Is Minnesota Really a Top State For Not Drinking in January?
Have you been trying not to drink much alcohol in January? If so, you're apparently not alone here in Minnesota.
That's if you believe the results of this new online survey from health and wellness site bodynutrition.org about 'Dry January.' If you're not familiar, 'Dry January' is the yearly trend to abstain from alcoholic beverages for the first month of the year, especially after you might have over-indulged during the holiday season.
The survey is based on geotagged Twitter data since January 1st and tracked tweets, hashtags, and direct keyword phrases about Dry January. For example, #DryJanuary, #DryJanuary2022, #DryJan, "trying Dry January," "participating in Dry January," "doing Dry January," etc. The survey said they looked at 130,000 tweets to come up with their results.
And, it looks like Dry January is pretty popular here in Minnesota. In fact, the only state where there was more interest in Dry January than there was here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes is our neighbors to the east, my home state of Wisconsin.
Not to doubt the veracity of this survey, mind you, but I was born and raised in America's Dairyland and lived there until 10 years ago and I can tell you I NEVER heard of ANYBODY giving up alcohol in Wisconsin in January... EVER.😜
While the Bold North is the second-ranked state for interest in Dry January this year, there was also significant interest in Nebraska, Illinois and Maine, the states ranked third through fifth in the survey. Here's the entire list:
The 2021 Top 10 "Dry January" States
1. Wisconsin
2. Minnesota
3. Nebraska
4. Illinois
5. Maine
6. Massachusetts
7. Virginia
8. Colorado
9. Idaho
10. New York
Now while trying to drink a little less to start the new year might be considered a smart thing to do across Minnesota, do you know just which counties here in the North Star State are the smartest? Keep scrolling to find out!