The hell-trip around the sun that has been 2018 is just about over, and you know what that means: it’s time to reflect on said hell-trip. This week, Google released data on the top-searched, well, everything, of this year. Turns out, you all really wanted to know about Logan Paul, the YouTuber who started off the year by attaining infamy after deciding it was a good idea to vlog a dead body he found hanging from a tree in Japan’s so-called “suicide forest.” Paul was the number one searched “actor” in 2018. (A generous label on Google’s part, really.) Bill Cosby ranked second. Paul was also the fourth most-Googled name in the “Who … ?” category, with many people having used the search engine to find out who won the highly publicized boxing match between Paul and KSI. (It was a draw.)
For songs, “Bohemian Rhapsody” took first place this year, with “Baby Shark” the children’s earworm-turned-club banger, coming in fourth. Stacey Abrams and Beto O’Rourke were the top two most-Googled politicians. (These results are all specific to the United States.) Video game: Fortnite. (Duh.) Television show: Roseanne. (Also duh, now that I think about it.) Food: unicorn cake. (My Googling here indicates this is literally a cake frosted to look like a unicorn.) The World Cup was the most searched thing in the U.S. for all of 2018. Followed by Hurricane Florence. Ah, balance. You can see the rest of 2018’s search trends in greater detail here if you really want to reflect on what a bummer of a year it’s been.
