The Year in Google

Google's annual Zeitgeist report is out, and the results don't bode well for 2009. Each year, Google compiles a list of the most popular search terms, on the theory that what people are searching for tells us something essential about the pulse of America. And the winners are, well, not exactly sanguine. The most popular search terms for 2008 were "financial crisis," "depression," "bailout," "mortgage crisis," "wall street," "oil," "stock market," and "subprime." Perhaps you see a picture emerging?

Still, some of the biggest up-and-comers proved we weren't totally consumed by our vanishing paychecks. In the fastest-rising category, terms such as "obama," "facebook," "iphone," "youtube," and "palin" scored in the top ten.

In politics, Obama flat-out dominated the top searches, culminating in a massive spike on Election Day. The big buzzwords of the campaign season included "joe the plumber," "jeremiah wright," "maverick," "william ayers," and "bridge to nowhere." Googlers got their political news from Fox, CNN, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, the Drudge Report, and the New York Times, in that order.

Elsewhere, the big TV shows by Google search were "american idol," "lost," "SNL," and "the office." The biggest interest in concert tickets concerned "jonas brothers," "coldplay," "hanna montana," and "kenny chesney," while Googlers most wanted to watch the following movies: "dark knight," "iron man," "hulk," and "star wars." (Jesus, does that thing ever go away?)

"Gymnastics," "swimming," "soccer," and "tennis" were the big Olympic draws, and Oklahoma/Texas, Michigan/Ohio State, and the Red Sox/Yankees rivalries obsessed the most Googlers. Finally, here are some of the most disturbing and/or intriguing popular search terms of the year: "how to hack," "how to kiss," "vampire kisses," and "what is lupus."

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Times writer Sean Gallagher wanted to know what America was googling on Christmas Day, so he did a quick search. The number one spot? "ihop." We can stomach the Hanna Montana stuff; that's just life here in the Big Kahuna. But ihop? Honestly, America. You can do better than that.