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Hawaiians watched a lot of porn after fake incoming missile alert

PornHub had a big traffic spike right after the missile alert was over

Nothing helps people unwind from the terror of an incoming missile like a good dose of porn, apparently.

That’s what PornHub found when it tracked Hawaii’s viewing habits last Sunday. Numbers published Wednesday showed the reported imminent missile strike sent traffic plummeting, and the relief of said missile strike not happening sent the site’s traffic soaring.

When the incoming ballistic missile alert was mistakenly sent out to Hawaii residents at about 8:07 a.m. (“BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”) Sunday, they lived in fear for about 38 minutes, running for cover, until the Emergency Management Agency corrected the false alert.

PornHub charted a 77 percent plummet in traffic numbers during this time, which isn’t surprising. What’s more interesting — and maybe not surprising, either: It seems a decent number of Hawaii residents celebrated the relief of there being no actual missile by paying a morning visit to PornHub. The website saw a 48 percent spike in normal Sunday traffic numbers around 9 a.m., shortly after the alert was corrected.

Cover: North Korea's intermediate-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 lifting off from the launching pad at an undisclosed location near Pyongyang in August 2017. AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS