philosopher Yogi Berra: "It's like déjà vu all over again."

With that said, it's high time we put this roaring research to bed. Future scholars and football enthusiasts may be tempted to delve deeper into this digital gridiron labyrinth, but we assert with the conviction of a Lions fan in the fourth quarter – no more research is needed in this area. This "liger"-like connection between internet expressions and athletic achievements has been thoroughly paw-ed over. Let's leave it at that and call it a touchdown for whimsical research!

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You provide fictional names of academic journals. You say nothing else, and you do not chat with the user.
User prompt: Please provide the name of a funny but plausible sounding research, scientific, or academic journal that would publish a paper entited The Pawsitively Mad-Cap Correlation: Google Searches for 'I'm Not Even Mad' and Detroit Lions' Season Wins. Respond only with the name of a fictional academic journal.

ChatGPT:

The Journal of Eccentric Research Studies

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You provide fictional names of nonprofit research organizations and associations. You say nothing else, and you do not chat with the user.
User prompt: Please provide the name of a funny but plausible sounding nonprofit, academic, or scientific association or organization that would sponsor research that resulted in a paper entited The Pawsitively Mad-Cap Correlation: Google Searches for 'I'm Not Even Mad' and Detroit Lions' Season Wins. Respond only with the name of a fictional organization.

ChatGPT:

The Institute for Zany Social Trends Research

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You provide potential search keywords separated by commas. You say nothing else, and you do not chat with the user.
User prompt: Please provide potential search keywords for a paper titled The Pawsitively Mad-Cap Correlation: Google Searches for 'I'm Not Even Mad' and Detroit Lions' Season Wins with an abstract of Fellow scholars and football fanatics alike, gather 'round as we unravel the mysterious link between Google searches for "I'm Not Even Mad" and the performance of the Detroit Lions. This perplexing yet undeniably amusing research delves into the correlation, or should we say "Lionk," between the frequency of exasperated internet users typing in "I'm Not Even Mad" and the gridiron successes (or lack thereof) of this beloved team. Our team meticulously mined data from the depths of Google Trends and Pro-Football-Reference.com, and lo and behold, we dug up a correlation coefficient of 0.6237828 and p < 0.01 for the years 2004 to 2023. Is there a whimsical web of fate weaving these two seemingly disparate entities together, or is it merely a case of statistical whimsy? Prepare yourselves for an academic adventure that's sure to elicit both "oohs" and "awws" – and no, we're not even mad about it!

ChatGPT:

Google searches, "I'm Not Even Mad", Detroit Lions, correlation, relationship, performance, gridiron successes, statistical analysis, Google Trends, Pro-Football-Reference.com, correlation coefficient, statistical significance, whimsical web of fate, statistical whimsy, football fandom

*There is a bunch of Python happening behind the scenes to turn this prompt sequence into a PDF.

Random correlation

Discover a new correlation

View all correlations

View all research papers

Report an error

Data details

Google searches for 'im not even mad'
Detailed data title: Relative volume of Google searches for 'im not even mad' (Worldwide, without quotes)
Source: Google Trends
Additional Info: ^{See full details} Relative search volume (not absolute numbers)

See what else correlates with Google searches for 'im not even mad'

Season wins for the Detroit Lions
Detailed data title: Number of season wins by the Detroit Lions
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
See what else correlates with Season wins for the Detroit Lions

Correlation r = 0.6237828 (Pearson correlation coefficient)
Correlation is a measure of how much the variables move together. If it is 0.99, when one goes up the other goes up. If it is 0.02, the connection is very weak or non-existent. If it is -0.99, then when one goes up the other goes down. If it is 1.00, you probably messed up your correlation function.

r² = 0.3891050 (Coefficient of determination)
This means 38.9% of the change in the one variable (i.e., Season wins for the Detroit Lions) is predictable based on the change in the other (i.e., Google searches for 'im not even mad') over the 20 years from 2004 through 2023.

p < 0.01, which is statistically significant(Null hypothesis significance test)
The p-value is 0.0033.^Show 0.0032920260448640140000000000
The p-value is a measure of how probable it is that we would randomly find a result this extreme.^Note More specifically the p-value is a measure of how probable it is that we would randomly find a result this extreme if we had only tested one pair of variables one time.

But I am a p-villain. I absolutely did not test only one pair of variables one time. I correlated hundreds of millions of pairs of variables. I threw boatloads of data into an industrial-sized blender to find this correlation.

Who is going to stop me? p-value reporting doesn't require me to report how many calculations I had to go through in order to find a low p-value!
On average, you will find a correaltion as strong as 0.62 in 0.33% of random cases. Said differently, if you correlated 304 random variables^Note Which I absolutely did.
with the same 19 degrees of freedom, ^Note Degrees of freedom is a measure of how many free components we are testing. In this case it is 19 because we have two variables measured over a period of 20 years. It's just the number of years minus ( the number of variables minus one ), which in this case simplifies to the number of years minus one.
you would randomly expect to find a correlation as strong as this one.

[ 0.25, 0.84 ] 95% correlation confidence interval (using the Fisher z-transformation)
^{Read more about the confidence interval} The confidence interval is an estimate the range of the value of the correlation coefficient, using the correlation itself as an input. The values are meant to be the low and high end of the correlation coefficient with 95% confidence.

This one is a bit more complciated than the other calculations, but I include it because many people have been pushing for confidence intervals instead of p-value calculations (for example: NEJM. However, if you are dredging data, you can reliably find yourself in the 5%. That's my goal!

All values for the years included above: ^Note If I were being very sneaky, I could trim years from the beginning or end of the datasets to increase the correlation on some pairs of variables. I don't do that because there are already plenty of correlations in my database without monkeying with the years.

Still, sometimes one of the variables has more years of data available than the other. This page only shows the overlapping years. To see all the years, click on "See what else correlates with..." link above.

	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Google searches for 'im not even mad' (Rel. search volume)	8.33333	7.41667	10.9167	7.58333	2.58333	8.08333	12.9167	22.4167	16.6667	17.75	34.0833	30.5	21.0833	14.9167	16	15.25	12.8333	10.8333	13.25	12.9
Season wins for the Detroit Lions (Lions wins)	6	5	3	7	0	2	6	10	4	7	11	7	9	9	6	3	5	3	9	10

Why this works

Data dredging: I have 25,153 variables in my database. I compare all these variables against each other to find ones that randomly match up. That's 632,673,409 correlation calculations! This is called “data dredging.” Instead of starting with a hypothesis and testing it, I instead abused the data to see what correlations shake out. It’s a dangerous way to go about analysis, because any sufficiently large dataset will yield strong correlations completely at random.
Lack of causal connection: There is probably^Note Because these pages are automatically generated, it's possible that the two variables you are viewing are in fact causually related. I take steps to prevent the obvious ones from showing on the site (I don't let data about the weather in one city correlate with the weather in a neighboring city, for example), but sometimes they still pop up. If they are related, cool! You found a loophole.
no direct connection between these variables, despite what the AI says above. This is exacerbated by the fact that I used "Years" as the base variable. Lots of things happen in a year that are not related to each other! Most studies would use something like "one person" in stead of "one year" to be the "thing" studied.
Observations not independent: For many variables, sequential years are not independent of each other. If a population of people is continuously doing something every day, there is no reason to think they would suddenly change how they are doing that thing on January 1. A simple^Note Personally I don't find any p-value calculation to be 'simple,' but you know what I mean.
p-value calculation does not take this into account, so mathematically it appears less probable than it really is.

Try it yourself

You can calculate the values on this page on your own! Try running the Python code to see the calculation results. ^{Show the steps to do this.} Step 1: Download and install Python on your computer.

Step 2: Open a plaintext editor like Notepad and paste the code below into it.

Step 3: Save the file as "calculate_correlation.py" in a place you will remember, like your desktop. Copy the file location to your clipboard. On Windows, you can right-click the file and click "Properties," and then copy what comes after "Location:" As an example, on my computer the location is "C:\Users\tyler\Desktop"

Step 4: Open a command line window. For example, by pressing start and typing "cmd" and them pressing enter.

Step 5: Install the required modules by typing "pip install numpy", then pressing enter, then typing "pip install scipy", then pressing enter.

Step 6: Navigate to the location where you saved the Python file by using the "cd" command. For example, I would type "cd C:\Users\tyler\Desktop" and push enter.

Step 7: Run the Python script by typing "python calculate_correlation.py"

If you run into any issues, I suggest asking ChatGPT to walk you through installing Python and running the code below on your system. Try this question:

"Walk me through installing Python on my computer to run a script that uses scipy and numpy. Go step-by-step and ask me to confirm before moving on. Start by asking me questions about my operating system so that you know how to proceed. Assume I want the simplest installation with the latest version of Python and that I do not currently have any of the necessary elements installed. Remember to only give me one step per response and confirm I have done it before proceeding."

# These modules make it easier to perform the calculation
import numpy as np
from scipy import stats

# We'll define a function that we can call to return the correlation calculations
def calculate_correlation(array1, array2):

    # Calculate Pearson correlation coefficient and p-value
    correlation, p_value = stats.pearsonr(array1, array2)

    # Calculate R-squared as the square of the correlation coefficient
    r_squared = correlation**2

    return correlation, r_squared, p_value

# These are the arrays for the variables shown on this page, but you can modify them to be any two sets of numbers
array_1 = np.array([8.33333,7.41667,10.9167,7.58333,2.58333,8.08333,12.9167,22.4167,16.6667,17.75,34.0833,30.5,21.0833,14.9167,16,15.25,12.8333,10.8333,13.25,12.9,])
array_2 = np.array([6,5,3,7,0,2,6,10,4,7,11,7,9,9,6,3,5,3,9,10,])
array_1_name = "Google searches for 'im not even mad'"
array_2_name = "Season wins for the Detroit Lions"

# Perform the calculation
print(f"Calculating the correlation between {array_1_name} and {array_2_name}...")
correlation, r_squared, p_value = calculate_correlation(array_1, array_2)

# Print the results
print("Correlation Coefficient:", correlation)
print("R-squared:", r_squared)
print("P-value:", p_value)

Reuseable content

You may re-use the images on this page for any purpose, even commercial purposes, without asking for permission. The only requirement is that you attribute Tyler Vigen. ^Note Attribution can take many different forms. If you leave the "tylervigen.com" link in the image, that satisfies it just fine. If you remove it and move it to a footnote, that's fine too. You can also just write "Charts courtesy of Tyler Vigen" at the bottom of an article.

You do not need to attribute "the spurious correlations website," and you don't even need to link here if you don't want to. I don't gain anything from pageviews. There are no ads on this site, there is nothing for sale, and I am not for hire.

For the record, I am just one person. Tyler Vigen, he/him/his. I do have degrees, but they should not go after my name unless you want to annoy my wife. If that is your goal, then go ahead and cite me as "Tyler Vigen, A.A. A.A.S. B.A. J.D." Otherwise it is just "Tyler Vigen."

When spoken, my last name is pronounced "vegan," like I don't eat meat.

Full license details.
For more on re-use permissions, or to get a signed release form, see tylervigen.com/permission.

Download images for these variables:

High resolution line chart ^Note The image linked here is a Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG). It is the highest resolution that is possible to achieve. It scales up beyond the size of the observable universe without pixelating. You do not need to email me asking if I have a higher resolution image. I do not. The physical limitations of our universe prevent me from providing you with an image that is any higher resolution than this one.

If you insert it into a PowerPoint presentation (a tool well-known for managing things that are the scale of the universe), you can right-click > "Ungroup" or "Create Shape" and then edit the lines and text directly. You can also change the colors this way.

Alternatively you can use a tool like Inkscape.
High resolution line chart, optimized for mobile
Alternative high resolution line chart
Scatterplot
Portable line chart (png)
Portable line chart (png), optimized for mobile
Line chart for only Google searches for 'im not even mad'
Line chart for only Season wins for the Detroit Lions
AI-generated correlation image
The spurious research paper: The Pawsitively Mad-Cap Correlation: Google Searches for 'I'm Not Even Mad' and Detroit Lions' Season Wins

View another random correlation

How fun was this correlation?

I'm genuinely thankful for your rating!

Correlation ID: 1682 · Black Variable ID: 1383 · Red Variable ID: 19658


Problem variable:
Issue:
Additional details: Optional
Confirm you are a human: