Does Google’s Data Paint a False Picture of Lubbock?

A search for "Books About Lubbock" led me to a stack of "facts" that don't sound correct.

Lubbock, Texas certainly has enough to offer the world without making stuff up. After trying to find books about Lubbock, this sub-search question and answer came up and it really got me to scratching me head.

For The Record

Just in case that graphic doesn't generate for you, it makes four specific claims.

*Birthplace of rock n' roll legend Buddy Holly

*Home to award-winning wineries and more than 80% of the Texas wine grape production.

*More Music venues per capita than any other city in Texas.

*More Neighborhood parks per capita than any other city in Texas.

We Are Famous

Yup, Lubbock is the home of Buddy Holly. It was also the home of Natalie Maines and Mac Davis. While Buddy certainly had a bigger impact on music, Mac and Natalie probably sold more records (it's impossible to say for sure). So, those three are a big claim to fame for Lubbock.

Where's All Those Grapes?

Next up, again with the wine. I did a search for where "grapes for most Texas wines" are grown and the answer is "The Trans-Pecos Region". That would be far West Texas, kind of in the El Paso area of things. While I have no doubts wine is big here, I didn't think we were responsible for 80% of it and can find no evidence we are.

Music Venues

Sorry, but I laughed out loud when I read that Lubbock had more music venues than any other city in Texas. We can barely keep a few bars open around here and few feature live music. This was clearly a fact about Austin that was attributed to Lubbock.

Parks

Next up, the parks. This one struck me as super odd, and it's dead wrong. Plano, Texas comes in as #1 for the most parks per capita. Arlington and San Antonio round out the top three (that is, if we are to believe Google).

The Closer

I guess none of this matters in the end. If we're happy, we're happy. It's just weird that this distorted view of Lubbock is out there on search engines.