Last
Tuesday, the GoogleTrends Twitter account noted that worldwide search interest
for "coronavirus symptoms” 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 another popular Google search
illustrates that we're also surrounded by very, very confused people.
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. The searches have been prevalent in North America (but not in Mexico, where the
beer is produced) and western Europe 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. In Latin, corōna
meant 'crown,' and modern languages continue to reflect that; 'corona' still
translates to crown in modern Catalan, Spanish, and Italian, among others.
Coronaviruses
were named because of the crown-like spikes on its surface, and anyone who has
ever peeled the label off a bottle of Corona Light has noticed the crown that
sits on top of its "La Cerveza Mas Fina" slogan. The drinkable Corona
predates the virus, though: Corona was first brewed in 1925, while human
coronaviruses were not identified until 1965.
From Vice News (edited)
