Every year, Google publishes a list of the most-searched terms, a handy almanac of the world’s interests over the past 12 months. From this year’s list, we can see that 2014 was at times given over to tragedy as much as frivolity, as people turned to the search engine to remember those we’d lost, as well as the entertaining diversions that entered popular culture.
You can see the full list below. Interestingly, this is the first time in several years that the list does not feature the name of an Apple product. Could the California firm’s star be waning in the minds of global consumers?
Top Ten Trending Google Searches 2014
Robin Williams
World Cup
Ebola
Malaysia Airlines
ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Flappy Bird
Conchita Wurst
ISIS
Frozen
Sochi Olympics
You can see more content about each of these search terms and view other lists including the year’s top Google Doodles, most-searched World Cup matches and something called ‘Mutant Giant Spider Dog’, which sits atop the list of the year’s favourite YouTube videos, at the Google Trends 2014 landing page.
As a bonus, check out this powerful twist on the usual Year In Review, from Zeitgeist2014: