Everything Is Correlated

Photo: Hemera

How do people who love salty snacks like their toilet paper to hang?  Are fans of carbonated beverage more likely to enjoy horror movies?  A new website, www.correlated.org, has the answer to such pressing questions.  Founded by Shaun Gallagher, the brains behind last year’s UnofficialCensus.org, it aims to uncover one surprising correlation a day. The site asks visitors a new question every day and “[a]t the end of the day, the results of the survey are compared with the results of all previous surveys, and the two outcomes with the strongest link are highlighted.” Please remember: correlation does not equal causation. Still, we predict this site will launch a thousand graduate theses.