Which word does your state struggle to spell? This list definitely will tell you.
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Chippewa Local speller Zach Yeager prepares for national bee
Zach Yeager, a student at Chippewa Junior/Senior High School in Doylestown, is busy preparing for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Oddly, "misspell," a not-particularly easy word to spell, is not on a recently released list of words Americans most often misspell.
But as the Scripps National Spelling Bee gets underway, a study by WordUnscrambler.pro, an online tool for Scrabble players and others who play word games, finds that Americans have a hard time spelling a host of other words.
Using Google Trends search data from the start of the year through May 19 for "How do you spell ..." and "How to spell ...," analysts found that we definitely can't spell "definitely." We can't separate our impulse to misspell "separate" from search engine inquiries. And we somehow find it necessary to Google the spelling of "necessary."
Those are the top three hard-to-spell words, respectively, according to WordUnscrambler's analysis.
You won't believe what else is on the list. Or maybe you will.
What does a Google analysis reveal about spelling miscues?
At least two words with the challenging i-e combination made the list of most-misspelled words: "believe," which came in at No. 4, and "neighbor," at No. 7.
There were 33,500 searches for "definitely," 30,000 for "separate" and 29,000 for "necessary." "Through" seems to be a troublesome word, with 28,000 searches.
But maybe we can also take some solace in a polarized nation in some other words on the list: We may be complimenting one another a lot, because "gorgeous" is No. 6 on the list. And we obviously care about our "neighbors," even if that e-i-or-i-e thing gives us fits.
Google took root with a misspelling
Google's own origin story includes a misspelling: Creators Sergei Brin and Larry Page originally called their search engine Backrub. But Page had a better idea (it might have been hard to think of a worse one): googol, or a "1" followed by 100 zeroes, or, if you're into exponents, 10 to the 100th power. Page misspelled it, and Google, the search engine, was born.
The search engine's ubiquity, though, has made "google" a verb as well as a proper noun. And that popularity comes in large part because of its utility in helping us find some of our "favorite" (No. 9 on the list of most misspelled words) things.
The things we search for most may be some of the things we misspell most often: "business" is No. 8 on the list and "restaurant" is No. 10 for misspelled searches.
What do people in your state misspell the most?
Alabama, Kansas, New York and Wisconsin all want to be "different," while Arkansans just want a good "quesadilla." Colorado, home to six U.S. military bases, seems to search "sergeant" a lot, and Delaware, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming are all looking for someone or something that's "beautiful."
Californians and Washingtonians (of the state variety) are looking for "appreciation," and people in Montana and New Mexico want to "appreciate" whatever it is that they appreciate.
Contrary to their prickly reputations, New Jerseyans like to say "Congratulations," as do the folks in Illinois. Floridians like to "compliment" people. And in Arizona, Kentucky, South Carolina and Virginia, they're just looking for, well, "people."
Maine is concerned with "pneumonia," and who can blame them? In Alaska, they can't stop thinking about "tomorrow," and in Connecticut, they're apparently on a strict "schedule."
North Carolinians are keeping a "secret," while they're merely "protective" in New Hampshire (and in Texas, where the spelling of "protect" is searched most often). They're evidently practicing their "crochet" skills in Ohio, but practicing "patience" in Oklahoma.
No one should be running with "scissors" in Pennsylvania. But folks everywhere, including in Tennessee, should eat their "broccoli" to stay strong.
Some states contributed to the top words on the list, including "definitely" (Idaho and Utah), "necessary" (Georgia), "through" (Iowa and Louisiana) and "business" (Oregon). In Indiana, they're wondering what's being "taught," while Nevadans are concerned with "school." Maryland is searching for "character," and Minnesota wants to be "successful."
In Michigan, they're starting from "scratch" but feeling the heat in Missouri, where the "temperature" gets warm. Rhode Islanders are curious about what's been "cancelled" and in North Dakota, it's all about the "daughter" (because "son" is pretty easy to spell).
It's hard not to envy the people of Hawaii, though, who are thinking about the next "luau."
And what's up with you, Vermont? You just want to know how to spell "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."
Don't we all?
Do you want to share a slice of Americana with USA TODAY? Contact Phaedra Trethan by email at ptrethan@usatoday.com, on X (formerly Twitter) @wordsbyphaedra, on BlueSky @byphaedra, or on Threads @by_phaedra
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Buzz Feed
4 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
XX Things On The Brink Of Collapse No One Talks About
Between the existential chaos around the world and whatever we're all dealing with in our personal lives, it feels like we're collectively acting like everything is fine these days, but that's not really the case. Political turmoil is wreaking havoc across the globe, climate change is getting realer by the second, and the global economy is shifting, for better or for worse. Needless to say, we're in very trying times, and it feels like burnout is now a universal feeling. A recent post on the r/AskReddit sub asked users the following question: "What is currently on the brink of collapse but no one is talking about it?" From collapsing ecosystems to the rise of AI, these 19 responses highlight just how close our dystopian future might be: Note: these responses have been edited and condensed for clarity. "The orca pod known as J-pod, that are residents of the Pudget Sound, are starving as the salmon population is collapsing." "And to be specific, Chinook salmon. Chinook are their main food source because of the fat content, and they're on the brink of collapse. I mean, it's not looking good for all salmon species, but when/if the Chinook go extinct, that's the first big domino to fall in the Salish Sea ecosystem." "Here in the UK, the water table. Already seen a massive drought in the North with unprecedented lack of rainfall this year. Reservoirs and rivers are lower than they've been in decades. On top of leaking pipes that date back to WWII, we could honestly be talking about real drinking water shortages in 5-10 years." "Honestly, I'd say the internet. Everything requires an account, everything collects your information, you can't own anything because you can only get subscriptions to services. There are way too many social media platforms, which are somehow all owned by the same few mega corporations (Meta, Google, Microsoft, etc.) AI is slowly taking over everything and spewing out misinformation left and right." "Lots of collectively-owned private, professional businesses: Private equity has been relentlessly buying up veterinarian practices, CPA firms, and — I'm sure — all kinds of other businesses so they can egregiously increase prices, sell everything that isn't nailed down, cut staff to nothing, then sell the little bit that's left to some naive future buyer at a hugely inflated cost." "Teachers. Not teaching itself, but the whole system around it. So many teachers are underpaid, overworked, and just done. A lot are quitting quietly or switching careers, and schools are struggling to replace them. It's kind of scary how fast it's unraveling, but no one's really screaming about it yet." "Maybe not on the brink, but possibly approaching — The AMOC, or Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, is a large system of ocean currents that acts like a conveyor belt, circulating warm and cold water throughout the Atlantic Ocean." "Bridges, railroad lines, power grids, and water pipes. Some of them are decades old and unstable (Germany)." "A bunch of small ecosystems around the world." "The working class. Hopefully, the collapse will wake some folks up, but I don't have a lot of hope when they seem perfectly happy in their caves staring at the shadows." "Critical thinking. Humanity is over-reliant on devices and AI to do their thinking for them instead of using tech to enhance their own thinking." "The movie industry feels that way in Hollywood right now." "The Cascadia Subduction Zone." "The 'enrollment cliff' is starting. This year, the lack of kids born during and after the 2008 recession is starting to graduate from high school. In this population pyramid, you can see that starting at the 15-19 age group, birth rates went down and kept going down. Now, it was already going down on average, but right before the recession, there was a small uptick that could have been a turnaround." "Civilizations decline/collapse over generations — I'd suggest that there is a strong possibility that 'the free liberal West' is in the early stages of a multi-generational decline, not unlike that of the Roman empire. Facebook and Netflix are our bread and circuses while around us, cultures that are not compatible with our (democratic, egalitarian, progressive, liberal) values are rising to challenge and eventually displace us. It won't happen in my lifetime, but it is happening." "The Anthropocene." "Overly complex appliances, cars, TVs, etc." "I think our civilization's ability to write without Generative AI. I believe writing is thinking, and it provides clarity to our thoughts. A vast majority of university students are now relying on services like ChatGPT, which I believe will eventually affect us in the long run. I don't have research backing up my claim, and I hope I'm wrong. Regardless, I'm worried." "Surprised I didn't see many posts about insects. We are in a mass extinction event of something like 60% of their population."
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Boston Globe
Jack McAuliffe, who brewed a craft beer revolution, dies at 80
New Albion offered something profoundly different: handmade ales using just water, barley, hops, and yeast. Mr. McAuliffe and his partners, Suzy Denison and Jane Zimmerman, ran the label out of a rundown warehouse in Sonoma, Calif., making just 400 barrels a year, about as much as Coors could produce in a few minutes. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The very idea of small-batch beer was such an anomaly that Mr. McAuliffe struggled to find equipment and ingredients. Instead, he fashioned much of the production line himself from materials he had scavenged from a junkyard. Advertisement Unable to buy traditional hops in small quantities, he opted for a new variety, cascade, whose notes of fruit and pine didn't appeal to the big breweries -- but which, thanks to Mr. McAuliffe, became a prized part of the craft brewing repertoire. His DIY ethic likewise became a defining characteristic of craft brewing, said Theresa McCulla, a former curator at the National Museum of American History who documented the history of beer in America. Advertisement 'He really showed Americans that if you can build it and sheetrock it, and weld it, then you can brew your own great beer,' she said in an interview. Mr. McAuliffe called his brewery New Albion as an homage to a long-closed predecessor in the Bay Area, as well as to the name Sir Francis Drake gave the region when he sailed along the coast of Northern California in 1579. A drawing of Drake's flagship, the Golden Hind, appeared on New Albion's labels. New Albion was profiled in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and demand for its beers grew rapidly. Still, Mr. McAuliffe was unable to secure bank loans to fund expansion, and the brewery closed in 1982. Though New Albion lasted less than six years, practically every craft pioneer who came along afterward has cited the brewery as an inspiration, among them Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada, Jim Koch of Sam Adams, and Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head. 'They say that when the Ramones first played in England, members of the Clash were in the audience, members of the Sex Pistols were in the audience, then away they went,' Calagione said in an interview. 'While the Ramones launched a million bands, Jack McAuliffe launched 10,000 American craft breweries.' John Robert McAuliffe was born May 11, 1945, in Caracas, Venezuela, where his father, John James McAuliffe, was a code breaker for the US government. His mother, Margaret (Quigley) McAuliffe, was a teacher. After World War II, Jack's father joined the State Department. The family lived in Medellín, Colombia, and later in Northern Virginia while his father taught at American University in Washington. Advertisement In high school, Jack became enthralled with welding and worked in a shop as an apprentice. He enrolled at Michigan Technological University but quit to join the Navy. He was posted to a base in Scotland, where he repaired submarine antennas. In his free time, he developed a fondness for British ales -- especially full-bodied porters and stouts -- and began brewing his own at home. After he was honorably discharged from a base in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mr. McAuliffe decided to stay. He received an associate degree from the City College of San Francisco and worked for an engineering company in Sunnyvale, Calif., all the while dreaming of making his beloved British-style ales in the United States. Finally, in 1975, he met Denison and Zimmerman, who each put in $1,500 in seed money to start New Albion. Mr. McAuliffe was a demanding brewmaster, and Zimmerman left the company. But Denison stayed on, eventually running most of the daily operations. 'He totally trusted me,' she said in an interview. 'He might go into San Francisco to pick up hops or something and leave me completely in charge.' After the brewery closed, Mr. McAuliffe sold his equipment to a new brewery, the Mendocino Brewing Co., where he worked for a time as a brewmaster. He soon quit, he said, because after being a captain, he couldn't stomach working as a deckhand. But he continued supporting the craft brewing movement, in one instance working with Fritz Maytag, the owner of the Anchor Brewing Co. in San Francisco, on securing legislation to allow brew pubs to serve food. Advertisement Mr. McAuliffe later lived in Nevada and Texas before settling in Arkansas. Along with his daughter, he leaves his sisters, Cathy and Margarita McAuliffe; his brother, Tom; two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Craft beer did not take off as a national phenomenon until the late 1990s, and many in the new generation of drinkers had never heard of New Albion. That began to change in 2012. Koch, of Sam Adams, contacted Mr. McAuliffe to tell him that not only had he bought the trademark to New Albion, but he also wanted to resurrect the beer as a limited release. After leading a nationwide tour reintroducing New Albion to craft-beer fans, Koch gave the proceeds from the beer and the rights to the New Albion name to Mr. McAuliffe. And in 2019, the National Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian Institution, featured items related to New Albion in a permanent exhibit on craft brewing, including an original bottle of its ale and a photograph of Mr. McAuliffe. McCulla, who designed the exhibit, interviewed Mr. McAuliffe for an oral history of craft brewing in 2019. She asked him what he thought of his legacy. 'Damnedest thing I ever saw,' he said. 'It's really hard to believe that this happened.' This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Harry Paidas: Counting the ways we live life by the numbers
The other night, while lying awake at 3 a.m., as I am prone to do, rather than counting sheep, I tried to comprehend how important numbers have become in our lives. I will only scratch the surface in the following paragraphs, but it is fascinating how numbers rule our lives. It is also fascinating to think how life would be different had we stuck to the Roman numeral system rather than converting to the Arabic system in the 16th century. We Boomers might remember that the educators of our time were insistent that we learn Roman numerals as well as other now nearly obsolete things like Latin, writing in cursive, diagraming sentences, using a slide rule and long division. Today's students, products of the Age of Technology, have their share of requirements but because of technology, their tools have taken them to a new frontier. The only common usage of Roman numerals has been relegated to designating which Super Bowl is being played. I think NFL brass thinks it is classier to use Roman numerals. Unfortunately, anyone younger than 65 needs to consult Google to figure it out. Meanwhile, Arabic numerals dominate in all facets of our lives. (For the purpose of consistency, I will deviate from the journalistic practice of using the word for a number under 10 and use numerals throughout). Let's look at my typical day. I look at the clock: 6:30 a.m. I immediately put my Apple Watch on to begin measuring what I hope will be 10,000 steps. I look at my July calendar with its 31 days and realize I have a 10 a.m. doctor's appointment. I go to the kitchen where I put 4 scoops in the coffee maker to make 5 cups of coffee. I pour 4 ounces of juice and stick 3 prunes in my cereal. Then I take my nine pills and supplements. I'll skip over the parts that include the numbers 1 and 2. I get in the car and see the odometer is just over 50,000 miles. On my way to the doctor, I have to stay under 25 mph, then 35 mph, then up to 55 mph, then quickly back down to 25 mph. Kathe calls my phone number to remind me to stop at the grocery store to pick up 12 eggs. When I get to the doctor, the front office staff wants to confirm my Social Security number, my Medicare number, and the account number for my supplemental insurance. When I get to the inner doctor's office, they want me to know I am still 5-foot-6 and now weigh 175 pounds and remind me that I should be about 15 pounds less. Then it's time to check blood pressure, which ideally should be 120 over 75. Mine tends to be in the 130s over something in the 60s, which suggests I have both high and low blood pressure. Go figure. The week before, I had some bloodwork. Doc and I look at my numbers and if anything is out of range we discuss why and what to do about it. This day, she says, 'Your numbers look good.' Even though I don't feel so well, it's great my numbers are good. So, I leave the doctor's office and go to the grocery store. I can't believe I am paying $5 for 12 eggs. And, holy cow, bananas are 64 cents a pound! I think to myself, it's a good thing they aren't taking my blood pressure now. Everywhere I look in the grocery store, I see prices and realize that inflation is real. I return home and the mail has arrived. Electric bill, gas bill, water bill, cable bill and Visa bill have all arrived at the same time with various dollar amounts in Arabic numerals. They are also due by certain dates. I go to the newsfeed on my phone and see a full slate of baseball games are to be played. The Guardians and Pirates are both under .500 and hardly anybody bats .300 anymore. The Pirates have a pitcher, Paul Skenes, whose ERA, incredibly, is under 2.00. There was a time when I knew nearly every Major Leaguer's batting average, but my RAM has been jammed by the aging process. I could go on and on but I think you get the picture. And I hope you will take the time to pause and appreciate the works of our ancestors to bring us to this point. I know that ever since that near all-nighter when I came to the realization that numbers dominate our lives, I have accepted and even embraced the importance of numbers. Even when I go to the doctor and I am not feeling well, I love to hear her say that my numbers are good. In fact, in what I hope are many years from now, if you happen to be strolling through city cemetery and see my name, I have left instructions for the headstone to read: 'But his numbers were good …' Harry Paidas is faculty emeritus at Mount Union and writes a periodic column for The Review. He can be reached at paidashp@ This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Harry Paidas: Counting the ways we live life by the numbers Solve the daily Crossword
