Last Tuesday, the GoogleTrends Twitter account noted that worldwide search interest for "coronavirus symptoms” had increased by 1,050% compared to the week before. It also listed the top five related searches during the previous 24 hours, which included things like "how to prevent coronavirus" and "how does coronavirus spread."
But despite a seemingly global attempt to get Dr. Google's opinion on what we should and should not be doing in order to avoid the virus, another popular Google search illustrates that we're also surrounded by very, very confused people.
BoingBoing discovered that in the past few days, there has also been a spike in searches for "corona beer virus," because apparently people are under the impression that coronavirus, also known as nCoV, has something to do with Corona brand beer, also known as the reason college-aged you screamed "ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE ME" after throwing during an otherwise chill game of beach volleyball.
The searches have been prevalent in North America (but not in Mexico, where the beer is produced) and western Europe (we see you, Finland), as well as in Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, and New Zealand.
It's disappointing that this needs to be written, but the only thing that Corona beer and nCoV have in common is the origin of their names.
The drinkable Corona does predate the virus, though: Corona was first brewed in 1925, while human coronaviruses were not identified until 1965.
Source: Vice.com