ELMHURST, Ill. US -- Sex In The City may now be referring to the city of Elmhurst. At least that's what Google's newest service, Google Trends, says.West suburban Elmhurst leads the nation in surfing the Internet for news stories about sex.The population of Elmhurst is about 43,000. It's a town known for its tree-lined streets; its college, which is routinely ranked as one of America's best; and now, sex. Well, sex searches that is.
According to a new service provided by Internet search engine Google, in April the Elmhurst area ranked No. 1 in searching the Net for news stories about sex. It's a ranking that's hard to believe for some long-time residents. "I can't say that sexuality has dominated the conversations I have with my neighbors. I think it comes up in kind of a normal fashion," said resident Jude Hines.Jim Bersell was equally suspicious. "It's hard to believe that, you know, from the town that you come from you have statistics such as that. I don't really think this town is any different than anywhere else," he said.
The new tracking service is called Google Trends. It allows you to find out what topic is most "Googled" in any particular area. The newly discovered ranking had many of Elmhurst's lunchtime crowd talking about the town's new dubious distinction. "I think people should maybe lighten up a little bit. I think George Michael said, 'Sex is natural. Sex is good. Not everbody does it,'" Fadil Lee told Perez.
Being the top town that searches for news stories about sex is not exactly what many here had in mind when they settled in the suburb, but most are quick to admit that they don't take this new ranking too seriously. "Kiddingly, maybe they're bored," Hines said. "You know, staying at home can be tedious, so perhaps when the kids are taking a nap? It's just a thought. "Elmhurst resident Kristi Fasteson might have an explanation. "Maybe it's the same person. Maybe it's all coming from one house; I don't know," she said.
Taking a more serious approach, Rosaleen Canniff warned, "I think you have to be very careful. You can't look at any statistics too positively or too negatively."Google admits that the new service is in its early stages and its information is based on just a portion of its searches. The company said numbers are based on an automated formula and no one's personal information is reviewed.
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