Google just published its annual list of the top trending searches in the U.S., revealing the events and fads that people searched the most in 2017.
The top queries highlight just how tough a year it’s been.
Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, which wreaked havoc across the U.S. and Caribbean, both made the top ten list. The Las Vegas shooting, which injured hundreds in November, was fifth, three spots behind Matt Lauer, who was fired from the “TODAY” show for sexual misconduct.
Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots player and convicted murderer who committed suicide in April, was ninth. Tom Petty, the legendary rock singer who died in October, was second.
On the lighter side, fidget spinner squeaked onto the list at 10th, and Super Bowl came in fourth.
Missing from the top trending list was Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood producer whose downfall inspired the “#MeToo” movement after reports revealed his decades of sexual harassment. Also absent was Hurricane Maria, which left most of Puerto Rico without power.
And there was nothing explicitly related to Donald Trump, though that could be because Google specifically features search items that saw a spike in traffic this year compared to 2016.
While Google’s annual list of trending searches is always a nice little window into our collective curiosity, the actual list of the year’s top searches is significantly less interesting. Because internet users have an apparent aversion to typing in web addresses, the most searched words are things like Facebook, Google, Craigslist and YouTube, along with, of course, weather.
Google also gleaned that the top three “What is…” searches were for DACA, bitcoin and solar eclipse. The top three “How to…” searches were for making slime, making solar eclipse glasses and watching the eclipse.
Here are the top ten trending searches in the U.S. You can check out all of Google’s search data here:
1. Hurricane Irma
2. Matt Lauer
3. Tom Petty
4. Super Bowl
5. Las Vegas Shooting
6. Mayweather vs McGregor Fight
7. Solar Eclipse
8. Hurricane Harvey
9. Aaron Hernandez
10. Fidget Spinner
Here are the top ten trending searches globally:
1. Hurricane Irma
2. iPhone 8
3. iPhone X
4. Matt Lauer
5. Meghan Markle
6. 13 Reasons Why
7. Tom Petty
8. Fidget Spinner
9. Chester Bennington
10. India National Cricket Team
Source: Tech CNBC
Google's top searches in 2017: Hurricanes, Matt Lauer and Tom Petty