Yahoo Movies What did we search for in 2022? Wordle, Johnny Depp highlight Google's top US trends of year
What a year it was, and amid all the news – good or bad – the one thing Americans wanted to do, or at least attempt, was figure out their daily five-letter word puzzle in six tries.
Wordle was the most popular trending search of 2022 in the U.S., according to data Google released Wednesday. The word guessing game that has users guess one random five-letter word each day took off in popularity in January, with social media timelines flooded with users sharing their results.
Second was election results, likely of the 2022 midterm elections. Third was Betty White, America’s favorite senior citizen who died on the final day of of 2021.
Election results were also the top news search of the year, followed by the death of Queen Elizabeth and Ukraine as the invasion of Russian forces continues.
As for the top trending searched person of the year, it was Johnny Depp, who won a defamation lawsuit he filed, accusing ex-spouse Amber Heard of defaming him in a 2018 op-ed. Second on the list was Will Smith, who slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars after Rock made a joke about Smith' wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Heard was third on the list.
Google's data was taken from Jan. 1 through Nov. 27. The company defines trending items as "searches that had a high spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2022 as compared to 2021."
Here are some of the top trending searches of the year:
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Google's top trending searches of 2022
Wordle
Election results
Betty White
Queen Elizabeth
Bob Saget
Ukraine
Mega Millions
Powerball numbers
Anne Heche
Jeffrey Dahmer
Google's top trending news searches of 2022
Election results
Queen Elizabeth passing
Ukraine
Powerball numbers
Hurricane Ian
Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox)
Texas school shooting
Will Smith Oscars
Johnny Depp verdict
Roe v Wade
Google's top trending people searches of 2022
Johnny Depp
Will Smith
Amber Heard
Antonio Brown
Kari Lake
Anna Sorokin (Delvey)
Chris Rock
Andrew Tate
Adam Levine
Serena Williams
What's everyone talking about?: Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
Other top trending searches of 2022
Aside from the most searched events and people, Google also tracked some of the biggest questions people had on the year, ranging from "What is..." to "How to help..." to wanting to know what was around them.
Here are some of the top trending searches of the year:
What is...
What is NATO?
What is monkeypox?
What is rsv?
What is Wordle?
What is aphasia?
What is a NFT?
What is a recession?
What is vabbing?
What is Roe v Wade?
What is the Wordle today?
Who is…
Who is Andrew Tate?
Who is winning the election?
Who is the king of England?
Who is the watcher?
Who is Alex Jones?
Who is Jeffrey Dahmer?
Who is next in line for the throne?
Who is Amber Heard?
Who is Aaron Carter?
Who is in NATO?
How to help…
How to help Ukraine?
How to help Ukrainian refugees?
How to help abortion rights?
How to help Ukraine army?
How to help Uvalde?
How to help Hurricane Ian?
How to help Puerto Rico, Hurricane Fiona?
How to help a dry cough?
How to help restless leg syndrome during pregnancy?
How to help toddler with cough?
How to pronounce…
Qatar
Kyiv
Puzzle
Omicron
Encanto
Xochitl
Adele
Diwali
Oligarch
Uvalde
Near Me
Gas prices near me
At home COVID test near me
Voting near me
Early voting near me
PCR test near me
COVID booster near me
Easter egg hunt near me
Where to vote near me
Concerts near me
n95 masks near me
Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wordle, Johnny Depp and more: Top trending Google searches for 2022
