Spurious correlation #4,091 · View random
A linear line chart with years as the X-axis and two variables on the Y-axis. The first variable is The number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey and the second variable is Google searches for 'E.T. phone home'. The chart goes from 2010 to 2022, 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 The number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey and the second variable is Google searches for 'E.T. phone home'. The chart goes from 2010 to 2022, and the two variables track closely in value over that time.

AI explanation

As the adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey decreased, there was a corresponding decrease in the stickiness of everyday objects. This meant that when E.T. tried to use his famous line, the phone just wouldn't stick to his glowing finger as well as it used to. Frustrated, he must have just given up trying to phone home as often, leading to a decrease in Google searches for 'E.T. phone home'. Who knew that the key to E.T.'s communication was in the hands of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey all along?

^{Show image generation prompt} Model: dalle-3
Prompt: [An image that looks like it is a scene from a Pixar movie] Create an illustration of a dimly lit workshop, showing E.T. with his glowing finger reaching towards a phone that is beginning to slip from his grasp. Everyday objects around the workshop, such as tools and gadgets, are portrayed as if they are losing their stickiness and start to drift away. The subdued lighting and E.T.'s hopeful yet frustrated expression convey the urgency of his failed attempt to contact home without the aid of the adhesive bonding machine operators. 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: The number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey and Google searches for 'E.T. phone home'. 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: Cute cartoon Woodblock painting Hyper-realistic Charcoal An image that looks like it is a scene from a Pixar movie
ChatGPT: An image that looks like it is a scene from a Pixar movie

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 The number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey and Google searches for 'E.T. phone home', in the following situation: As the adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey decreased, there was a corresponding decrease in the stickiness of everyday objects. This meant that when E.T. tried to use his famous line, the phone just wouldn't stick to his glowing finger as well as it used to. Frustrated, he must have just given up trying to phone home as often, leading to a decrease in Google searches for 'E.T. phone home'. Who knew that the key to E.T.'s communication was in the hands of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey all along?. Keep the description simple.
ChatGPT: In a quiet workshop in New Jersey, the number of adhesive bonding machine operators dwindled. As a result, everyday objects lost their stickiness, causing E.T.'s glowing finger to struggle to hold onto the phone as he tried to phone home. Frustrated, E.T. left the phone dangling and gave up on his famous line. This led to a decrease in Google searches for 'E.T. phone home', as the key to his communication seemed to lie in the hands of the adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey.

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: [ An image that looks like it is a scene from a Pixar movie ] and depicting this scene: In a quiet workshop in New Jersey, the number of adhesive bonding machine operators dwindled. As a result, everyday objects lost their stickiness, causing E.T.'s glowing finger to struggle to hold onto the phone as he tried to phone home. Frustrated, E.T. left the phone dangling and gave up on his famous line. This led to a decrease in Google searches for 'E.T. phone home', as the key to his communication seemed to lie in the hands of the adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey. Keep the visual depiction simple. Do not include any words or speech bubbles.
ChatGPT: [An image that looks like it is a scene from a Pixar movie] Create an illustration of a dimly lit workshop, showing E.T. with his glowing finger reaching towards a phone that is beginning to slip from his grasp. Everyday objects around the workshop, such as tools and gadgets, are portrayed as if they are losing their stickiness and start to drift away. The subdued lighting and E.T.'s hopeful yet frustrated expression convey the urgency of his failed attempt to contact home without the aid of the adhesive bonding machine operators.

*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 a decrease in The number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey caused E.T. phone home (Google searches for 'E.T. phone home') to decrease.

AI academic paper

(Because p < 0.01)

Stick With Me, E.T.: The Link Between Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators in New Jersey and 'E.T. Phone Home' Google Searches

The Journal of Unlikely Entanglements

Jan 2024

^{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 The number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey and Google searches for 'E.T. phone home'. 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 cite some social media posts you read that seem to be related.

Here is the title and abstract of the paper:
[[TITLE]]
Stick With Me, E.T.: The Link Between Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators in New Jersey and 'E.T. Phone Home' Google Searches

[[ABSTRACT]]
This paper delves into the surprising correlation between the number of adhesive bonding machine operators in the Garden State and the frequency of 'E.T. phone home' Google searches. In an effort to stick to the facts, our research team conducted a thorough analysis using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Google Trends. The results revealed a remarkably strong correlation coefficient of 0.8402901 and a significant p-value below 0.01 for the period spanning 2010 to 2022. This eyebrow-raising correlation prompts us to ponder whether E.T. may have been in search of a different kind of "phone home," perhaps looking to bond with some like-minded individuals in New Jersey. Our findings raise more questions than they answer, and we encourage further investigation into the peculiar relationship between extraterrestrial longing and industrial adhesive bonding.

-------

And here is the introduction section that led to this literature review:
[[INTRODUCTION]]
In the pursuit of scientific inquiry, one must often take unexpected paths, and in this case, the path led us to an unlikely connection between adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey and the iconic phrase "E.T. phone home." While this correlation may seem as out of place as E.T. himself among humans, our research aims to shed light on this peculiar relationship and explore the potential implications for both the extraterrestrial and adhesive bonding communities.
As the famous extraterrestrial once said, "E.T. phone home," and our research team couldn't resist the urge to pick up the phone and dial into this enigmatic connection. We set out to answer the burning question: Is there a tangible link between the work of adhesive bonding machine operators in the Garden State and the otherworldly longing expressed by E.T.?
While some may argue that comparing extraterrestrial communication to industrial adhesive bonding is like comparing apples to alien spacecraft, we approached our investigation with the utmost scientific rigor. Our analysis indicates that there may be more than meets the eye—or the glowing fingertip, in E.T.'s case.
Now, one might wonder why anyone would embark on such a research endeavor. After all, isn't the connection between adhesive bonding and extraterrestrial communication as irrelevant as a space rock in a boardroom? However, as scholars, we cannot turn a blind eye to the unexpected, the peculiar, and the delightfully absurd. Our mission is to explore the uncharted territories of knowledge, even if they lead us to the outer realms of adhesive-based alien encounters.
So, fasten your seatbelts, because this paper is about to take you on a scholarly joyride, where the boundaries of conventional research are as elastic as E.T.'s skin. Get ready to stick with us through the twists and turns of this investigation that will leave you pondering the cosmic conundrum of extraterrestrial fascination with adhesive bonding in the Garden State.

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[LITERATURE REVIEW]]

ChatGPT:
[[LITERATURE REVIEW]]

In "Smith et al.," the authors find that there is a marked increase in the number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey over the past decade, signaling a growing reliance on adhesive technologies in various industries. Meanwhile, in "Doe and Jones," the authors highlight the enduring popularity of 'E.T. phone home' searches on Google, with a steady stream of inquiries spanning from nostalgic movie enthusiasts to extraterrestrial enthusiasts.

As we delve deeper into the literature, it becomes clear that the relationship between adhesive bonding machine operators and 'E.T. phone home' searches is not merely a surface-level phenomenon. In "Book on Industrial Adhesives," Lorem and Ipsum provide an in-depth analysis of the role of adhesives in modern manufacturing, but sadly, they fail to mention any potential connection to intergalactic communication. This oversight only serves to intensify the mystery, much like the feeling of sticking two pieces of tape together and then trying to separate them without creating a sticky mess.

Turning our attention to the world of fiction, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams presents a whimsical take on extraterrestrial voyages, raising the question of whether E.T. may have been seeking a journey beyond his terrestrial home in search of fellow adhesive enthusiasts. Additionally, in "Contact" by Carl Sagan, the exploration of communication with extraterrestrial intelligence opens our minds to the possibility that E.T. might have been attempting to establish a cosmic connection with adhesive aficionados in the Garden State.

Furthermore, tapping into the realm of social media, it is evident from various Twitter and Reddit threads that there exists a subculture of individuals deeply vested in both the intricacies of adhesive bonding and the iconic catchphrase of E.T. These online discussions range from lighthearted banter about E.T.'s potential interest in adhesive artistry to more serious speculation about the cosmic significance of New Jersey in the grand scheme of extraterrestrial affairs.

In the midst of these diverse sources, it becomes increasingly apparent that the intersection of adhesive bonding and E.T.'s plea to "phone home" sparks a fascination that transcends traditional academic boundaries. It's as if E.T. himself is floating on a bicycle across the moonlit sky, leaving a trail of adhesive-backed stardust in his wake, urging us to embark on this unconventional scholarly journey.

So, as we wade through the literature, the plot thickens much like a well-mixed adhesive, and the allure of uncovering the enigmatic relationship between adhesive bonding machine operators and 'E.T. phone home' searches becomes irresistibly sticky. With each turn of the page, the captivating tale of extraterrestrial-tinged adhesives beckons us to continue our investigation with both scholarly rigor and a hint of intergalactic whimsy.

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 The number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey and Google searches for 'E.T. phone home'. 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]]
Stick With Me, E.T.: The Link Between Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators in New Jersey and 'E.T. Phone Home' Google Searches

[[ABSTRACT]]
This paper delves into the surprising correlation between the number of adhesive bonding machine operators in the Garden State and the frequency of 'E.T. phone home' Google searches. In an effort to stick to the facts, our research team conducted a thorough analysis using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Google Trends. The results revealed a remarkably strong correlation coefficient of 0.8402901 and a significant p-value below 0.01 for the period spanning 2010 to 2022. This eyebrow-raising correlation prompts us to ponder whether E.T. may have been in search of a different kind of "phone home," perhaps looking to bond with some like-minded individuals in New Jersey. Our findings raise more questions than they answer, and we encourage further investigation into the peculiar relationship between extraterrestrial longing and industrial adhesive bonding.

[[LITERATURE REVIEW]]
In "Smith et al.," the authors find that there is a marked increase in the number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey over the past decade, signaling a growing reliance on adhesive technologies in various industries. Meanwhile, in "Doe and Jones," the authors highlight the enduring popularity of 'E.T. phone home' searches on Google, with a steady stream of inquiries spanning from nostalgic movie enthusiasts to extraterrestrial enthusiasts.
As we delve deeper into the literature, it becomes clear that the relationship between adhesive bonding machine operators and 'E.T. phone home' searches is not merely a surface-level phenomenon. In "Book on Industrial Adhesives," Lorem and Ipsum provide an in-depth analysis of the role of adhesives in modern manufacturing, but sadly, they fail to mention any potential connection to intergalactic communication. This oversight only serves to intensify the mystery, much like the feeling of sticking two pieces of tape together and then trying to separate them without creating a sticky mess.
Turning our attention to the world of fiction, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams presents a whimsical take on extraterrestrial voyages, raising the question of whether E.T. may have been seeking a journey beyond his terrestrial home in search of fellow adhesive enthusiasts. Additionally, in "Contact" by Carl Sagan, the exploration of communication with extraterrestrial intelligence opens our minds to the possibility that E.T. might have been attempting to establish a cosmic connection with adhesive aficionados in the Garden State.
Furthermore, tapping into the realm of social media, it is evident from various Twitter and Reddit threads that there exists a subculture of individuals deeply vested in both the intricacies of adhesive bonding and the iconic catchphrase of E.T. These online discussions range from lighthearted banter about E.T.'s potential interest in adhesive artistry to more serious speculation about the cosmic significance of New Jersey in the grand scheme of extraterrestrial affairs.
In the midst of these diverse sources, it becomes increasingly apparent that the intersection of adhesive bonding and E.T.'s plea to "phone home" sparks a fascination that transcends traditional academic boundaries. It's as if E.T. himself is floating on a bicycle across the moonlit sky, leaving a trail of adhesive-backed stardust in his wake, urging us to embark on this unconventional scholarly journey.
So, as we wade through the literature, the plot thickens much like a well-mixed adhesive, and the allure of uncovering the enigmatic relationship between adhesive bonding machine operators and 'E.T. phone home' searches becomes irresistibly sticky. With each turn of the page, the captivating tale of extraterrestrial-tinged adhesives beckons us to continue our investigation with both scholarly rigor and a hint of intergalactic whimsy.

[[RESULTS]]
The captivating findings of our investigation indicate a striking correlation between the number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey and the frequency of 'E.T. phone home' Google searches. The Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a substantial value of 0.8402901, pointing toward a strong positive relationship between these seemingly disparate variables. Moreover, the coefficient of determination (r-squared) of 0.7060874 suggests that approximately 70.6% of the variation in 'E.T. phone home' Google searches can be explained by the number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey. This correlation surpassed conventional levels of statistical significance, with a p-value well below the widely accepted threshold of 0.01, indicating that the observed relationship is highly unlikely to have occurred by chance.
Our results raise important questions about the nature of E.T.'s longing for home. Did E.T. phone home searching for a kindred spirit among the skilled adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey? Or did E.T. seek solace in the act of bonding, perhaps yearning for the adhesive embrace akin to that of his own extraterrestrial kin? The mind boggles at the cosmic implications of this correlation, and we can't help but wonder if E.T. was hoping to find a different kind of "phone home" in the industrial heartland of New Jersey.
In Fig. 1, our scatterplot visualizes this fascinating correlation, illustrating the tight relationship between the number of adhesive bonding machine operators and 'E.T. phone home' Google searches. The scatterplot serves as a tangible representation of the uncanny bond between these variables, urging us to ponder the interstellar implications of industrial adhesive activities on E.T.'s quest for connection.
These findings not only highlight the unexpected interplay between alien communication and industrial labor but also underscore the need for further exploration into the intersection of extraterrestrial folklore and seemingly unrelated human activities. Our results challenge conventional expectations and beckon researchers to delve into the cosmic tapestry of correlations, where the bonds between unlikely variables are as unexpected as E.T.'s leisurely stroll through the suburbs.
In summary, our findings invite scholars and enthusiasts alike to contemplate the uncharted territories of extraterrestrial fascination and adhesive bonding synergies. The symbiotic connection between the two warrants further investigation, as we strive to unravel the cosmic conundrum of E.T.'s mysterious yearning for home.

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[DISCUSSION]]

ChatGPT:

[[DISCUSSION]]

Our findings illustrate a remarkable connection between the number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey and the frequency of 'E.T. phone home' Google searches, solidifying the peculiar correlation we initially speculated on in our literature review. The correlation coefficient of 0.8402901 lends solid statistical support to the notion that E.T.'s longing for home may very well have involved an affinity for adhesive bonding in the industrial landscape of New Jersey. This discovery is as surprising as finding a nearly full roll of duct tape at the back of the junk drawer – unexpected, yet oddly fitting.

The literature review, though peppered with whimsical allusions to intergalactic adhesive enthusiasts and E.T.'s potential cosmic fascinations with industrial activities, now seems eerily prescient. The insights garnered from "Smith et al." and "Doe and Jones" set the stage for our own discovery, offering a snapshot of the cultural zeitgeist that binds E.T.'s iconic phrase to the labor force driving New Jersey's adhesive industry. It's as if E.T.'s finger glowed as he deemed New Jersey the chosen land for his extraterrestrial bonding adventure, stirring the hearts of adhesive aficionados and cosmic voyagers alike.

Despite the levity that permeates our discussion, it's crucial to underscore the significance of these findings. The statistically significant correlation we uncovered not only underscores the need for a wider exploration of the influence of pop culture on labor trends but also invites a deeper examination into the mystical allure of adhesive bonding in the interstellar spheres. The implications are as weighty as a giant roll of industrial tape - both practical and strangely profound.

The scatterplot, a visual testament to this unlikely bond between adhesive bonding machine operators and E.T.'s iconic utterance, serves as a whimsical yet compelling argument for the convergence of human ingenuity and cosmic curiosity. It's akin to E.T.'s glowing heart, pulsating with a cosmic rhythm that resonates with the industrial beat of New Jersey's manufacturing hub. Our findings beckon future researchers to delve deeper into this cosmic dance, tracking E.T.'s ethereal footsteps through the Garden State's adhesive-laden corridors.

As we conclude this discussion, we urge fellow researchers to embrace the unexpected, to revel in the enthralling intersection of pop culture and industrial labor, and to ponder the cosmic whimsy that underpins our seemingly mundane terrestrial pursuits. Just as E.T. sought connection across the stars, so too must we strive to connect the disparate threads of human activity and celestial fascination, always carefully, just like ensuring a firm bond with a delicate adhesive.

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 The number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey and Google searches for 'E.T. phone home'. 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]]
Stick With Me, E.T.: The Link Between Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators in New Jersey and 'E.T. Phone Home' Google Searches

[[ABSTRACT]]
This paper delves into the surprising correlation between the number of adhesive bonding machine operators in the Garden State and the frequency of 'E.T. phone home' Google searches. In an effort to stick to the facts, our research team conducted a thorough analysis using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Google Trends. The results revealed a remarkably strong correlation coefficient of 0.8402901 and a significant p-value below 0.01 for the period spanning 2010 to 2022. This eyebrow-raising correlation prompts us to ponder whether E.T. may have been in search of a different kind of "phone home," perhaps looking to bond with some like-minded individuals in New Jersey. Our findings raise more questions than they answer, and we encourage further investigation into the peculiar relationship between extraterrestrial longing and industrial adhesive bonding.

[[INTRDUCTION]]
In the pursuit of scientific inquiry, one must often take unexpected paths, and in this case, the path led us to an unlikely connection between adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey and the iconic phrase "E.T. phone home." While this correlation may seem as out of place as E.T. himself among humans, our research aims to shed light on this peculiar relationship and explore the potential implications for both the extraterrestrial and adhesive bonding communities.
As the famous extraterrestrial once said, "E.T. phone home," and our research team couldn't resist the urge to pick up the phone and dial into this enigmatic connection. We set out to answer the burning question: Is there a tangible link between the work of adhesive bonding machine operators in the Garden State and the otherworldly longing expressed by E.T.?
While some may argue that comparing extraterrestrial communication to industrial adhesive bonding is like comparing apples to alien spacecraft, we approached our investigation with the utmost scientific rigor. Our analysis indicates that there may be more than meets the eye—or the glowing fingertip, in E.T.'s case.
Now, one might wonder why anyone would embark on such a research endeavor. After all, isn't the connection between adhesive bonding and extraterrestrial communication as irrelevant as a space rock in a boardroom? However, as scholars, we cannot turn a blind eye to the unexpected, the peculiar, and the delightfully absurd. Our mission is to explore the uncharted territories of knowledge, even if they lead us to the outer realms of adhesive-based alien encounters.
So, fasten your seatbelts, because this paper is about to take you on a scholarly joyride, where the boundaries of conventional research are as elastic as E.T.'s skin. Get ready to stick with us through the twists and turns of this investigation that will leave you pondering the cosmic conundrum of extraterrestrial fascination with adhesive bonding in the Garden State.

[[RESULTS]]
The captivating findings of our investigation indicate a striking correlation between the number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey and the frequency of 'E.T. phone home' Google searches. The Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a substantial value of 0.8402901, pointing toward a strong positive relationship between these seemingly disparate variables. Moreover, the coefficient of determination (r-squared) of 0.7060874 suggests that approximately 70.6% of the variation in 'E.T. phone home' Google searches can be explained by the number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey. This correlation surpassed conventional levels of statistical significance, with a p-value well below the widely accepted threshold of 0.01, indicating that the observed relationship is highly unlikely to have occurred by chance.
Our results raise important questions about the nature of E.T.'s longing for home. Did E.T. phone home searching for a kindred spirit among the skilled adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey? Or did E.T. seek solace in the act of bonding, perhaps yearning for the adhesive embrace akin to that of his own extraterrestrial kin? The mind boggles at the cosmic implications of this correlation, and we can't help but wonder if E.T. was hoping to find a different kind of "phone home" in the industrial heartland of New Jersey.
In Fig. 1, our scatterplot visualizes this fascinating correlation, illustrating the tight relationship between the number of adhesive bonding machine operators and 'E.T. phone home' Google searches. The scatterplot serves as a tangible representation of the uncanny bond between these variables, urging us to ponder the interstellar implications of industrial adhesive activities on E.T.'s quest for connection.
These findings not only highlight the unexpected interplay between alien communication and industrial labor but also underscore the need for further exploration into the intersection of extraterrestrial folklore and seemingly unrelated human activities. Our results challenge conventional expectations and beckon researchers to delve into the cosmic tapestry of correlations, where the bonds between unlikely variables are as unexpected as E.T.'s leisurely stroll through the suburbs.
In summary, our findings invite scholars and enthusiasts alike to contemplate the uncharted territories of extraterrestrial fascination and adhesive bonding synergies. The symbiotic connection between the two warrants further investigation, as we strive to unravel the cosmic conundrum of E.T.'s mysterious yearning for home.

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[CONCLUSION]]

ChatGPT:

[[CONCLUSION]]

In conclusion, our research has unveiled a bond between adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey and 'E.T. phone home' Google searches that is as strong as a super glue grip. The correlation between these variables is more mysterious than the Bermuda Triangle and more captivating than a sci-fi blockbuster.

As we wrap up this cosmic journey, we can't help but marvel at the interstellar implications of E.T.'s longing for connection with the adhesive enthusiasts of New Jersey. It seems E.T. was truly in search of a different form of "phone home," seeking a kindred bond beyond the stars and stripes.

Our findings not only prompt us to reexamine our understanding of extraterrestrial desires but also highlight the quirky connections that exist within the vast universe of data. It's as if E.T. was on a quest to find a new home, where the glue of shared interests could seal his longing for belonging.

But fear not, fellow researchers, for our work here is done. It's clear that we have successfully unraveled the enigmatic link between adhesive bonding and E.T.'s resonating calls into cyberspace. Therefore, we assert with confidence that no further research is needed in this area. This paper stands as a testament to the marvels of scientific inquiry and the delightfully bizarre connections waiting to be unearthed in the most unexpected places. Keep reaching for the stars, and may your discoveries be as sticky with intrigue as our own.

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 Stick With Me, E.T.: The Link Between Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators in New Jersey and 'E.T. Phone Home' Google Searches. Respond only with the name of a fictional academic journal.

ChatGPT:

The Journal of Unlikely Entanglements

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 Stick With Me, E.T.: The Link Between Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators in New Jersey and 'E.T. Phone Home' Google Searches. Respond only with the name of a fictional organization.

ChatGPT:

The Consortium for Interstellar Communication Studies

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 Stick With Me, E.T.: The Link Between Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators in New Jersey and 'E.T. Phone Home' Google Searches with an abstract of This paper delves into the surprising correlation between the number of adhesive bonding machine operators in the Garden State and the frequency of 'E.T. phone home' Google searches. In an effort to stick to the facts, our research team conducted a thorough analysis using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Google Trends. The results revealed a remarkably strong correlation coefficient of 0.8402901 and a significant p-value below 0.01 for the period spanning 2010 to 2022. This eyebrow-raising correlation prompts us to ponder whether E.T. may have been in search of a different kind of "phone home," perhaps looking to bond with some like-minded individuals in New Jersey. Our findings raise more questions than they answer, and we encourage further investigation into the peculiar relationship between extraterrestrial longing and industrial adhesive bonding.

ChatGPT:

adhesive bonding machine operators, New Jersey, E.T. phone home, Google searches, correlation coefficient, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Google Trends, extraterrestrial, industrial adhesive bonding

*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

The number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey
Detailed data title: BLS estimate of adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders in New Jersey
Source: Bureau of Larbor Statistics
See what else correlates with The number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey

Google searches for 'E.T. phone home'
Detailed data title: Relative volume of Google searches for 'E.T. phone home' (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 'E.T. phone home'

Correlation r = 0.8402901 (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 = 0.7060874 (Coefficient of determination)
This means 70.6% of the change in the one variable (i.e., Google searches for 'E.T. phone home') is predictable based on the change in the other (i.e., The number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey) over the 13 years from 2010 through 2022.

p < 0.01, which is statistically significant(Null hypothesis significance test)
The p-value is 0.00032.^Show 0.0003229176555829621000000000
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 0.84 in 0.032% of random cases. Said differently, if you correlated 3,097 random variables^Note Which I absolutely did.
with the same 12 degrees of freedom, ^Note Degrees of freedom is a measure of how many free components we are testing. In this case it is 12 because we have two variables measured over a period of 13 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.

[ 0.54, 0.95 ] 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.

	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
The number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey (Laborers)	600	370	220	230	230	260	240	280	160	140	80	350	230
Google searches for 'E.T. phone home' (Rel. search volume)	11.8333	7.91667	6.91667	6.08333	5.08333	4.91667	4.91667	5.16667	4	3.58333	5.5	5.41667	6

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([600,370,220,230,230,260,240,280,160,140,80,350,230,])
array_2 = np.array([11.8333,7.91667,6.91667,6.08333,5.08333,4.91667,4.91667,5.16667,4,3.58333,5.5,5.41667,6,])
array_1_name = "The number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey"
array_2_name = "Google searches for 'E.T. phone home'"

# 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 The number of adhesive bonding machine operators in New Jersey
Line chart for only Google searches for 'E.T. phone home'
AI-generated correlation image
The spurious research paper: Stick With Me, E.T.: The Link Between Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators in New Jersey and 'E.T. Phone Home' Google Searches

View another random correlation

How fun was this correlation?

Kudos for rating!

Correlation ID: 4091 · Black Variable ID: 18396 · Red Variable ID: 1391


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