It’s approaching the end of the year and that means it’s time for the annual ‘what we searched for on the internet this year’ roundup, courtesy of Google.
So without further ado, here is a – rather worrying – insight into the minds of UK internet users based on the things they searched for most in 2019.
Advanced warning: May contain politics. And Love Island.
Rugby World Cup most searched topic in 2019
The Rugby World Cup was not just the biggest sporting event of the year (arguably), but also the most searched for thing on Google, so basically the entire internet. Second to this was the Cricket World Cup, followed by, of course, Game of Thrones. Unsurprisingly, the new iPhone also made the top 10, which I’m sure Google’s product team is delighted about. The iPhone 11 also made the global top 10 list, in case you were wondering.
OK Google…
When people have important questions that need answering, like ‘how to tame a fox in Minecraft’ (hint: you need to convince the foxes to breed by giving them sweet berries) they invariably head to Google. Here are the most searched for questions for 2019.
Introducing the world’s worst mix-tape
When it comes to musicians, it’s fair to say that search volume does not = popularity, as proven by R Kelly’s (boooooooo) position at the top of the list. Similarly, the likes of Jesy Nelson and Mötley Crüe likely feature not because of their musical contributions to society in 2019, but rather their respective on-screen successes, with the former’s Odd One Out documentary, and the latter’s The Dirt, both receiving a lot of attention earlier in the year. Meanwhile, Nadine Coyle’s pronunciation of the words “flour” and “hours” might have had something to do with her making the top 10.
The dinner party from hell
You know that game where you’re asked to list your 10, or whatever, dream dinner party guests? Now imagine you have to choose 10 people you absolutely would not want to spend any time with at all, and I imagine it might look something like Google’s most searched for people of 2019 list.
Google yet again proving that search volume does not necessarily = popularity.
Bad news and baby news
Topping this year’s most-searched-for-news list was Notre Dame. It burned, we watched, people cried, and then “an orgy of wallet-waving” ensued as the world’s billionaires raced to save the cathedral by outdoing each other with obscene pledges totalling almost €1bn. Priorities etc.
It’s hard to point to anything particularly positive on this list, with the exception of brand new (royal) baby, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, or Archie Harrison Mountbatten for short.
The less said about Danny Baker the better.
For more snackable search insights from the UK and across the world, check out Google’s Year in Search page, complete with suitably cheesy video round-up.
