It’s been a long, wild year. You may not even remember everything that happened. You know who does though? Google. Search Giant just released this year in search of 2022, and it’s very illuminating. It’s both a journey of the past 12 months, and a reminder that you probably haven’t kept up half Ridiculous pop culture 2022 served up.
Google’s Year in Search allows you to browse the top search results from 58 different countries, as well as view global results. Unsurprisingly if you were on social media between late January and May, the top search of the year in the US and globally was “Wordall”. Of course. The viral puzzle sensation came to three places above “Queen Elizabeth,” who ruled England for 70 years and dead In 2022 and still can’t top it.
Betty White also died, and even rose to a rank above the late emperor (is Betty White a true queen?). Her Majesty was again ranked second in “news” to “election results” (which, yes, I got it). Other top news all tracking too: Ukraine, Powerball numbers, and Hurricane Ian.
It will come as no surprise that “people” and “actors” were led by participants in some of the dumbest/most infuriating scandals of the year; Namely, “Johnny Depp,” “Will Smith,” and “Amber Heard.” I don’t follow sports, so I’m completely lost on names other than “Serena Williams” in that category. I don’t even know why the Phillies were the top sports team find of the year, and I’m sure I’ll be crucified by Phillies fans for it.
“How to pronounce…” was extremely 2022, as people wanted to know how to say “Qatar,” “Kyiv,” “Omicron,” properly.encanto,” and … “Puzzle?” I guess puzzles are an intriguing world. encanto, However, One Fee appears high on the list, as it took the top two spots on “Songs” with “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and “Surface Pressure”.
If you still doubt Wordle’s hold on zeitgeist in 2022, it and three of its variants claimed four of the top five searches for “games” this year (Querdle, Hurdle, and Worldle). elden ring was the only AAA video game to make the top five.
When it comes to TV, house of the dragon was only the fifth most searched show of the year. excitement was number one, then stranger things, ObserverAnd Anna’s invention, (Pardon me rings of power—It seems there are some things Amazon’s billions can’t buy.)
If you thought “Taylor Swift” would be the number one ticket searched this year, you’d be wrong. she was number three. “Disneyland” and “Bad Bunny” were prominent.
I remember there being a shortage of baby formula, and vaguely remember Sriracha being hard to find, but apparently there were other shortages as well, including diesel, tampons, and Adderall.
I like the “we to search” section. We’ve covered this feature before, and it’s fun to see who is using it for what. The top five this year were:
- “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” – Backstreet Boys
- “Never Gonna Give You Up” – Rick Astley
- “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” – Encanto
- “The Enemy” – Imagine Dragons
- “Seven Nation Army” – The White Stripes
However, “recipes” really gets to me. i’m eating on tiktok so i see a very I have various recipes in my feed, but I personally have Never heard of any of those. Sugo’s, Cincinnati Chili, marry me chicken, Quick Pancakes (which I think is just making pancakes quickly), and Mango Pie? Sure.
Searches for “how to help” are particularly polite with queries such as “Ukraine,” “Ukrainian refugees,” “abortion rights,” “Ukrainian military,” and “Uvalde.” There were plenty of high points this year, but they are often overshadowed by low points. To their credit, Google focused more on positivity in its Year 2022 search, highlighting more uplifting events in the year. Although it is not as extensive as in previous years, it is still worth a look. (The ending on an image from the James Webb Space Telescope is a nice touch.)