I’ve
always been curious about the body; my body, the bodies of my friends and
families, even strangers’ bodies. Whether I’m at the gym, presenting a lecture,
or simply in a crowded place, I can always amuse myself by checking out the
bodies around me. We all do it. “People watching” is a most enjoyable pastime.
I’ve
been writing the blog now for almost nine months and ironically, much like a
pregnancy, it has been a period of intense development – for me as a writer and for you as readers. I’ve watched my audience grow in leaps and bounds,
reaching almost every continent on earth (will someone please share the blog
with their buds in Antarctica!!).
What
you may not know is that I monitor my readership through statistics provided
via Blogger. I can track the number of page views, where in the world these
hits occur, and – most interestingly – the Google searches that lead you to my
page. Don’t panic! I can see the search terms but not who’s searching!!
So
I thought it would be fun to share with you some of the bizarre things you
folks are searching for out on this vast frontier that is the Internet. Join me as we Google the body.
Being a science geek, the task of analyzing subject categories and
crunching numbers left me all atingle. I was able to separate the search terms
into five general categories:
1. Teeth
2. Bones
3. Blog Title/Website
4. Sex (of course!)
5. Oddities (and there are some strange ones
in the mix…)
People
have a lot of questions about teeth and bones, which isn’t surprising. With over
fifty teeth (baby plus permanent) and over two hundred bones in the average body, it
makes for a lot of complexity and thus, many questions. “Childs mouth teeth
xray” and “8 years old child teeth x-ray” are perhaps parents concerned with
their child’s oral health or a researcher in need of a graphic (since I try to
keep your attention via cool pics). There are also those interested in
culture, like “8 teeth grillz,” although when I Googled this term, I came up
with a YouTube video about ridding your dog of bad breath… Still don’t
understand that one.The bone questions come in a wide variety. “Bones of the face,” “appendicular skeleton,” “axial bones,” and “cranial sutures” were obviously searchers on an anatomical info quest. “Bones of the head quiz” was perhaps someone searching for a bit of nerdy fun.
Many
find the blog via post titles or my name. "Anatomy of a fire truck” and
“anatomy of hangover” are perfect examples. These are probably folks who have
attended one of my lectures or heard about the blog via word of mouth.
So keep those coming!
So keep those coming!
It’s
no shocker that many of you are cruising the Web in search of sex; therefore, it’s no surprise that my most popular post was September’s A Natural History of the Penis (you boys are obsessed!). But many
who find my blog are trying to puzzle out the complexities of sex, and these complexities
come in a range of issues.
There are the curious, such as “females private parts” and the ever-present “penis length.” There are those who have had
mishaps, like “anal scarring” or (my all-time favorite) “women’s private parts
that stink.” And then there are those that move me. The searches that stem from
a concern or insecurity, such as “teen penis growth.” Searches like this speak
of our fears and worries; our feelings of inadequacy that flare especially during
puberty (don’t worry, little buddy… it’ll get bigger!).
The
Internet is a powerful tool – not only for providing information, but for bringing
folks together. It thrills me to see this little blog being read by someone in
Yemen, or the Sudan, or Thailand. To know that someone in Afghanistan, France,
Malaysia, or Ukraine might be learning, or at least chuckling, because of
something I wrote is incredibly rewarding.
So keep reading and keep sharing, and I’ll try each week to bring a little bit of info your way.
So keep reading and keep sharing, and I’ll try each week to bring a little bit of info your way.
Thanks to you
all and I'll catch you next Friday!
Reminder: Read my book!!
