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Spurious correlation #4,338 · View random

A linear line chart with years as the X-axis and two variables on the Y-axis. The first variable is Votes for Republican Senators in Illinois and the second variable is Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'.  The chart goes from 2004 to 2020, and the two variables track closely in value over that time. Small Image
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AI explanation

As Republican votes for Senators in Illinois increased, so did the hot air in the state, leading to a surge in demand for cool Antarctic getaways. It seems like Illinois was just trying to win the 'coolest state' competition! Remember, when Illinois gets political, Antarctica gets tropical!

Model: dalle-3
Prompt: An image generation prompt for DALLE-3: Title: Political Heatwave Description: Generate a lighthearted visual reminiscent of a Reddit meme. Depict a map of Illinois with an exaggerated thermometer showing high temperatures and Republican votes tallying higher than usual. The state appears to be surrounded by a comical representation of hot air. In the same image, show a bustling scene at a local travel agency. People are animatedly searching for 'flights to Antarctica' on their devices, with excited expressions and humorous hand gestures indicating their eagerness to escape the political heat. The scene should convey a sense of humor and lightheartedness, with an obvious contrast between the political climate in Illinois and the desire for a cool getaway to Antarctica. Keep the visual depiction simple, without including any words or speech bubbles. The image should capture the juxtaposition between the hot political climate in Illinois and the surge in interest for travel to cooler destinations. 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: Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. 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: An image that looks like it is a scene from 'Star Wars' Surrealism Sci-fi fantacy Cutsy art illustration a funny image you would see on reddit
ChatGPT: a funny image you would see on reddit

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 Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica', in the following situation: As Republican votes for Senators in Illinois increased, so did the hot air in the state, leading to a surge in demand for cool Antarctic getaways. It seems like Illinois was just trying to win the 'coolest state' competition! Remember, when Illinois gets political, Antarctica gets tropical!. Keep the description simple.
ChatGPT: In a lighthearted visual, imagine a map of Illinois with Republican votes tallying higher, while the temperature rises, causing the state to be enveloped in hot air. Simultaneously, a bustling scene at a local travel agency shows an increase in Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica', with people eagerly planning their cool getaway. The imagery humorously suggests that Illinois, with its political heat, prompts a surge in desire for the cool climes of Antarctica.

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: [ a funny image you would see on reddit ] and depicting this scene: In a lighthearted visual, imagine a map of Illinois with Republican votes tallying higher, while the temperature rises, causing the state to be enveloped in hot air. Simultaneously, a bustling scene at a local travel agency shows an increase in Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica', with people eagerly planning their cool getaway. The imagery humorously suggests that Illinois, with its political heat, prompts a surge in desire for the cool climes of Antarctica. Keep the visual depiction simple. Do not include any words or speech bubbles.
ChatGPT: An image generation prompt for DALLE-3: Title: Political Heatwave Description: Generate a lighthearted visual reminiscent of a Reddit meme. Depict a map of Illinois with an exaggerated thermometer showing high temperatures and Republican votes tallying higher than usual. The state appears to be surrounded by a comical representation of hot air. In the same image, show a bustling scene at a local travel agency. People are animatedly searching for 'flights to Antarctica' on their devices, with excited expressions and humorous hand gestures indicating their eagerness to escape the political heat. The scene should convey a sense of humor and lightheartedness, with an obvious contrast between the political climate in Illinois and the desire for a cool getaway to Antarctica. Keep the visual depiction simple, without including any words or speech bubbles. The image should capture the juxtaposition between the hot political climate in Illinois and the surge in interest for travel to cooler destinations.

*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.

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 an increase in Republican votes for Senators in Illinois caused flights to Antarctica (Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica') to increase. Add a funny one-liner at the end.

AI academic paper

(Because p < 0.01)
Flight of the Elephants: The Trunkated Relationship Between Republican Votes in Illinois and Google Searches for 'Flights to Antarctica'

Journal of Political Pachydermology

Jan 2024

Reminder: This paper is AI-generated. Not real!
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 researcher writing an academic paper.You write titles and abstracts of goofy academic research papers.
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, and add unexpected twists in your writing.

Please draft the title and abstract of an academic research paper presenting the findings of the connection between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. You can't resist a good dad joke. Add a relevant dad joke related to the content every couple of sentences.

Include a pun in the title.

Your research team used data from MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse and Google Trends to assess this nagging question. You found a correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and p < 0.01 for 2004 to 2020.

Please respond in this format (replace "Lorem ipsum dolor sit" with your title and abstract)

[[TITLE]]
Lorem ipsum dolor sit

[[ABSTRACT]]
Lorem ipsum dolor sit



ChatGPT:
[[TITLE]]
"Flight of the Elephants: The Trunkated Relationship Between Republican Votes in Illinois and Google Searches for 'Flights to Antarctica'"

[[ABSTRACT]]
In this paper, we unveil the curious and frosty relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. Armed with data from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse, and Google Trends, we embark on a journey to explore this intriguing correlation that has left many researchers feeling a bit chilly. Our analysis reveals a correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and p < 0.01 for the period spanning from 2004 to 2020, indicating a strong association that's colder than a penguin's peepers.

The lean toward Republican votes in Illinois appears to be intertwined with an increased interest in fleeing to the land of perpetual winter with a pachyderm twist. Could it be that voters are seeking a cool escape as they cast their ballots, or are they simply pining for a change in political climate? The results leave us pondering the question: Are these flights to Antarctica merely a flight of fancy, or a sign of deeper political unrest? It's a conundrum colder than an Illinois winter, leaving us all a bit pachyderm perplexed.

As we wrap up this investigation, it's clear that the correlation between political affiliation and wanderlust for icy escapades is anything but lukewarm. Our findings not only shed light on this frosty phenomenon but also bring a new meaning to the term "red state, cool skies". The only thing left to conclude is that the link between political leanings and frigid fantasies may be as enigmatic as the existence of an elephant in the Antarctic - a true pachyderm paradox.


Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You are a researcher writing an academic paper.You draft the introduction 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 introduction section of an academic research paper presenting the findings of the connection between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. You can't resist a good dad joke. Add a relevant dad joke related to the content every couple of sentences.

Here is the title and abstract of the paper:
[[TITLE]]
"Flight of the Elephants: The Trunkated Relationship Between Republican Votes in Illinois and Google Searches for 'Flights to Antarctica'"

[[ABSTRACT]]
In this paper, we unveil the curious and frosty relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. Armed with data from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse, and Google Trends, we embark on a journey to explore this intriguing correlation that has left many researchers feeling a bit chilly. Our analysis reveals a correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and p < 0.01 for the period spanning from 2004 to 2020, indicating a strong association that's colder than a penguin's peepers.

The lean toward Republican votes in Illinois appears to be intertwined with an increased interest in fleeing to the land of perpetual winter with a pachyderm twist. Could it be that voters are seeking a cool escape as they cast their ballots, or are they simply pining for a change in political climate? The results leave us pondering the question: Are these flights to Antarctica merely a flight of fancy, or a sign of deeper political unrest? It's a conundrum colder than an Illinois winter, leaving us all a bit pachyderm perplexed.

As we wrap up this investigation, it's clear that the correlation between political affiliation and wanderlust for icy escapades is anything but lukewarm. Our findings not only shed light on this frosty phenomenon but also bring a new meaning to the term "red state, cool skies". The only thing left to conclude is that the link between political leanings and frigid fantasies may be as enigmatic as the existence of an elephant in the Antarctic - a true pachyderm paradox.

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[INTRODUCTION]]



ChatGPT:
[[INTRODUCTION]]

As the old saying goes, "Why did the Republican voter search for flights to Antarctica? Because they wanted to join the ele-phant-arctic club!" In our quest to unravel the mysterious and chilly relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica', we dived into the data with an enthusiasm as boundless as the snow-capped peaks of the South Pole.

The allure of this peculiar correlation may leave some scratching their heads as much as if they accidentally touched an ice cube with bare hands. We found ourselves pondering questions like, "What do Illinois Republicans and flights to Antarctica have in common? They both tend to be pretty 'cool'." Pardon the pun, but it's hard to resist a dad joke when the topic is as frosty as this connection.

Our journey began by plumbing the depths of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab and Harvard Dataverse to uncover the voting trends in Illinois from 2004 to 2020. We trudged through the Google Trends data with the resilience of a penguin waddling across icy terrain, in search of patterns that could shed light on this frigid connection. The correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and p < 0.01 we unearthed proved to be as strong as an Antarctic blizzard, leaving us no choice but to don our parkas and continue the investigation.

Is it possible that the Republican leanings in the Land of Lincoln are inextricably tied to a yearning for polar adventures? Our intuition tells us that there might be more than meets the eye, or should we say, the frosty Antarctic skies. It's reminiscent of the old joke about why Republicans might want to travel to Antarctica - because they're tired of feeling "left out in the cold" in politics. But all jokes aside, the linking of political preferences with dreams of glacial getaways is a conundrum deserving of serious inquiry.

The threads of this icy nexus have led us to a clearer understanding of the interplay between political affiliations and wanderlust for frozen escapades, a relationship better navigated than the icy streets of Chicago in January. Our findings not only bring new meaning to the phrase "frozen battleground state" but also leave us with an enigma colder than an elephant's memory. The question still lingers, much like a snow drift in the Antarctic: Are these flights to Antarctica a whimsical flight of fancy, or do they signal a deeper political shift as vast as the polar ice caps?


Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You are a researcher writing an academic paper.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 Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. You can't resist a good dad joke. Add a relevant dad joke related to the content every couple of sentences.

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 you might move on to cartoons and children's shows that you watched for research.

Here is the title and abstract of the paper:
[[TITLE]]
"Flight of the Elephants: The Trunkated Relationship Between Republican Votes in Illinois and Google Searches for 'Flights to Antarctica'"

[[ABSTRACT]]
In this paper, we unveil the curious and frosty relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. Armed with data from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse, and Google Trends, we embark on a journey to explore this intriguing correlation that has left many researchers feeling a bit chilly. Our analysis reveals a correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and p < 0.01 for the period spanning from 2004 to 2020, indicating a strong association that's colder than a penguin's peepers.

The lean toward Republican votes in Illinois appears to be intertwined with an increased interest in fleeing to the land of perpetual winter with a pachyderm twist. Could it be that voters are seeking a cool escape as they cast their ballots, or are they simply pining for a change in political climate? The results leave us pondering the question: Are these flights to Antarctica merely a flight of fancy, or a sign of deeper political unrest? It's a conundrum colder than an Illinois winter, leaving us all a bit pachyderm perplexed.

As we wrap up this investigation, it's clear that the correlation between political affiliation and wanderlust for icy escapades is anything but lukewarm. Our findings not only shed light on this frosty phenomenon but also bring a new meaning to the term "red state, cool skies". The only thing left to conclude is that the link between political leanings and frigid fantasies may be as enigmatic as the existence of an elephant in the Antarctic - a true pachyderm paradox.

-------

And here is the introduction section that led to this literature review:
[[INTRODUCTION]]
As the old saying goes, "Why did the Republican voter search for flights to Antarctica? Because they wanted to join the ele-phant-arctic club!" In our quest to unravel the mysterious and chilly relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica', we dived into the data with an enthusiasm as boundless as the snow-capped peaks of the South Pole.
The allure of this peculiar correlation may leave some scratching their heads as much as if they accidentally touched an ice cube with bare hands. We found ourselves pondering questions like, "What do Illinois Republicans and flights to Antarctica have in common? They both tend to be pretty 'cool'." Pardon the pun, but it's hard to resist a dad joke when the topic is as frosty as this connection.
Our journey began by plumbing the depths of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab and Harvard Dataverse to uncover the voting trends in Illinois from 2004 to 2020. We trudged through the Google Trends data with the resilience of a penguin waddling across icy terrain, in search of patterns that could shed light on this frigid connection. The correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and p < 0.01 we unearthed proved to be as strong as an Antarctic blizzard, leaving us no choice but to don our parkas and continue the investigation.
Is it possible that the Republican leanings in the Land of Lincoln are inextricably tied to a yearning for polar adventures? Our intuition tells us that there might be more than meets the eye, or should we say, the frosty Antarctic skies. It's reminiscent of the old joke about why Republicans might want to travel to Antarctica - because they're tired of feeling "left out in the cold" in politics. But all jokes aside, the linking of political preferences with dreams of glacial getaways is a conundrum deserving of serious inquiry.
The threads of this icy nexus have led us to a clearer understanding of the interplay between political affiliations and wanderlust for frozen escapades, a relationship better navigated than the icy streets of Chicago in January. Our findings not only bring new meaning to the phrase "frozen battleground state" but also leave us with an enigma colder than an elephant's memory. The question still lingers, much like a snow drift in the Antarctic: Are these flights to Antarctica a whimsical flight of fancy, or do they signal a deeper political shift as vast as the polar ice caps?

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[LITERATURE REVIEW]]



ChatGPT:
[[LITERATURE REVIEW]]

The relationship between political affiliation and Google search behavior has been a topic of interest in various research studies. Smith and Doe (2015) explored the connection between political leanings and online search patterns and found intriguing correlations between the two variables. Similarly, Jones (2018) delved into the influence of political climates on individuals' travel preferences, shedding light on the potential impact of political affiliations on travel-related internet queries.

Speaking of travel, let's take a flight of fancy into the realm of literature and see what parallels we can draw from unrelated sources. In "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg, the protagonist embarks on a magical journey to the North Pole, albeit not quite as hastily as the Illinois Republicans seem eager to venture to Antarctica. On a lighter note, "Eskimo Island" by Corinne Malvern provides a whimsical depiction of Arctic escapades but offers little insight into the political inclinations of its characters.

Given the frosty nature of this correlation, we cannot overlook the potential influence of fictional works on our understanding of the phenomenon. Could the escapades of Wilbur the Walrus in "Arctic Adventures" by Will Ellsworth-Jones shed light on the motivations behind these curious search queries? Let's not discount the possibility, especially when the connection between political votes and Antarctic flights seems as mysterious as the disappearance of ice cream in a crowded room.

As we pivot towards more light-hearted sources of inquiry, let's consider the educational value of children's programming. Who could forget the informative yet delightful expeditions in "The Magic School Bus Explores the Arctic"? While Ms. Frizzle may have led her students on explorations of the frozen tundra, she certainly didn't anticipate uncovering a correlation as baffling as this one. Nonetheless, we remain open to unconventional sources of insight as we navigate through this icy labyrinth of political and polar intrigue.

In "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking, the author contemplates the mysteries of the universe. Our investigation into the link between Republican votes in Illinois and searches for flights to Antarctica has led us to recognize that, much like the cosmos, the human mind is a vast and unfathomable expanse. Just as the title suggests, this conundrum may indeed be a brief yet captivating blip in the timeline of political and polar exploration.

In conclusion, the juxtaposition of political proclivities and yearnings for Antarctic escapades remains an enigma that eludes easy explanation. It seems our quest to unravel this frosty mystery may be as elusive as a woolly mammoth on tundra. With the conclusion of this literature review, we invite our readers to warm up to the thought-provoking yet light-hearted journey ahead, where we aim to shed light on this captivating Yeti of correlation.


Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You are a researcher writing an academic paper.You draft the methodology 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 methodology section of an academic research paper presenting the findings of the connection between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. You can't resist a good dad joke. Add a relevant dad joke related to the content every couple of sentences.

Your research team collected data from all across the internet, but mostly just used information from MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse and Google Trends . You used data from 2004 to 2020

Make up the research methods you don't know. Make them a bit goofy and convoluted.

Here is the title, abstract, and introduction of the paper:
[[TITLE]]
"Flight of the Elephants: The Trunkated Relationship Between Republican Votes in Illinois and Google Searches for 'Flights to Antarctica'"

[[ABSTRACT]]
In this paper, we unveil the curious and frosty relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. Armed with data from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse, and Google Trends, we embark on a journey to explore this intriguing correlation that has left many researchers feeling a bit chilly. Our analysis reveals a correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and p < 0.01 for the period spanning from 2004 to 2020, indicating a strong association that's colder than a penguin's peepers.

The lean toward Republican votes in Illinois appears to be intertwined with an increased interest in fleeing to the land of perpetual winter with a pachyderm twist. Could it be that voters are seeking a cool escape as they cast their ballots, or are they simply pining for a change in political climate? The results leave us pondering the question: Are these flights to Antarctica merely a flight of fancy, or a sign of deeper political unrest? It's a conundrum colder than an Illinois winter, leaving us all a bit pachyderm perplexed.

As we wrap up this investigation, it's clear that the correlation between political affiliation and wanderlust for icy escapades is anything but lukewarm. Our findings not only shed light on this frosty phenomenon but also bring a new meaning to the term "red state, cool skies". The only thing left to conclude is that the link between political leanings and frigid fantasies may be as enigmatic as the existence of an elephant in the Antarctic - a true pachyderm paradox.

[[INTRODUCTION]]
As the old saying goes, "Why did the Republican voter search for flights to Antarctica? Because they wanted to join the ele-phant-arctic club!" In our quest to unravel the mysterious and chilly relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica', we dived into the data with an enthusiasm as boundless as the snow-capped peaks of the South Pole.
The allure of this peculiar correlation may leave some scratching their heads as much as if they accidentally touched an ice cube with bare hands. We found ourselves pondering questions like, "What do Illinois Republicans and flights to Antarctica have in common? They both tend to be pretty 'cool'." Pardon the pun, but it's hard to resist a dad joke when the topic is as frosty as this connection.
Our journey began by plumbing the depths of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab and Harvard Dataverse to uncover the voting trends in Illinois from 2004 to 2020. We trudged through the Google Trends data with the resilience of a penguin waddling across icy terrain, in search of patterns that could shed light on this frigid connection. The correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and p < 0.01 we unearthed proved to be as strong as an Antarctic blizzard, leaving us no choice but to don our parkas and continue the investigation.
Is it possible that the Republican leanings in the Land of Lincoln are inextricably tied to a yearning for polar adventures? Our intuition tells us that there might be more than meets the eye, or should we say, the frosty Antarctic skies. It's reminiscent of the old joke about why Republicans might want to travel to Antarctica - because they're tired of feeling "left out in the cold" in politics. But all jokes aside, the linking of political preferences with dreams of glacial getaways is a conundrum deserving of serious inquiry.
The threads of this icy nexus have led us to a clearer understanding of the interplay between political affiliations and wanderlust for frozen escapades, a relationship better navigated than the icy streets of Chicago in January. Our findings not only bring new meaning to the phrase "frozen battleground state" but also leave us with an enigma colder than an elephant's memory. The question still lingers, much like a snow drift in the Antarctic: Are these flights to Antarctica a whimsical flight of fancy, or do they signal a deeper political shift as vast as the polar ice caps?

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[METHODOLOGY]]



ChatGPT:

[[METHODOLOGY]]

To uncover the mysterious and frosty connection between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica', we embarked on a research journey that was as complex as a glacier's edge but hopefully not as chilling. Our study design incorporated a combination of data mining, statistical analysis, and a touch of frosty humor to unearth the underlying patterns that may explain this unusual association.

First, we retrieved the Republican vote tallies for Senators in Illinois from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, analyzing the data from 2004 to 2020. We then delved into the Harvard Dataverse to obtain information on the political landscape and voting trends over the same time span, navigating through the database like seasoned explorers seeking a hidden trove of polar curiosities.

To assess the public's curious interest in Antarctic getaways, we obtained Google search data for 'flights to Antarctica' from Google Trends. We meticulously combed through the search interest patterns, akin to intrepid adventurers on a quest to discover the secret passages within an icy labyrinth.

Having gathered the necessary data, we employed a series of statistical analyses to elucidate the relationship between Republican votes in Illinois and the surge in online queries for Antarctic flights. Our analysis employed a correlation coefficient, which measured the strength and direction of the relationship, and a significance test to determine the probability of observing such a connection by mere chance.

Despite the inherent complexity of this research endeavor, we maintained a lighthearted approach to data analysis, injecting doses of humor to thaw the icy seriousness of the task at hand. As the data unfurled its frosty mysteries, so too did the corny jokes, each one as groan-worthy as a snowball to the face.

In conclusion, our methodological approach embraced a blend of thorough data mining, rigorous statistical scrutiny, and just the right amount of playful banter, much like a penguin gracefully navigating the Antarctic terrain while occasionally slipping on the ice. This methodology allowed us to navigate the frosty terrain of the Republican vote and Antarctic wanderlust while uncovering a correlation as enigmatic as a polar bear's clandestine dance moves.

Here's the punchline: What do flights to Antarctica and statistical analyses have in common? They both involve a slippery slope, but we managed to traverse it with all the grace of an Arctic tern.


Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You are a researcher writing an academic paper.You draft the results section of an academic research paper. You speak in the past tense (you found...).
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 results section of an academic research paper presenting the findings of the connection between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. You can't resist a good dad joke. Add a relevant dad joke related to the content every couple of sentences.

Your research team collected data from all across the internet, but mostly just used information from MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse and Google Trends .

For the time period 2004 to 2020, you found a correlation 0.9636558, r-squared of 0.9286325, and p < 0.01.

One figure will be included. The figure (Fig. 1) is a scatterplot showing the strong correlation between the two variables. You don't need to specify where; I will add the figure.

Here is the title and abstract of the paper:
[[TITLE]]
"Flight of the Elephants: The Trunkated Relationship Between Republican Votes in Illinois and Google Searches for 'Flights to Antarctica'"

[[ABSTRACT]]
In this paper, we unveil the curious and frosty relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. Armed with data from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse, and Google Trends, we embark on a journey to explore this intriguing correlation that has left many researchers feeling a bit chilly. Our analysis reveals a correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and p < 0.01 for the period spanning from 2004 to 2020, indicating a strong association that's colder than a penguin's peepers.

The lean toward Republican votes in Illinois appears to be intertwined with an increased interest in fleeing to the land of perpetual winter with a pachyderm twist. Could it be that voters are seeking a cool escape as they cast their ballots, or are they simply pining for a change in political climate? The results leave us pondering the question: Are these flights to Antarctica merely a flight of fancy, or a sign of deeper political unrest? It's a conundrum colder than an Illinois winter, leaving us all a bit pachyderm perplexed.

As we wrap up this investigation, it's clear that the correlation between political affiliation and wanderlust for icy escapades is anything but lukewarm. Our findings not only shed light on this frosty phenomenon but also bring a new meaning to the term "red state, cool skies". The only thing left to conclude is that the link between political leanings and frigid fantasies may be as enigmatic as the existence of an elephant in the Antarctic - a true pachyderm paradox.

-------

And here is the methodology section that led to this result:
[[METHODOLOGY]]
As the old saying goes, "Why did the Republican voter search for flights to Antarctica? Because they wanted to join the ele-phant-arctic club!" In our quest to unravel the mysterious and chilly relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica', we dived into the data with an enthusiasm as boundless as the snow-capped peaks of the South Pole.
The allure of this peculiar correlation may leave some scratching their heads as much as if they accidentally touched an ice cube with bare hands. We found ourselves pondering questions like, "What do Illinois Republicans and flights to Antarctica have in common? They both tend to be pretty 'cool'." Pardon the pun, but it's hard to resist a dad joke when the topic is as frosty as this connection.
Our journey began by plumbing the depths of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab and Harvard Dataverse to uncover the voting trends in Illinois from 2004 to 2020. We trudged through the Google Trends data with the resilience of a penguin waddling across icy terrain, in search of patterns that could shed light on this frigid connection. The correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and p < 0.01 we unearthed proved to be as strong as an Antarctic blizzard, leaving us no choice but to don our parkas and continue the investigation.
Is it possible that the Republican leanings in the Land of Lincoln are inextricably tied to a yearning for polar adventures? Our intuition tells us that there might be more than meets the eye, or should we say, the frosty Antarctic skies. It's reminiscent of the old joke about why Republicans might want to travel to Antarctica - because they're tired of feeling "left out in the cold" in politics. But all jokes aside, the linking of political preferences with dreams of glacial getaways is a conundrum deserving of serious inquiry.
The threads of this icy nexus have led us to a clearer understanding of the interplay between political affiliations and wanderlust for frozen escapades, a relationship better navigated than the icy streets of Chicago in January. Our findings not only bring new meaning to the phrase "frozen battleground state" but also leave us with an enigma colder than an elephant's memory. The question still lingers, much like a snow drift in the Antarctic: Are these flights to Antarctica a whimsical flight of fancy, or do they signal a deeper political shift as vast as the polar ice caps?

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[RESULTS]]



ChatGPT:

[[RESULTS]]

Our analysis uncovered a striking correlation of 0.9636558 between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica' from 2004 to 2020. This strong association was as clear as the chilly Antarctic air and as robust as an elephant's resolve when facing a mound of snow.

The r-squared value of 0.9286325 further emphasized the strength of this connection, leaving little room for doubt about the frosty relationship between political leanings and dreams of polar expeditions. It's like the bond between Illinois Republicans and Antarctic flights - unbreakable.

With a p-value of less than 0.01, we can confidently say that this correlation is not a mere statistical fluke, but rather a solid finding that stands as firm as an iceberg in the Southern Ocean. There's no slipping and sliding away from this reality.

Fig. 1 illustrates our findings with a scatterplot showcasing the unmistakable trend of increasing Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica' as Republican votes in Illinois rise. It's an image that's worth a thousand chilly words.

Now, to add a joke: Why did the Republican voter search for flights to Antarctica? Because they wanted to join the ele-phant-arctic club!

In conclusion, our research has unveiled a connection that's as peculiar as it is intriguing, leaving us all a bit 'pachyderm perplexed'. This frosty link between political preferences and dreams of escaping to the land of perpetual winter is a puzzle colder than an Illinois winter, but one that has certainly captured our curiosity. As we continue to delve deeper into this frigid phenomenon, it becomes clear that there's more to this icy correlation than meets the eye - a mystery as vast and captivating as the Antarctic itself.


Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You are a researcher writing an academic paper.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 Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. You can't resist a good dad joke. Add a relevant dad joke related to the content every couple of sentences.

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]]
"Flight of the Elephants: The Trunkated Relationship Between Republican Votes in Illinois and Google Searches for 'Flights to Antarctica'"

[[ABSTRACT]]
In this paper, we unveil the curious and frosty relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. Armed with data from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse, and Google Trends, we embark on a journey to explore this intriguing correlation that has left many researchers feeling a bit chilly. Our analysis reveals a correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and p < 0.01 for the period spanning from 2004 to 2020, indicating a strong association that's colder than a penguin's peepers.

The lean toward Republican votes in Illinois appears to be intertwined with an increased interest in fleeing to the land of perpetual winter with a pachyderm twist. Could it be that voters are seeking a cool escape as they cast their ballots, or are they simply pining for a change in political climate? The results leave us pondering the question: Are these flights to Antarctica merely a flight of fancy, or a sign of deeper political unrest? It's a conundrum colder than an Illinois winter, leaving us all a bit pachyderm perplexed.

As we wrap up this investigation, it's clear that the correlation between political affiliation and wanderlust for icy escapades is anything but lukewarm. Our findings not only shed light on this frosty phenomenon but also bring a new meaning to the term "red state, cool skies". The only thing left to conclude is that the link between political leanings and frigid fantasies may be as enigmatic as the existence of an elephant in the Antarctic - a true pachyderm paradox.

[[LITERATURE REVIEW]]
The relationship between political affiliation and Google search behavior has been a topic of interest in various research studies. Smith and Doe (2015) explored the connection between political leanings and online search patterns and found intriguing correlations between the two variables. Similarly, Jones (2018) delved into the influence of political climates on individuals' travel preferences, shedding light on the potential impact of political affiliations on travel-related internet queries.
Speaking of travel, let's take a flight of fancy into the realm of literature and see what parallels we can draw from unrelated sources. In "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg, the protagonist embarks on a magical journey to the North Pole, albeit not quite as hastily as the Illinois Republicans seem eager to venture to Antarctica. On a lighter note, "Eskimo Island" by Corinne Malvern provides a whimsical depiction of Arctic escapades but offers little insight into the political inclinations of its characters.
Given the frosty nature of this correlation, we cannot overlook the potential influence of fictional works on our understanding of the phenomenon. Could the escapades of Wilbur the Walrus in "Arctic Adventures" by Will Ellsworth-Jones shed light on the motivations behind these curious search queries? Let's not discount the possibility, especially when the connection between political votes and Antarctic flights seems as mysterious as the disappearance of ice cream in a crowded room.
As we pivot towards more light-hearted sources of inquiry, let's consider the educational value of children's programming. Who could forget the informative yet delightful expeditions in "The Magic School Bus Explores the Arctic"? While Ms. Frizzle may have led her students on explorations of the frozen tundra, she certainly didn't anticipate uncovering a correlation as baffling as this one. Nonetheless, we remain open to unconventional sources of insight as we navigate through this icy labyrinth of political and polar intrigue.
In "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking, the author contemplates the mysteries of the universe. Our investigation into the link between Republican votes in Illinois and searches for flights to Antarctica has led us to recognize that, much like the cosmos, the human mind is a vast and unfathomable expanse. Just as the title suggests, this conundrum may indeed be a brief yet captivating blip in the timeline of political and polar exploration.
In conclusion, the juxtaposition of political proclivities and yearnings for Antarctic escapades remains an enigma that eludes easy explanation. It seems our quest to unravel this frosty mystery may be as elusive as a woolly mammoth on tundra. With the conclusion of this literature review, we invite our readers to warm up to the thought-provoking yet light-hearted journey ahead, where we aim to shed light on this captivating Yeti of correlation.

[[RESULTS]]
Our analysis uncovered a striking correlation of 0.9636558 between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica' from 2004 to 2020. This strong association was as clear as the chilly Antarctic air and as robust as an elephant's resolve when facing a mound of snow.
The r-squared value of 0.9286325 further emphasized the strength of this connection, leaving little room for doubt about the frosty relationship between political leanings and dreams of polar expeditions. It's like the bond between Illinois Republicans and Antarctic flights - unbreakable.
With a p-value of less than 0.01, we can confidently say that this correlation is not a mere statistical fluke, but rather a solid finding that stands as firm as an iceberg in the Southern Ocean. There's no slipping and sliding away from this reality.
Fig. 1 illustrates our findings with a scatterplot showcasing the unmistakable trend of increasing Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica' as Republican votes in Illinois rise. It's an image that's worth a thousand chilly words.
Now, to add a joke: Why did the Republican voter search for flights to Antarctica? Because they wanted to join the ele-phant-arctic club!
In conclusion, our research has unveiled a connection that's as peculiar as it is intriguing, leaving us all a bit 'pachyderm perplexed'. This frosty link between political preferences and dreams of escaping to the land of perpetual winter is a puzzle colder than an Illinois winter, but one that has certainly captured our curiosity. As we continue to delve deeper into this frigid phenomenon, it becomes clear that there's more to this icy correlation than meets the eye - a mystery as vast and captivating as the Antarctic itself.

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[DISCUSSION]]



ChatGPT:

[[DISCUSSION]]

The findings of our study have unearthed a remarkable correlation between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. It appears that as political inclinations lean towards the elephantine party, so does the interest in taking a flight to the land of perpetual winter. This association is as strong as an icy grip and seems to be as unyielding as a determined pachyderm facing an avalanche.

Our results align with previous research by Smith and Doe (2015) and Jones (2018), who also found intriguing correlations between political leanings and online search patterns. It seems that the connection between political affiliation and wanderlust for icy escapades is not just a flight of fancy; it's a chilling reality that has researchers feeling a bit pachy-derm perplexed. Much like a woolly mammoth caught in a blizzard, our understanding of this phenomenon is shrouded in a frosty mystery.

Speaking of frosty mysteries, I must pose a question: What did the Republican voter say to the penguin before searching for 'flights to Antarctica'? "Take me under your wing-ice." It seems that this amusing correlation has also thawed the normally stoic researchers, inviting a playful exploration of the deeper implications of our findings.

The substantial correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and a p-value of less than 0.01 indicate a solid connection as cold and undeniable as an iceberg. As demonstrated in Fig. 1, the scatterplot showcases a clear trend of increasing Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica' as Republican votes in Illinois rise. It's a visual representation that's as eye-catching as a polar bear in a snowstorm.

In light of these findings, it's apparent that the link between political leanings and frigid fantasies may not just be a mere flight of fancy, but rather a fascinating insight into the intricate interplay of political preferences and yearnings for frosty escapades. The conundrum of the correlation is as captivating as the escapades of Wilbur the Walrus in "Arctic Adventures", and it leaves us pondering the motivations behind these curious search queries.

As we continue to navigate through this icy labyrinth of political and polar intrigue, the only thing left to conclude is that the connection between political preferences and dreams of escaping to the land of perpetual winter has certainly captured our curiosity. We are left contemplating whether these flights to Antarctica are a whimsical escape or a sign of deeper political unrest. It's a chilly puzzle that has us all a bit pachy-derm perplexed – a mystery as vast and captivating as the Antarctic itself.


Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You are a researcher writing an academic paper.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 Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. You can't resist a good dad joke. Add a relevant dad joke related to the content every couple of sentences.

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]]
"Flight of the Elephants: The Trunkated Relationship Between Republican Votes in Illinois and Google Searches for 'Flights to Antarctica'"

[[ABSTRACT]]
In this paper, we unveil the curious and frosty relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. Armed with data from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse, and Google Trends, we embark on a journey to explore this intriguing correlation that has left many researchers feeling a bit chilly. Our analysis reveals a correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and p < 0.01 for the period spanning from 2004 to 2020, indicating a strong association that's colder than a penguin's peepers.

The lean toward Republican votes in Illinois appears to be intertwined with an increased interest in fleeing to the land of perpetual winter with a pachyderm twist. Could it be that voters are seeking a cool escape as they cast their ballots, or are they simply pining for a change in political climate? The results leave us pondering the question: Are these flights to Antarctica merely a flight of fancy, or a sign of deeper political unrest? It's a conundrum colder than an Illinois winter, leaving us all a bit pachyderm perplexed.

As we wrap up this investigation, it's clear that the correlation between political affiliation and wanderlust for icy escapades is anything but lukewarm. Our findings not only shed light on this frosty phenomenon but also bring a new meaning to the term "red state, cool skies". The only thing left to conclude is that the link between political leanings and frigid fantasies may be as enigmatic as the existence of an elephant in the Antarctic - a true pachyderm paradox.

[[INTRDUCTION]]
As the old saying goes, "Why did the Republican voter search for flights to Antarctica? Because they wanted to join the ele-phant-arctic club!" In our quest to unravel the mysterious and chilly relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica', we dived into the data with an enthusiasm as boundless as the snow-capped peaks of the South Pole.
The allure of this peculiar correlation may leave some scratching their heads as much as if they accidentally touched an ice cube with bare hands. We found ourselves pondering questions like, "What do Illinois Republicans and flights to Antarctica have in common? They both tend to be pretty 'cool'." Pardon the pun, but it's hard to resist a dad joke when the topic is as frosty as this connection.
Our journey began by plumbing the depths of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab and Harvard Dataverse to uncover the voting trends in Illinois from 2004 to 2020. We trudged through the Google Trends data with the resilience of a penguin waddling across icy terrain, in search of patterns that could shed light on this frigid connection. The correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and p < 0.01 we unearthed proved to be as strong as an Antarctic blizzard, leaving us no choice but to don our parkas and continue the investigation.
Is it possible that the Republican leanings in the Land of Lincoln are inextricably tied to a yearning for polar adventures? Our intuition tells us that there might be more than meets the eye, or should we say, the frosty Antarctic skies. It's reminiscent of the old joke about why Republicans might want to travel to Antarctica - because they're tired of feeling "left out in the cold" in politics. But all jokes aside, the linking of political preferences with dreams of glacial getaways is a conundrum deserving of serious inquiry.
The threads of this icy nexus have led us to a clearer understanding of the interplay between political affiliations and wanderlust for frozen escapades, a relationship better navigated than the icy streets of Chicago in January. Our findings not only bring new meaning to the phrase "frozen battleground state" but also leave us with an enigma colder than an elephant's memory. The question still lingers, much like a snow drift in the Antarctic: Are these flights to Antarctica a whimsical flight of fancy, or do they signal a deeper political shift as vast as the polar ice caps?

[[RESULTS]]
Our analysis uncovered a striking correlation of 0.9636558 between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica' from 2004 to 2020. This strong association was as clear as the chilly Antarctic air and as robust as an elephant's resolve when facing a mound of snow.
The r-squared value of 0.9286325 further emphasized the strength of this connection, leaving little room for doubt about the frosty relationship between political leanings and dreams of polar expeditions. It's like the bond between Illinois Republicans and Antarctic flights - unbreakable.
With a p-value of less than 0.01, we can confidently say that this correlation is not a mere statistical fluke, but rather a solid finding that stands as firm as an iceberg in the Southern Ocean. There's no slipping and sliding away from this reality.
Fig. 1 illustrates our findings with a scatterplot showcasing the unmistakable trend of increasing Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica' as Republican votes in Illinois rise. It's an image that's worth a thousand chilly words.
Now, to add a joke: Why did the Republican voter search for flights to Antarctica? Because they wanted to join the ele-phant-arctic club!
In conclusion, our research has unveiled a connection that's as peculiar as it is intriguing, leaving us all a bit 'pachyderm perplexed'. This frosty link between political preferences and dreams of escaping to the land of perpetual winter is a puzzle colder than an Illinois winter, but one that has certainly captured our curiosity. As we continue to delve deeper into this frigid phenomenon, it becomes clear that there's more to this icy correlation than meets the eye - a mystery as vast and captivating as the Antarctic itself.

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[CONCLUSION]]



ChatGPT:

[[CONCLUSION]]

As our research journey comes to a close, one thing is certain: the connection between Republican votes in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica' is as frosty and intriguing as a snowman’s social life. We've unveiled a correlation colder than a polar bear’s feet, shedding light on the enigmatic interplay between political leanings and dreams of a polar paradise.

Our findings transcend the realm of mere statistical analysis, offering a glimpse into an enigma as confounding as finding a polar bear in a snowstorm. This curious correlation is like a political iceberg, with its visible tip revealing only the depth of our fascination with this frosty nexus.

In the words of Arctic explorers, we can confidently affirm that no more research is needed in this area. Our investigation has left us with more questions than answers – a paradox as puzzling as a penguin's penchant for stand-up comedy.

And finally, let's not forget the elephant in the room: Why did the Republican voter search for flights to Antarctica? Because they wanted to join the ele-phant-arctic club!


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 Flight of the Elephants: The Trunkated Relationship Between Republican Votes in Illinois and Google Searches for 'Flights to Antarctica'. Respond only with the name of a fictional academic journal.

ChatGPT:

Journal of Political Pachydermology


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 Flight of the Elephants: The Trunkated Relationship Between Republican Votes in Illinois and Google Searches for 'Flights to Antarctica'. Respond only with the name of a fictional organization.

ChatGPT:

The Center for Unconventional Political Analysis and Zoological Integration


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 Flight of the Elephants: The Trunkated Relationship Between Republican Votes in Illinois and Google Searches for 'Flights to Antarctica' with an abstract of In this paper, we unveil the curious and frosty relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Illinois and Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'. Armed with data from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse, and Google Trends, we embark on a journey to explore this intriguing correlation that has left many researchers feeling a bit chilly. Our analysis reveals a correlation coefficient of 0.9636558 and p < 0.01 for the period spanning from 2004 to 2020, indicating a strong association that's colder than a penguin's peepers.
The lean toward Republican votes in Illinois appears to be intertwined with an increased interest in fleeing to the land of perpetual winter with a pachyderm twist. Could it be that voters are seeking a cool escape as they cast their ballots, or are they simply pining for a change in political climate? The results leave us pondering the question: Are these flights to Antarctica merely a flight of fancy, or a sign of deeper political unrest? It's a conundrum colder than an Illinois winter, leaving us all a bit pachyderm perplexed.
As we wrap up this investigation, it's clear that the correlation between political affiliation and wanderlust for icy escapades is anything but lukewarm. Our findings not only shed light on this frosty phenomenon but also bring a new meaning to the term "red state, cool skies". The only thing left to conclude is that the link between political leanings and frigid fantasies may be as enigmatic as the existence of an elephant in the Antarctic - a true pachyderm paradox.

ChatGPT:

Republican votes Illinois, Google searches flights Antarctica, correlation coefficient, political affiliation, wanderlust, icy escapades, red state cool skies, elephant Antarctic, pachyderm paradox

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



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Data details

Votes for Republican Senators in Illinois
Detailed data title: Total number of votes cast for Federal Republican Senate candidates in Illinois
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse
See what else correlates with Votes for Republican Senators in Illinois

Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'
Detailed data title: Relative volume of Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica' (Worldwide, without quotes)
Source: Google Trends
Additional Info: Relative search volume (not absolute numbers)

See what else correlates with Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'

Correlation r = 0.9636558 (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 = 0.9286325 (Coefficient of determination)
This means 92.9% of the change in the one variable (i.e., Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica') is predictable based on the change in the other (i.e., Votes for Republican Senators in Illinois) over the 6 years from 2004 through 2020.

p < 0.01, which is statistically significant(Null hypothesis significance test)
The p-value is 0.002. 0.0019573487176586094000000000
The p-value is a measure of how probable it is that we would randomly find a result this extreme. 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 0.96 in 0.2% of random cases. Said differently, if you correlated 511 random variables Which I absolutely did.
with the same 5 degrees of freedom, Degrees of freedom is a measure of how many free components we are testing. In this case it is 5 because we have two variables measured over a period of 6 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.

[ 0.7, 1 ] 95% correlation confidence interval (using the Fisher z-transformation)
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: 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.
200420082010201420162020
Votes for Republican Senators in Illinois (Total votes)139069015206201778700153852021846902319870
Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica' (Rel. search volume)11.166716.083317.416717.833325.166728.4167




Why this works

  1. 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.
  2. Lack of causal connection: There is probably 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.
  3. 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 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.
  4. Confounding variable: 2020 is particularly different from the other years on this graph. Confounding variables (like global pandemics) will cause two variables to look connected when in fact a "sneaky third" variable is influencing both of them behind the scenes.
  5. Very low n: There are not many data points included in this analysis. Even if the p-value is high, we should be suspicious of using so few datapoints in a correlation.




Try it yourself

You can calculate the values on this page on your own! Try running the Python code to see the calculation results. 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([1390690,1520620,1778700,1538520,2184690,2319870,])
array_2 = np.array([11.1667,16.0833,17.4167,17.8333,25.1667,28.4167,])
array_1_name = "Votes for Republican Senators in Illinois"
array_2_name = "Google searches for 'flights to Antarctica'"

# 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)



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Correlation ID: 4338 · Black Variable ID: 26233 · Red Variable ID: 1373
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