As the year comes to a close, it’s nice to see what has transpired in the over the last 12 months. This can either give us a nice sense of nostalgia or it could plague us with horrible nightmares of events or happenings that we wish we could forget ::cough cough—Trump Administration—cough:: Nevertheless, 2018 is almost here and we need to wonder what the next 365 days have in store. We recently shared the Top Googled People of 2017, but now, here is a list of the Top 10 Google Searches of 2017.
1. Hurricane Irma
Reaching a Category 5 mid-Caribbean, Hurricane Irma came during one of the heaviest hurricane seasons we have seen. Following Hurricane Harvey and right before the catastrophic Hurricane Maria that left Puerto Rico without light and water (still to this day), Irma essentially wiped Barbuda off the map and is said that disaster impact will possibly reach multi-billions of dollars.
Hurricane Irma is a personal one for me. During its passing through the Caribbean, I was in Puerto Rico getting ready for a conference when we discovered that Irma could touch ground in PR with a whopping 135 mph winds, potentially destroying many things in its path. By the time we found out there was a hurricane warning, it was too late to get out, never mind the price gauging from certain airlines trying to risk flying out of the island. Luckily, Irma veered North, slightly curving approximately 40 miles away from the coast of San Juan and we received winds of up to 75-80 mph. Strong enough the scare the crap out of this California boy, but nothing in comparison to what Hurricane Maria did to Puerto Rico just a week and a half later. This is probably has the most Google searches for the year because I alone must have searched it 1,568,975 times while tracking the storm scared out of my mind in my hotel room!
2. Matt Lauer
Amid the Hollywood sex scandals of 2017 came a huge headline about NBC host Matt Lauer who was fired on November 30th from the Today Show due to allegations of sexual misconduct. Lauer claims the allegations are untrue, but this comes after rumors spiraling for years about Lauer’s character behind-the-scenes. People were either shocked or knew he had it coming–it’s no wonder he was Googled so much!
3. Tom Petty
We lost many great names in entertainment this year, including rock frontman Tom Petty from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Petty passed away at the age of 66 on October 2nd after going into cardiac arrest. Petty was known for some great hits like Free Fallin’, American Girl, and I Won’t Back Down. Petty’s death was a shock to many, which is probably why it sent everyone searching Google to see if the news was true.
4. Super Bowl LI
This year the New England Patriots took out the Atlanta Falcons 34-28. 2017 saw the first-ever overtime in Super Bowl history. But really, you know that the reason why it was probably one of the top Google searches of the year is because Mother Monster, Lady Gaga, was headlining the halftime show. People were tuned in with paws up to see what the icon would turn out for one of the biggest gigs an artist could ever score.
5. Las Vegas Shooting
With our current political climate, the topic of gun control has been a hot button item. We have seen an onslaught of mass shootings on a daily basis throughout the country in the last decade, but nothing like the Las Vegas shooting which is being deemed the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history leaving 58 people dead and more than 520 injured. The horrible incident occurred on October 1st at a country music festival in Las Vegas. The shooter sprayed the victims from across the Vegas strip from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel. When authorities arrived on the scene, they discovered the shooter had rigged cameras outside the hotel room to inform him when the police was approaching. More than 23 firearms, including assault rifles, were found inside the hotel room—as well as the shooter who had taken his life.
6. Mayweather vs. McGregor Fight
Floyd Mayweather Jr. got the match of a lifetime when UFC hotshot Conor McGregor challenged the boxing champion. But after a lot of smack-talking, Mayweather defeated McGregor on August 26th. The fight proved to be a huge money maker, bringing in a minimum of $450 million in pay-per-view access with $99.95 per purchase. But was it McGregor’s big schlong in the weighing in that made this match so searchable on Google?
7. Solar Eclipse
On August 21st, a rare total solar eclipse created a sense of urgency across the U.S. to view the eclipse in its path of totality exclusively crossing the continental United States. This was the first time since June 8, 1918 that the path was solely in the U.S. and the first time since 1776 that it was visible only from the U.S. So you can imagine why stores and online channels were sold out of solar eclipse viewing glasses—they were the hottest commodity that week. People were calling libraries and museums to see if they handing out free glasses, but to no avail! You had to be one of the people who planned ahead to get your glasses. People made their own eclipse viewers out of cardboard boxes or finding alternatives like taking selfies with the eclipse to see the shape of the eclipse. The eclipse craze was definitely one of for the 2017 history books and hopefully those who suffered retinal damage wish they would have searched how to make a solar eclipse viewer instead of looking directly at the sun.
8. Hurricane Harvey
On August 25th, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas as a Category 4 hurricane. The hurricane left thousands homeless with many areas of the state flooded and without access to roads or a way to get out. The worst storm to hit the U.S. since Hurricane Katrina, Harvey was catastrophic and costly with relief funds exceeding $125 billion. Harvey was the beginning of a series of hurricanes that made 2017 a year to remember in regard to natural disasters.
9. Aaron Hernandez
When Aaron Hernandez was convicted for the murder of Odin Lloyd in 2015, no one could imagine that the former New England Patriots player would take his own life. On April 19th, Hernandez was found dead in his prison cell while serving a life sentence. Hernandez had previously been found not guilty for two other murders that he was linked to in 2012. After his death, scientists discovered Hernandez had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease. Lots of buzz surrounded Hernandez’s death as reports came in that the ex-NFL player had left a suicide note for his gay lover Kyle Kennedy who was also in prison. In addition, Hernandez left notes for his daughter and his fiancée.
10. Fidget Spinners
Those pesky toys that you saw all year long? Yeah, they were one of the top 10 Google searches of the year! Kids, and even some adults, went crazy over these 3-inch spinning gadgets that mixed centrifugal motion and balance. Fidget spinners have been around for years, but it was 2017 that created a fanatic surge of interest making it one of the most sought after toys at convenience stores, discount chains, gas stations and just about anywhere you looked!
So there you have it! 10 topics that have probably broken the internet more than once with so many searches. Now when we look back on 2017, you’ll remember these intense stories.
What topics are you surprised didn’t trend as hard as you thought?
