Weather, gadgets and celebrities behaving badly riveted the people of the Earth in 2017, according to Google's annual list of the most-searched-for terms of the year.
Not a single political topic made the list of the top 10 searches around the world in 2017, Google said — not even Donald Trump. Instead, more searches were launched for the phrase "Hurricane Irma" than for any other subject.
"iPhone 8" and "iPhone X" were Nos. 2 and 3, followed by the former "Today" host Matt Lauer and Meghan Markle, the fiancée of Prince Harry of Britain.
Accusations of sexual misconduct by prominent men figured prominently in the list of most-searched-for people. Lauer, whom NBC News fired on Nov. 30, was No. 1 on that list, which also included the disgraced movie executive Harvey Weinstein and the actor Kevin Spacey at fourth and fifth, respectively.
The sports list knocks a hole in Americans' view of themselves as the center of the universe. The Super Bowl wasn't even the most-searched-for sporting event of the year — that was the Wimbledon tennis championships. And the Tour de France ranked higher than the World Series.
Other notable entries included the musician Tom Petty, who headed the worldwide list of searches for people who died during 2017, the campaign that led to Emmanuel Macron's election as president of France (elections), Ariana Grande (musician and bands) and "Despacito," Luis Fonsi's reggae-pop sensation (songs).
As for the most-searched-for meme of the year, well, that was "Cash Me Outside," the memorable statement made on "The Dr. Phil Show" by a 13-year-old girl in September 2016.
The girl, Danielle Bregoli, whose mother wanted Phil McGraw's help with stopping her daughter's bad behavior, responded to ridicule from the audience by blurting out: "Catch me outside, how about that?" in a nearly indecipherable accent. (Her mom had to translate what came across as "Cash me ousside, how bah dah?" for the audience.)
The video quickly morphed into a meme that blanketed the world for the first half of 2017. But Danielle got the last laugh — she became so famous that, in August, she released a rap single, "These Heaux" (i.e., "these hoes"), which hit Billboard's Top 100 and won her a recording contract under the stage name Bhad Babie.
Top 10 searches on Google worldwide in 2017:
- Hurricane Irma
- iPhone 8
- iPhone X
- Matt Lauer
- Meghan Markle
- 13 Reasons Why
- Tom Petty
- Fidget Spinner
- Chester Bennington
- India National Cricket Team
Top 10 searches on Google in the United States in 2017:
- Hurricane Irma
- Matt Lauer
- Tom Petty
- Super Bowl
- Las Vegas shooting
- Mayweather vs McGregor fight
- Solar eclipse
- Hurricane Harvey
- Aaron Hernandez
- Fidget Spinner
