New service by Google:
‘Using this tool, you can compare words and phrases from several languages across centuries by charting their frequency in books, an exercise that can shed light on everything from rock stars and religious figures to gender studies and epidemiology. Simply enter one word, or several. Then click the wildly understated “Search lots of books.” Observe and marvel.
“Men” meets “women” around 1985. “Science” began overtaking “religion” around 1930. There was a very brief period where “Virgina Woolf” appeared in more books than “Mark Twain.” Funny how a low point for “God” in the 20th century corresponds with a high point for “sex” (that would be around 1980).
Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/12/17/culturomics-google-tracks-culture-trends-through-books/#ixzz18UeAMRag
