Google just released its annual “Year in Search” stats, which was dominated by the coronavirus and the 2020 election LAST year. This year, we went back to Googling “normal” things like entertainment and sports . . . but we’re also looking for MONEY-related stuff.
Here’s a rundown of the top news stories, “how to be” questions, and more . . .
1. The top news topics we googled were: Mega Millions . . . AMC stock . . . stimulus checks . . . Georgia Senate race . . . and GME, which is the ticker symbol for GameStop.
Both that and “AMC” relate to the short squeezes organized on Reddit earlier this year, which sent the stocks of both companies skyrocketing.
2. The top “how to be” searches were: “How to be eligible for stimulus check” . . . “How to be more attractive” . . . “How to be happy alone” . . . “How to be a baddie” (???) . . . and “How to be a good boyfriend.”
3. The top “how to help others” searches were: “How to help Afghan refugees” . . . “How to help Texas” . . . “How to help India COVID” . . . “How to help toddler with cough” . . . and “How to help foster kids.”
4. The top “how to pronounce” searches were: “How to pronounce Dogecoin” . . . “How to pronounce Michael Jackson” (???) . . . “How to pronounce quinoa” . . . “How to pronounce Kamala [Harris]” . . . and “How to pronounce Elon Musk’s son’s name.”
5. The top “how to style” searches were: “How to style straight leg jeans” . . . “How to style a wolf haircut” . . . “How to style a corset” . . . “How to style rings” . . . and “How to style a sweater vest.”
6. The top “near me” searches were: “COVID vaccine near me” . . . “COVID testing near me” . . . “movies near me” . . . “bars near me” . . . and “bowling near me.”
7. The top “or” searches were: “Effect or Affect” . . . “Barbie, Bratz or Fairy” . . . “Allergies or COVID” . . . “Bones or No Bones” . . . and “Bougie or Boujee.”
8. The top recipes we searched for were: TikTok pasta . . . bacon jam . . . Birria tacos . . . crockpot chicken . . . and Hamantaschen.
(Hamantaschen is a triangular pastry with a pocket in the middle for a filling. Birria tacos are also known as red tacos or “quesabirria.” They’re made with a stewed meat like brisket, and they’ve become a thing on social media.)
9. The top “sustainable products” we searched for were: Hand soap . . . leather jacket . . . denim . . . sandals . . . and cleaning products.
10. The top five searches overall this year were: The NBA . . . DMX, who died back in April . . . the Kyle Rittenhouse court case . . . and the tragic story of Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie, who murdered her, then killed himself.
(For more on sports, entertainment, and deaths, check out our Showbiz coverage of the Year in Search, here.)
(To dig in deeper, here’s the full Google Trends report. And if you care, Gawker.com isolated the Top 10 “red flags” from the report.)
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