This is the time to recap the year that was. And what a year it was. There are a number of ways to do it, many that are interesting. You can look at a year in terms of notable deaths, viral events, political rises and falls, etc. But how do you really get a 12-month snapshot of a culture’s zeitgeist?

I would argue for two words: Google searches. I’m not saying that this will be what historians will mark in 10, much less 100 years… even less what is most significant. But I will say that it may be the clearest window into our current soul.

So here we go with a few peeks into our inner world in 2024, courtesy of Google itself.

Top 10 News Story Searches:
1. Election

2. Copa América

3. Olympics

4. Hurricane Milton

5. Paralympics

6. Project 2025

7. Trump shot

8. House election results

9. Heat advisory

10. Hurricane Helene

Top 10 Searches:
1. Election

2. Donald Trump

3. Connections

4. New York Yankees

5. Kamala Harris

6. Copa América

7. Hurricane Milton tracker

8. Olympic medal count

9. Toby Keith

10. Liam Payne

Top 10 “Trend Meaning” Searches:
1. Demure

2. Give me my money

3. English or Spanish

4. This and yap

5. 17 diapers

6. Hear me out

7. Coquette

8. Roman Empire

9. Brat

10. Big back

And finally, the Top 10 “Passing” Searches:

1. Toby Keith

2. Liam Payne

3. O.J. Simpson

4. James Earl Jones

5. Rich Homie Quan

6. Thomas Matthew Crooks

7. Shannen Doherty

8. Carl Weathers

9. Richard Simmons

10. Maggie Smith

Welcome to our world.

Source