On Saturday January 13, residents all across Hawaii received a text message at 8:07am stating that a ballistic missile was on it’s way to their island and advised they should take shelter immediately. With international tensions currently at a high, it’s no surprise that the warning was taken very, very seriously. We can’t begin to imagine what would go through someone’s mind after reading that message, but based purely on the traffic numbers, it’s NOT to be watching porn (nsfw).
Based on real-time, per-minute pageviews, and compared to levels on the previous two Saturdays, our statisticians found a precipitous drop in traffic at 8:07am immediately after the warning was sent out. By 8:23am, traffic was a massive -77% below that of a typical Saturday. As residents were notified around 8:45 that the initial warning was sent in error, traffic began to return to normal and Hawaiians collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Those seeking further relief, headed back to Pornhub where pageviews surged +48% above typical levels at 9:01am.
