After recent news that Floridians just don't seem to get the whole social distancing concept—something backed up by our record COVID-19 infection rates—maybe there's hope.
Last week week, Dictionary.com posted a map displaying the top-searched terms by state during the pandemic, and Floridians apparently have been doing research on how to stand apart from each other.
Florida's top-searched term? "Social distance."
Hey, if Sunshine State residents haven't exactly been delivering on social distancing, at least we're looking it up.
Not surprisingly, "social distance," "quarantining" and "COVID-19" were among states' most-searched terms, according to dictionary.com. And then there were a few curve balls, including Kansas' "stir crazy," Missouri's "looting" and Michigan's "hydroxychloroquine." (Let's hope in the latter case, dictionary.com's definition includes some variation of the phrase "that shit doesn't work.")
So, Florida, keep looking up "social distance" on dictionary.com, let it sink in and—by all means—start doing it. Otherwise, shit's only going to get worse.
A version of the post first appeared on our sibling publication San Antonio Current. Support local journalism in these crazy days. Our small but mighty team is working tirelessly to bring you up to the minute news on how Coronavirus is affecting Tampa and surrounding areas. Please consider making a one time or monthly donation to help support our staff. Every little bit helps.
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