The nation’s collective affection for Wordle, football, and the late Queen shone through in our online search habits this year.
Google has revealed the top terms Britons searched for in 2022, with the daily puzzle game which took the world by storm outranking all before it.
It edged out the ongoing World Cup and Queen Elizabeth II, in light of her death in September.
Also on the list are Ukraine and Russia, following the latter’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour back in February, while lateral flow test (remember those?) made the top five thanks to the Omicron variant early in the year.
Here is the full top 10:
1. Wordle
The simple online game became a viral phenomenon at the dawn of 2022, proving so popular that it was quickly snapped up by The New York Times.
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2. World Cup
Nothing brings the country together quite like England at a major football tournament, and this year UK interest was helped by Wales qualifying for the first time in 64 years.
3. Queen Elizabeth
The UK led the world in mourning the death of Her Majesty, as the monarch passed away on 8 September, aged 96, prompting huge interest as people reminisced on her reign – and asked how her historic funeral would unfold.
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4. Ukraine
The valiant efforts of the Ukrainian people in defending their homeland from the Russian invaders has gripped UK audiences throughout the year, as the repercussions of the conflict are felt everywhere, from the petrol pump to our electricity bills.
5. Lateral flow test
Lockdowns seem like a distant memory, but the Omicron variant threatened many planned holidays in the first part of 2022 – putting huge demand upon lateral flow tests (which also stopped being offered for free in the spring).
6. Mason Greenwood
The Manchester United forward is facing trial next year on charges of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour, and assault.
7. Russia
The other side of the war in Ukraine also makes the top 10, as Britons looked for answers about why Russia had decided to invade and what Vladimir Putin could be planning next.
8. Quordle
Not content with standard Wordle, this variation of the popular word game tasks hardcore players with guessing a whopping four words in just nine tries.
9. Jeffrey Dahmer
Netflix’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story tapped into our obsession with true-crime stories, as the series documented the crimes of the serial killer who claimed the lives of 17 young men and dismembered them.
10. Johnny Depp
The libel trial between Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard spanned several weeks of 2022, eventually ruling in favour of the former Pirates Of The Caribbean star over a 2018 Washington Post article written by the actress.
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What else were people searching for?
A big year for TV and film, multiple madcap periods for British politics, and some heartbreaking losses also feature in Google’s review of 2022.
Despite only being prime minister for 44 days, Liz Truss was the fourth most-searched person – only beaten by Greenwood, Depp, and Will Smith (the infamous Oscars slap did the heavy lifting there).
When it came to film, Disney’s hit musical Encanto led the way despite being released in November 2021, as the infuriatingly catchy We Don’t Talk About Bruno gave it serious staying power.
The most searched TV show of the year is Stranger Things, which also helped put Kate Bush at number three among musicians thanks to its prominent use of her 80s classic Running Up That Hill.
And we indulged our curiosity with a wide range of questions in 2022, topped by “Is the Queen dead?”.
Other favourites which go some way to revealing the priorities of the country are “When is Father’s Day?”, “When does FIFA 23 come out?”, and “How many doors are there in the world?”.
We’ll get back to you on that, once we’ve found out “how many countries end in stan”.
