You Dirty Bastards!

Google: Louisville, KY Is The Most Obscene City In The U.S.
Eric Krangel | June 28, 2008 10:56 AM

Ambitious prosecutors are now trying to shut down Internet pornographers by trying them in towns where conservative "community standards" make an obscenity conviction more likely. A novel defense now being tried in a Pensacola, Fla. obscenity case: Using Google Trends to prove that the town's "community standards" are more prurient than prosecutors are willing to admit.

The idea: If Google proves that local residents search for "sex" more than they do for, well, anything else, then the defense can argue that Internet pornographers are just satisfying a local need, not corrupting innocent minds. We like this idea, though we're dubious that the courts are going to go for it.

But suppose they do? Where then, according to Google, does an obscenity defendant stand the best chances? In other words: What city's residents are most interested in looking up dirty stuff on the Web?

Google Trends says: Louisville, Kentucky.

We know! We were surprised, too -- almost as surprised as we were to see neither New York City or San Francisco in our top 10. The full list:

The 10 American Cities Most Likely To Search For Obscene Material

1. Louisville, KY
2. Rochester, NY
3. Philadelphia, PA
4. Newark, NJ
5. Los Angeles, CA
6. Irvine, CA
7. Pittsburgh, PA
8. Las Vegas, NV
9. Albany, NY
10. Orlando, FL

We're Number 2! We're Number 2! I want a shocker foam finger!

Here's the rest of the article.