Earlier this week, marketing info company Nielsen released a year-end look at "the most popular trends among Americans," or a quick recap of what Americans are buying and watching—and how marketers might be able take better advantage of that in 2008.

There were some unique discoveries: People in Austin, Texas, home of SXSW, blog the most; American Idol is a really popular show; Google is the top website! But, there were also some surprises. Chiefly, this: Salt Lake City is the top market for avid moviegoers, and the top market for DVD purchasers. But, if we think about it in the most stereotypical, possibly offensive to Mitt Romney terms, it makes sense. Salt Lake City is, of course, filled with Mormons. And, if you couldn't booze, eat chocolate, caffeinate, or have unmarried sex, well, I guess you'd be watching a hell of a lot of movies in your special underwear, too.

Also surprising, Samantha Who? ranks above House in the Top 10 TV Programs.

It's hard to resist the pun—just who is watching this show? And, Battlestar Gallactica is one of the most buzzed about shows online. The latest run of Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex ranks No. 6 in Adult Fiction Book Sales. Cool book, but didn't we all read it, like, five years ago? Wait, it just got Oprah's big stamp of approval. It all makes sense now. In other news, U.S. retail stores sold more bottled water than light beer. Let's think about that a bit more America. You have free tap water at home, and in case you hadn't been following the ongoing coverage in the New York Times, those bottles are so not green. In 2008, let's buy beer, not water. Lastly, batteries ranked among the top-selling consumer packaged goods, perhaps signaling that more and more American women are taking their sexual pleasure into their own, battery-aided hands.