Image Credit: Tom Pennington / Getty Images and Nintendo
Google has released its annual ‘Year in Search’ rundown, revealing all the weird and wonderful things we’ve Googled in 2016.
It’s been a turbulent year to say the least. With there having been a recurring joke that 2016 has felt like the season finale in a particularly off-the-wall TV show, it’s been difficult to stay on top of everything that’s happened. As a result, Google’s annual series of lists compiling our most searched topics makes for particularly interesting reading. Here’s
Most Popular Searches
In the US, Powerball was the most popular search term after January’s draw had the highest jackpot in world history, with a whopping $1,586,400,000 on offer. Prince was second after the legendary musician passed away suddenly in April, while Hurricane Matthew, Pokemon Go and the free browser game Slither.io rounded off the list.
Pokemon Go topped the list globally after it became a worldwide phenomenon following its release in July, with it being followed by the iPhone 7, Donald Trump, Prince and the Powerball. Oddly enough, Trump wasn’t included among America’s most popular search terms. In the UK the Euro 2016 tournament topped the list, while the late David Bowie ranked third just behind Pokemon Go.
Most Popular News Events
Considering that it often felt like the US election was never going to end, it’s surprising that in the US the Olympics was a more popular search topic than Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’s race to the White House. The tragic Orlando shooting ranked third, followed by Brexit and the Zika virus.
The US election was more popular outside of the US, with it being the most searched news topic globally followed by the Olympics and then Brexit. Unsurprisingly Brexit was the most searched topic in the UK.
How To…
Google is the go-to destination for asking questions you’d never dare ask another human being, so as per usual its most popular ‘How to…’ searches have heralded some interesting results. In the US ‘how to play Pokemon Go‘ was the most popular search topic, while ‘how to register to vote’ came in second and ‘how to play Powerball’ third. Weirdly, ‘how to make slime’ was the fourth most searched query, while ‘how to move to Canada’ came in at fifth following the election of Donald Trump.
The UK’s ‘how to’ queries were considerably more depressing, with ‘how to stay young’ ranking in third while ‘how to appear funny’ came in at eighth. Fittingly, ‘how to accept myself for who I am’ ranked in tenth.
20th Century Fox
What Is…
Google is also a place for people to become knowledgeable about subjects they’re too embarrassed to admit they know nothing about, so this year’s rundown featured some questions that would rightly make you concerned about the future of our species. In the US, ‘what is Pokemon Go?’ was the most searched topic in this category, though other searches such as ‘what is Aleppo?’ (hi, Gary Johnson!) and ‘what is the European Union’ manages to sneak their way into the top 10. Depressingly, ‘what is the EU?’ was the fourth most searched topic in the UK, in a year in which the region decided to exit it and potentially plummet themselves into massive amounts of debt and economical disturbance.
Movies
The most popular movie in the US was Suicide Squad, which even managed to best fellow DC Comics movie Batman v Superman for the top spot. Finding Dory was third, while The Revenant and Zootopia came in at fourth and fifth. Deadpool was the most searched movie globally and in the UK, while Captain America: Civil War also made an appearance.
Celebrities
Donald Trump was the most searched person worldwide and in both the US and the UK, while Hillary Clinton was also a popular search topic. Michael Phelps was the third most popular person of interest globally, while Melania Trump ranked in fourth.
