A lot of strange surveys come across my desk on a weekly basis. But I knew that someone, if only one person, would want to know the answer to this question. What Lord of the Rings character would be from Iowa, if not Middle Earth?

In lieu of the release of Amazon's new Rings of Power TV series, a continuation of The Lord of the Rings saga, the website Wishlisted has identified as Lord of the Rings character for each of the 50 states! Wishlisted's process boils down to this: where would all these characters come from if they happened to be from the United States as opposed to Middle Earth?

The methodology involved using Google Trends to find the states that proportionally searched for a given character the most. So, if you ever wondered if Gandalf was Midwestern or southern, or whether or not Sam came from the east or west coasts, the results of this survey are surely for you!

What Lord of the Rings Character Would be from Iowa?:

Wishlisted's methodology led to the conclusion that the character Denethor II would be a native Iowan. Denethor II was the twenty-sixth and final Ruling Steward of Gondor, as well as the father of Boromir and Faramir. He was 89-years-old at the time of his death, having been born in TA 2930. He was also married to Ecthelion II, and his weapons of choice were a sword and knife.

Denethor II was portrayed by John Noble in the "Motion Picture trilogy,' as its become known.

Photo Credit: "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" trailer, YouTube
Photo Credit: "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" trailer, YouTube
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What About Illinois and Wisconsin?:

As an added bonus, I dug into the characters said to be from Illinois and Wisconsin, Goldberry and Glóin, respectively. Goldberry was the "river daughter" wife of Tom Bombadil in the Old Forest. The details on her are very sparse, although she does appear in the Lord of the Rings trading card game. She's believed to be a river-spirit of the Withywindle River too. What compelled Illinoisans to feverishly Google her is anybody's guess.

As for Glóin, the character assigned to the "cheese state," you might recognize him even if you're a casual fan of the series. Glóin was one of the Dwarves of Thorin II Oakenshield, who set out to reclaim the Lonely Mountain during the Quest of Erebor. He was also a significant supporting character in The Hobbit adaptations. Glóin was played by Peter Hambleton.

Photo Credit: "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" trailer, YouTube
Photo Credit: "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" trailer, YouTube
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Other Interesting Finds:

Wishlisted determined that Gandalf is from the Utah Arches, while Frodo's abode is in Oklahoma, and Sam's in Mississippi. Moreover, Washington, California, and Oregon boast a plethora of Lord of the Rings fans, the most in the country in fact.

View the full results of the survey on Wishlisted's website!

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