Why Duke parents should stick to radio

“That they will spend $60,000 a year to send their son to Duke and then they will will turn on the TV and see him half-naked with his face painted blue, contorted, screaming at some poor guy from Wake Forest or Clemson shooting a free throw.”

— Frank Deford, describing “American parents’ worst nightmare” on NPR’s “Morning Edition”

 

Ngram Viewer is back, and it’s taking (N.C.) names

It’s been a while since I last dumped a batch of North Caroliniana into the Google Books Ngram Viewer, that instantaneous measure of phrase frequency over the decades.

Caveat e-lector: This is data at its rawest — conclusions should be jumped to for entertainment purposes only.

Here goes:

— Duke lacrosse vs. Duke football and Duke basketball

— Grandfather Mountain vs. Cold Mountain

— Oprah Winfrey vs. Michael Jordan and Colin Powell

— Charlotte North Carolina vs. Raleigh North Carolina

— Southern fried chicken vs. Buffalo wings and Chicken McNuggets