Google released its annual "Year in Search" stats . . . and in 2022, it was dominated by: Wordle, elections, and celebrity deaths.
Here's a rundown of the top searches in the U.S. . . .
1. The top news topics we googled were: Mid-term election results . . . Queen Elizabeth's passing . . . Ukraine . . . Powerball numbers . . . and Hurricane Ian.
2. The top words we wanted defined were: Rupee . . . Oligarch . . . Cacao . . . Homer . . . and Recession. )
3. The top "how to help others" searches were: "How to help Ukraine" . . . "How to help Ukrainian refugees" . . . "How to help abortion rights" . . . "How to help Ukraine army" . . . and "How to help Uvalde."
4. The top "how to pronounce" searches were: "How to pronounce Qatar" . . . "How to pronounce Kyiv" . . . "How to pronounce puzzle" (???) . . . "How to pronounce Omicron" . . . and "How to pronounce 'Encanto'
5. The top "near me" searches were: "Gas prices near me" . . . "At-home Covid testing near me" . . . "Voting near me" . . . "Early voting near me" . . . and "PCR test near me."
6. The most-searched games were: Wordle . . . Quordle . . . Elden Ring . . . Heardle . . . and Worldle.
7. The top recipes we searched for were: Sugo . . . Cincinnati Chili . . . Marry Me Chicken . . . Quick Pancake . . . and Mango
8. The top SHORTAGES we searched for were: Diesel shortage . . . baby formula shortage . . . tampon shortage . . . Adderall shortage . . . and Sriracha shortage.
9. The top "Who Is?" we searched for were: "Who is Andrew Tate?" . . . "Who is winning the election?" . . . "Who is the king of England?" . . . "Who is 'the watcher'?" . . . and "Who is Alex Jones?"
10. The Top Five searches overall this year were: Wordle . . . election results . . . Betty White, who passed on December 31st of last year . . . Queen Elizabeth, who passed in September . . . and Bob Saget, who passed in January.
Here's what people were searching for the most in 2022 . . .
People
1. Johnny Depp
2. Will Smith
3. Amber Heard
4. Antonio Brown
5. Kari Lake
Actors:
1. Johnny Depp
2. Will Smith
3. Amber Heard
4. Chris Rock
5. Julia Fox . . .
Passings:
1. Betty White
2. Queen Elizabeth
3. Bob Saget
4. Anne Heche
5. Aaron Carter
Movies:
1. "Encanto"
2. "Thor: Love and Thunder"
3. "Top Gun: Maverick"
4. "The Batman"
5. "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
TV Shows:
1. "Euphoria"
2. "Stranger Things"
3. "The Watcher"
4. "Inventing Anna"
5. "House of the Dragon"
Musicians and Bands:
1. Adam Levine
2. Mary J. Blige
3. Lil Tjay
4. Kendrick Lamar
5. Migos
Songs:
1. "We Don't Talk About Bruno" from "Encanto"
2. "Surface Pressure" from "Encanto"
3. "Jiggle Jiggle", Duke & Jones and Louis Theroux
4. "Unholy", Sam Smith and Kim Petras
5. "As It Was", Harry Styles
Athletes:
1. Antonio Brown
2. Serena Williams
3. Joe Burrow
4. Aaron Judge
5. Manti Te'o
Sports Teams:
1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Boston Celtics
3. Golden State Warriors
4. Cincinnati Bengals
5. Los Angeles Rams