Players of France celebrate the win of the final match between France and Croatia at the FIFA World Cup on July 15, 2018 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia.
Anatoliy Medved/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The world had World Cup fever this year. And so did the internet.
And that was evident in what people searched for online. Google said Wednesday that its top trending topic in the US and worldwide in 2018 was “World Cup.” In Google parlance, “top trending” means it had the highest spike in traffic over a certain period of time this year compared to last year.
Besides the thrilling monthlong tournament, which you probably recall culminated with France defeating Croatia 4-2, US internet users were also paying close attention to Hurricane Florence, the category 4 storm that ravaged the Carolinas this summer, and singer Demi Lovato, who reportedly suffered a drug overdose in July.
Google is the world’s largest search engine and one of the most iconic sites on the internet. So popular search queries give us a good look into what people were thinking about over the past year. Last year, we searched for information on another storm, Hurricane Irma, and Matt Lauer, the former co-host of NBC’s Today show, fired last year amid allegations of sexual harassment.
In addition to the World Cup, the world wanted to know what was kicking with Meghan Markle, the American actress who joined the British royal family when she married Prince Harry in May. We also mourned the passing of rapper Mac Miller, celebrity Anthony Bourdain and comic book legend Stan Lee.
Check out the top US lists below.
Searches
1. World Cup
2. Hurricane Florence
3. Mac Miller
4. Kate Spade
5. Anthony Bourdain
6. Black Panther
7. Mega Millions Results
8. Stan Lee
9. Demi Lovato
10. Election Results
News
1. World Cup
2. Hurricane Florence
3. Mega Millions
4. Election Results
5. Hurricane Michael
6. Kavanaugh Confirmation
7. Florida Shooting
8. Royal Wedding
9. Olympic Medal Count
10. Government Shutdown
People (not including deaths)
1. Demi Lovato
2. Meghan Markle
3. Brett Kavanaugh
4. Logan Paul
5. Khloe Kardashian
6. Eminem
7. Urban Meyer
8. Ariana Grande
9. Rick Ross
10. Cardi B
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