2016 was... not a great year, overall. Donald Trump got elected president, Prince, David Bowie, and Muhammad Ali died (to name only a few), Britain voted to leave the European Union and Aleppo is besieged by war. However, there was some fun stuff that happened, right? Not that Pokémon Go and Damn Daniel memes are enough to console the heavy-hearted after a rough year, but hey, it can't hurt to acknowledge the better moments.
In a sort of internet year-in-review, Google has published top searches across several categories including TV, fashion, and people, giving us a look at what mattered to Google searchers in the U.S. over the last year. Here are some highlights.
The top searches overall reveal a strong interest in the lottery. "Powerball" came in as the number one search. Followed by Prince (R.I.P.), Hurricane Matthew, and Pokémon Go.
Searches
1. Powerball
2. Prince
3. Hurricane Matthew
4. Pokémon Go
5. Slither.io
6. Olympics
7. David Bowie
8. Trump
9. Election
10. Hillary Clinton
Google also compiled a list of people (not including those who died this year, and wow were there too many) that were most popular. The Sith Lord himself, Donald Trump, made it first on the list, followed by Hillary Clinton and Michael Phelps. Bernie Sanders came in fourth (poor Bernie).
People
1. Donald Trump
2. Hillary Clinton
3. Michael Phelps
4. Bernie Sanders
5. Steven Avery
6. Ryan Lochte
7. Simone Biles
8. Cam Newton
9. Usain Bolt
10. Kevin Durant
Of course, 2016 was sadly marked by the loss of many well-loved celebrities. Prince, David Bowie, and Christina Grimmie topped the list of dearly-departed celebs who we lost this year.
Losses 2016
1. Prince
2. David Bowie
3. Christina Grimmie
4. Muhammad Ali
5. Alan Rickman
6. José Fernández
7. Gene Wilder
8. Kimbo Slice
9. Big Ang
10. Anton Yelchin
Pokémon and politics dominated the top "how to" and "what is" searches, with people really wanting to know how to be the very best at Pokémon Go, but also read up on Brexit, Aleppo, and the Electoral College. Also a surprising amount of people want to "appear funny."
How to...
1. How to play Pokémon Go?
2. How to register to vote?
3. How to play Powerball?
4. How to make slime?
5. How to move to Canada?
6. How to battle in Pokémon Go?
7. How to appear funny?
8. How to catch Pokémon Go?
9. How to vote early?
10. How to use Snapchat filters?
What is...
1. What is Pokémon Go?
2. What is a Caucus?
3. What is Brexit?
4. What are electoral votes?
5. What is the Electoral College?
6. What is Aleppo?
7. What is the mannequin challenge?
8. What is the European Union?
9. What is Citizens United?
10. What is a Superdelegate?
Netflix shows out-searched everyone for TV shows, with Stranger Things and Making a Murderer coming in as the top two most highly searched shows.
TV Shows
1. Stranger Things
2. Making a Murderer
3. Fuller House
4. Westworld
5. The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
6. Game of Thrones
7. Luke Cage
8. American Horror Story
9. Lip Sync Battle
10. Dancing with the Stars
Harambe, of course, topped the list for meme searches.
Memes
1. Harambe
2. Damn Daniel
3. Pokémon Go
4. Dat boi
5. SpongeBob caveman
6. Michael Phelps
7. Donald Trump
8. Making a Murderer
9. Ken Bone
10. Birdman
Selfie queen Kim K is first on the list for most-searched for selfie, followed by... Sharon Osbourne? Okay.
Selfies
1. Kim Kardashian
2. Sharon Osbourne
3. Usher
4. Sebastian Stan
5. Donald Trump
6. Justin Timberlake
7. Jared Leto
8. Coco Austin
9. James Franco
10. Katy Perry
And apparently the U.S. is obsessed with puppy monkey baby GIFs?
GIFs
1. Puppy Monkey Baby
2. Bautista Bat Flip
3. Dat Boi
4. Just Do It
5. Dancing Kid
6. Donald Trump
7. Good For You
8. Jungle Book
9. Suh Dude
10. Pride and Prejudice
Interesting fashion questions were also on the mind in 2016. Topping the list of overall fashion-related questions was "how to cut sleeves off a shirt," which seems (seams?) self-evident but thank goodness the internet was there to pick up the learning curve.
Fashion Questions
1. How to cut sleeves off a shirt?
2. How do I start modeling?
3. What is haute couture?
4. How to wear booties with skinny jeans?
5. When can you start wearing white?
6. How to become a fitness model?
7. What is boho?
8. What did people wear in the 90s?
9. How to dress like a hippie?
10. How to become a fashion designer?
Rachel Roy was the top searched fashion designer for the year, but that likely had more to do with Lemonade than with her actual clothes... And sorry, Kanye, Ivanka Trump came in ahead for this category.
1. Rachel Roy
2. Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen
3. Angela Simmons
4. Zendaya
5. Kendall and Kylie
6. Beyoncé
7. Anita Dongre
8. Sonia Rykiel
9. Ivanka Trump
10. Kanye West
The Oscars always generate a lot of internet hype. Two Jennifers: Garner and Lawrence, respectively, topped the list of searches for Oscars apparels.
Oscar Red Carpet Dresses
1. Jennifer Garner
2. Jennifer Lawrence
3. Charlize Theron
4. Rachel McAdams
5. Brie Larson
6. Alicia Vikander
7. Priyanka Chopra
8. Cate Blanchett
9. Kate Winslet
10. Olivia Wilde
