Missouri Thanksgiving 2018: Tell Us What You’re Thankful For

MISSOURI — It’s been four years since data researchers at Facebook studied what people in Missouri were most grateful for. We’re not sure why they haven’t done it since then (too busy fighting ethics and data security investigations, perhaps?), but it’s the Thanksgiving holiday, so we’d like to know: What are you thankful for this year?

While people in neighboring states cited "freedom of speech," "mercy," "work ethic" and even "Google," in 2014, Missourians were most thankful for thunderstorms. At the time, people were challenging each other to share as such on Facebook, and the answers appeared to have a theme depending on where you lived.

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Several states, particularly in the Southeast, looked to religion for inspiration.

Mississippi and Arkansas were grateful for “mercy.” It was “God’s forgiveness” for Alabama and West Virginia, and “God’s word” in Georgia. The Carolinas were thankful for “salvation” and it was “God’s love” for Tennesseans. Idaho and Utah were most grateful for “heavenly father.”

Floridians broke the trend, saying they were thankful for "living near the beach," and confirming what many of us have long suspected: Florida is not really part of the South.

States in the Midwest and Southwest were thankful for wet weather.

Folks in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona were most thankful for the rain, all known for long drought spells. It was “Rainbows” in Louisiana and Hawaii, and thunderstorms in four states: North Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri and Wisconsin.

Three states — Nevada, Wyoming and Pennsylvania — expressed gratitude for “country music” and six went with social media. YouTube was the top response in California, Virginia and Delaware. “Pinterest” and “Netflix” were king in Vermont and New Hampshire, respectfully, and it was “Google” in Kansas.

The answers sometimes provide a window into what’s happening. Michigan, for example, was most thankful for electricity. The authors noted this was likely because bad storms had left hundreds of thousands of people in the dark when the challenge was circulating.

The No. 1 answer overall was friends. Family and health rounded out the top three.

“It appears that we are most thankful for the people we are closest to,” the researchers found.

Interestingly, the vast majority of respondents — 90 percent — identified themselves as women, the researchers said, and it appears priorities change as you age. Things like music, coffee and friends are eventually supplanted by spouse and children.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

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