The Top Google Web Searches of 2008

Every year, Google compiles a huge list of its top searches; this list is known as the Google Zeitgeist. Literally billions of searches have been sifted through to find trends, events, and newsworthy items that capture the happenings of 2008 in one concise package. Let's take a look at some of the more interesting data from Google's top searches of 2008.

The Top Searches Around the World

The top Google searches overall were as follows:

1. sarah palin
2. beijing 2008
3. facebook login
4. tuenti
5. heath ledger
6. obama
7. nasza klasa
8. wer kennt wen
9. euro 2008
10. jonas brothers

Obviously, the US presidential election was a big topic this year, as well as the Beijing Olympics, the tragic death of actor Heath Ledger, and the teen trio known as the Jonas Brothers.

U.S. Top Searches

Not surprisingly, the presidential election was in many searchers' minds this year, along with social networking sites and multimedia.

1. obama
2. facebook
3. att
4. iphone
5. youtube
6. fox news
7. palin
8. beijing 2008
9. david cook
10. surf the channel

2008: A Year for Learning New Things

The top searches of 2008 included a lot of queries about new technology, how to do things, and more detail on various topics. For instance, here are the top How To searches:

1. how to draw
2. how to kiss
3. how to write
4. how to cook
5. how to tie
6. how to hack
7. how to run
8. how to cite
9. how to paint
10. how to spell

Trendsetters in Searches

The more searches Google fields on any one subject, the more that particular subject can be tracked as a trend. There were many issues driving our Google searches this year, for instance, the rise of comfort foods:

1. ice cream
2. chili
3. spaghetti
4. meatloaf
5. fried chicken
6. chicken soup
7. apple pie
8. pot pie
9. potato salad
10. macaroni and cheese

Top Entertainment Searches

Many people used Google this year to find information about their favorite movie, artist, song, and more. Movie trailers especially were quite popular to search for in 2008:

1. dark knight
2. iron man
3. hulk
4. star wars
5. indiana jones
6. twilight
7. spiderman
8. superman
9. terminator
10. harry potter

Top Sports Searches

More people used Google in 2008 to find information on their favorite sports teams, Olympic events, or games this year than in past years. Even team rivalries played a part in search:

1. red river rivalry (texas vs oklahoma)
2. michigan ohio state rivalry
3. red sox yankees rivalry
4. lakers celtics rivalry
5. georgia auburn rivalry
6. alabama auburn rivalry
7. notre dame usc rivalry
8. redskins cowboys rivalry
9. penn state ohio state rivalry
10. arch rivalry (illinois vs missouri)

Google's Top Searches: A Look at 2008

This is just a glimpse at all the search data Google has aggregated for the top searches of 2008. For the entire report, visit the 2008 Google Zeitgeist.