WASHINGTON—In a nationwide study regarding Americans’ preferences of airborne spherical objects, the Pew Research Center found Monday that balloons still ranked first as the nation’s favorite floating orb. “We discovered that balloons far and away ranked as the No. 1 hovering globe across the country,” said study co-author Precia Nunez, explaining that the annual questionnaire found the gap widening between balloons and blimps. “Back in the ’90s, the data reflected that the moon was the top floating orb, edging out bubbles by just a hair. Now we see that as many Americans in certain regions of the country enjoy baseballs, soccer balls, and basketballs soaring through the air—but those spheres do not naturally hover, so they are much less preferred. Our research indicated that the lowest-ranking floating orbs are mysterious black, shimmering globular shapes that appear and disappear inexplicably, which have been found to be actually quite frightening to most surveyed.” At press time, researchers confirmed that ice remained the nation’s favorite type of frozen cube.