Americans can't stop googling 5 kilometers while playing 'Pokemon GO'

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Megan Willett/Tech Insider

Video games often get a bad reputation: they keep kids inside, many of them are violent, and there's often no educational value.

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But "Pokémon GO," the hottest video game on the planet, is currently defying those expectations. It's getting people outside, they're making connections, and it's teaching clueless Americans how many miles are in a kilometer.

The answer - .62 miles per kilometer - is a fact that every Pokémon trainer will now know thanks to Pokémon eggs. The eggs only hatch once trainers walk a certain distance in the game: two kilometers (~1.2 miles), five kilometers (~3.1 miles), or 10 kilometers (~6.2 miles).

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Once you walk that distance, your Pokémon egg will hatch. The distance matters - a 10 kilometer egg will yield a more rare or impressive Pokémon than a two kilometer egg, for example. (You can see a full breakdown of what's inside each egg here.)

Pokemon GO

The Pokemon Company

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But players in the United States are wondering just how many miles they must walk before those troublesome eggs hatch. Redditor ThenBrown spotted that Google trends results show that searches for converting two, five, and 10 kilometers to miles have spiked ever since the game's debut.

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Google Trends

Just remember that one kilometer equals .62 miles and go forth and catch 'em all.

NOW WATCH: 13 tips for becoming a 'Pokémon GO' master