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But today, another series grows ever more popular. A series full of tragedy, violence, lust, and… more violence. If the last sentence din’t give it away, we’re referring to George R.R. Martin’s “A Song Of Ice And Fire,” also known—thanks to the popularity of the TV series it spawned—as “Game Of Thrones“.
Having pitted the sci-fi giants of “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” against one another earlier this year, the next logical step was to conclusively determine which aforementioned fantasy great is the most popular in the United States.
And according to the latest map wizardry here at the Movoto Real Estate Blog, the competition was fierce, the battle raged on, and…
We’re just messing with you; “Lord Of The Rings” totally dominated. But never fear, ASOIAFers, your numbers are strong, and we’ll tell you where those numbers are strongest. First, though, a little explanation.
How We Created These Maps
Our original plan was to take to the battlegrounds of Facebook, find out which of these two epic fantasy series was Liked the most in the U.S. and where, and then bring you one badass map showing where each was the winner. Kinda like this map.
As you can see in the map above, however, LOTR kind of took the honey-cake here and proved to be the one series to rule them all.
Even though Cersei Lannister once famously told us, “When you play the game… you win or die. There is no middle ground,” we found a middle ground and decided instead to make two more maps: One to show how much each state Liked “The Lord Of The Rings” and one for “A Song Of Ice And Fire.”
Then, because we know any fantasy Nerd worth his salt would probably Like both series if given the chance, we added up all of the states with the highest percentages of Facebook Likes for both LOTR and ASOIAF, giving us one ultimate list where these two kings of fantasy did not clash, but reigned supreme.
Behold, here are the 10 states where the most people Liked both LOTR and ASOIAF. In other words, probably the 10 coolest states in the nation.
1. Utah
Just as Galadriel predicted, the time would soon come when Utah would shape the fortunes of all.
Because of Utah’s nerd-tastic population—1.81 percent of whom Liked “Lord Of The Rings” and .24 percent of whom Liked ASOIAF—Utah had the highest percentage of people who were into both fantasy series.
Yes, that’s right. Some 2.05 percent of Utah’s entire population—that’s nearly 60,000 people—Liked these books. Bear in mind, we did say “books” here, because that’s what we investigated. The movies and HBO series are a whole different story. (At times, literally.)
2. Alaska
Maybe it’s because Alaska looks a whole lot like the land Beyond the Wall for much of the year, but out of all of the states, Alaskans had the highest percentage of Facebook Likes for A Song Of Ice And Fire: .37 percent.
Of course, this pales in comparison with Alaskans’ LOTR Likes (1.61 percent of the population), but hey, it all added up to one big 1.97 percent. That’s 1.97 percent of the state’s population Liking both LOTR and ASOIAF, which, to put into perspective for you, is 1.22 percent higher than that of Mississippi. In other words, 1.22 percent better.
3. Washington
This isn’t entirely surprising. Not only is Washington home to one of the nerdiest cities in the U.S. (Seattle), but it also has its very own Mount Doom. (Seriously, Mt. Rainier?)
Washington had the third highest percentage of residents into LOTR—1.58 percent—and the second highest percentage of ASOIAFers—.36 percent.
All in all, that was 1.93 percent of the total population into both. That’s over 130,000 people, or about the combined attendance of the Emerald City Comic Con in both 2013 and 2014. Coincidence…? Yes. Probably so.
4. Oregon
Hmmm. Utah, Alaska, Washington, and now Oregon? Anyone else sensing a pattern here? And is anyone else suddenly feeling the need for another fur cloak—maybe one lined with flannel? Okay, more on the weirdly cold nerdy states later, back to Oregon.
This state had the third highest percentage of ASOIAF fans, with .34 percent of its population Liking the books, and the fourth highest percentage of LOTR fans, with 1.57 percent.
Once the Likes were counted, 1.91 percent of Oregon’s population Liked both series on Facebook.
5. Montana
Montana: Derived from the Spanish word “montaña.” That’s also known as “Mountain,” the Elvish word “orod,” or from “A Song Of Ice And Fire”, Gregor Clegane, the most terrifying mountain of them all. But we’re sure you already knew all of that, Montana residents. After all, you seem to be pretty well-versed in both fantasy worlds.
For “A Song Of Ice And Fire, you ranked 11th overall, with .26 percent of your overall population Liking the show. For “Lord Of The Rings”, you ranked fifth, with 1.54 percent.
Overall, 1.80 percent of Montana’s population Liked both shows, making you guys the nerdiest cowboys yet… until Wyoming, which is coming up.
6. Idaho
What’s with all of the Northwest states Liking these books? And seriously—when can we make northern California into a separate state so we can join their ranks?
Anyway, the reason Idaho ranked among our top 10 was mostly because of its love for “Lord Of The Rings”. Out of all the states, it ranked sixth in this category, with 1.53 percent of its population Liking the trilogy on Facebook.
This, plus the .23 percent of folks who Liked ASOIAF meant that 1.76 percent of Idahoans were nerds. Ahem, we mean “Liked both series.”
7. Wyoming
Wyoming may be known as The Equality State, but clearly that message hasn’t been shared with fantasy fans within its borders. Why can’t you Like “A Song Of Ice And Fire” as much as you do “Lord Of The Rings”, huh?
Sorry, cowboys. What we meant to say is a larger percentage of Wyoming residents Liked “Lord Of The Rings”—1.42 percent—compared to the mere .26 that Liked ASOIAF.
That’s okay though, because all in all, 1.68 percent of the population Liked at least one of them.
8. Maine
It’s funny—almost all of the people we’ve ever met from Maine have been exceptionally cool people., and now it seems we know why. You guys love “A Song Of Ice And Fire”.
Of the entire state population, .29 percent Liked the series on Facebook—that’s the fourth highest percentage for the show in the country.
Maine also had the eighth highest percentage of LOTR Likes with 1.39 percent, adding up to a total of 1.67 percent Liking one or the other. That’s almost 200,000 people.
9. North Dakota
Winter is coming. Seriously, it is. The first official day of winter is December 21, but if you live in North Dakota, it’s pretty much winter year-round.
Perhaps that’s why .28 percent of North Dakotans have such an affinity for “A Song Of Ice And Fire”—when, in Book 1, Old Nan says that “fear is for the winter…when the snows fall a hundred feet deep and the ice wind comes howling out of the north,” you guys know what she’s talking about.
This, plus the 1.34 percent of North Dakotans who Liked “Lord Of The Rings” makes for a pretty solid nerd population—1.61 percent.
10. Colorado
Oh Colorado, llie ier him (literally!) ar’ lye mela. Amiright?
Okay, for those of you who don’t know what we just said, you’re clearly not a part of the 1.31 percent of the state’s population who Like “Lord Of The Rings”, and, second of all, you might want to brush up on your Elvish.
Coloradans also have a ton of proud members of Team ASOIAF, with .27 percent of residents Liking the books on Facebook. All in all, that’s 1.58 percent of folks who Like one or the other, or about 80,000 people. Guys, that’s more people than all of the soldiers in The Crownlands and The North combined. Just in case you were wondering.
Valor Is A Poor Substitute For Numbers
Well, Doran Martell, as it so happens, we have a bit of both. Valor, because it takes courage and strength to create posts like this one, especially in the face of deadlines, and numbers, because, well, we did the research to back this up.
But what does it all mean? Why were all of the states that Liked these two fantastical series also some of the coldest in the country? Why did many of these same people also happen to be some of the biggest “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” fans in the U.S.? And Dear Seven Gods, will George R.R. Martin ever finish this series?
Well, as Gandalf once said, “the wise speak only of what they know.” So with that in mind… Tenna’ ento lye omenta.
