Hugh Laurie vs. Olivia Wilde vs. Kal Penn vs. Robert Sean Leonard vs. Peter Jacobson

Someone on a thread at the German DrHouseForum.de forum asked why Robert Sean Leonard was not included in my face-off. The short answer is of course that Google Insights for Search doesn't allow more than five terms for comparison. Anyway, today I compared the other four main characters of House M.D. against Hugh Laurie so that some measure of comparison with the first House M.D.'s face-off is possible.



Remember that Wilde, Penn and Jacobson only joined the TV show in late 2007. Nevertheless Leonard really didn't score very well in Google-popularity even compared with the second-draft "ducklings." Undeserved in my opinion. Wilde scored particularly well both due to her pre-House M.D. popularity and the peak surpassing even Laurie twice in size in September 2008. The former is explained by her role in the TV show The O.C. while the latter is linked with her increased screen time due to her relationship with Dr. Foreman on the medical procedural. Penn too had some earlier renown from his many appearances on TV and in movies, esp. Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Let's have a look at the country rankings for the actors in question:











Funny, Wilde who has both Irish and US citizenship wasn't particularly popular in Ireland but beloved in Canada. Penn, the son of Indian immigrants to the US, did score well in India. Note that Leonard's profile compared best with the first House M.D.'s post pattern: Hungary on no. 1, etc.

Hugh Laurie vs. Jennifer Morrison vs. Lisa Edelstein vs. Jesse Spencer vs. Omar Epps

Sorry for the absence of posts... I am in the process of moving halfway across the US. Anyway, today I bring you a face-off of the main actors in the hit TV series House M.D.



As expected, the inimitable Laurie stuck out head and shoulders above the others. Morrison was a clear second. The no. 3 spot was shared by Edelstein and Spencer but notice that the former has become much more Google-popular than the latter since the end of 2007. I'd say this was due to her increased profile on the show and the "demotion" of Morrison, Spencer and Epps. Morrison however didn't suffer much from her decreased screen time. Let's look at the actors' "standing" by country next:










Very interesting but also puzzling was Hungary scoring three no. 1s, a no. 2 and a no. 3. Why were/are Hungarians so crazy about House M.D.? Note also the high rankings of some other former East Bloc countries such as Estonia, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Overall, the actors were popular beyond the usual suspects: a worldwide phenomenon!

Car vs. Auto vs. Automobile vs. Motor Vehicle

The US (still) is a car driven society... How do people in different regions address their motorized idols?



The general pattern was that car and auto dominated but were clearly no. 1 and 2, in that order. The other terms were way behind. Let's see the ranking of each term by states:








Car and auto saw little differentiation in regional usage patterns. Car was no. 1 in Florida and the least Google popular in Montana and Kentucky. The no. 1 state for automobile was Arizona while Louisiana came in last. Note that New Mexico was one of the lowest in marked contrast with its neighbor Arizona: odd! Alabama stuck the most with automobile, North Dakota the least. Finally, motor vehicle was most popular in New Jersey very closely followed by Arizona again. The term was least in use in the car maker state par excellence: Michigan.

Joni Mitchell vs. Björk vs. Jackson Browne vs. Ladytron vs. Roxy Music

Today, a face-off of five of my favorite musicians/bands.



Good old Joni Mitchell still ruled the roost most of the time. Björk surpassed her markedly twice, in 2004 at the occasion of her Medúlla album and in 2006 with her latest, Volta.



If I had to pick a favorite song for each musician/band, I'd select Joni Mitchell's Chinese Cafe, Björk's Violently Happy (Fluke Well Tempered), Jackson Browne's Before The Deluge, Ladytron's Play Girl and finally Roxy Music's In Every Dream Home A Heartache.

I finished with the country rankings for each:

The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones vs. John Lennon vs. Paul McCartney vs. Mick Jagger

I faced off the two classic rock bands and their lead men:



The Beatles, even though they no longer exist, were more than twice as Google-popular as the Stones who still do. Similarly, the deceased Lennon trumped the others. But what about their respective country rankings?











Interesting: Argentina dominated in most terms. The UK was only interested in the individuals, not the bands. Latin America was especially into the bands. McCartney formed an exception in that he was foremost popular in Canada, the US and the UK.

Israel vs. Lebanon vs. Gaza vs. Palestine

Today, a Google Insights look at the bloody history of a region of the world known all too well for the wrong reasons:



Yes, sadly and as expected, all peaks marked bloodshed: the 2006 Lebanon War, the current umpteenth Gaza "incursion" (sic), etc. All bloody depressing, predictable and actually preventable if common sense were to finally prevail...


Copyright Takver; CC Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic; "Home made placard from Melbourne [Australia] protest December 30, 2008 about Israel's attack on Gaza."