No. 4: How to Write a Resume
If you’re looking for work, welcome to the club. Nearly 15 million unemployed Americans vied for about 3 million open jobs in 2010, so the need to fine-tune resumes meant a lot of search queries. Your resume needs to stand out, but forgo the scented stationery, glitter ink, and Gorilla…
No. 3: How to Kiss
A pucker starts with 34 facial muscles, plus a few muscles in your head, neck, and shoulders as you tip your head forward. Your jawbone dips, lips touch, and your brain produces four different chemicals that can create a whirlwind of emotions. Heart rate races, oxygen enters, at least 26…
No. 1: How to Tie a Tie
When was the last time you tied a tie? For a lot of Web searchers in 2010, it had apparently been a while since prom. Wearing a tie has become such a rare occasion that the concierge at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C., says the establishment offers a…
Burning Questions
In 2010 about 1.5 percent of searches every month were questions that involved who, what, when, where, why, and how. That’s no small number when you consider the billions of queries that hit a search box. And that doesn’t include those leading-verb queries, such as “Can I eat kiwi skin?”…
No. 1: How to Lose Weight
Asking a search engine for a foolproof weight-loss scheme? You might as well lump in questions like “How do I age backwards?” and “What’s the meaning of life?” too. Tough economic times aside, Americans live in a land of plenty — or excess: supersized servings, heaping grams of sugar, and…
No. 10: “Fireflies,” Owl City
With unshowy vocals that cue thoughts of heart-baring emo longing, and delicate synths that conjure up memories of ’90s-era indie electronic outfits such as American Analog Set, the triple-platinum “Fireflies” received the big boost its predecessors didn’t when it was covered by everyone from Lee DeWyze on “American Idol” to…
No. 9: “Hey Soul Sister,” Train
The dry spell is over for the San Francisco Bay Area alternative-rock band Train. “Hey, Soul Sister” marked the end of a nine-year Top 10 drought, coming in at No. 3 for four weeks in 2010, making it the ever-loving, still-chugging combo’s highest-charting yet. With more than 4.5 million legal…
No. 8: “Two Is Better Than One,” Boys Like Girls
No, it’s not about Boys Like Girls frontman Martin Johnson’s rumored romance with Taylor Swift, although she contributes girlish harmonies to the alternative rock-country pop tune, the Boston band’s second platinum single. Read the title of “Two Is Better Than One” as a reflection of the circumstances in which Boys…
No. 7: “Solo,” Iyaz
Tortola, British Virgin Islands, native Iyaz is poised to become 2010’s musical MVP for his collaborations with young female pop stars. He worked with Charice on “Pyramid” and Hannah Montana (aka Miley Cyrus) on “Gonna Get This.” “Solo,” much like his compulsively singable hit “Replay,” presents the U.K. chart-topper as…
No. 6: “Tik Tok,” Ke$ha
“The Simple Life” is long gone for Ke$ha, who first jettisoned into the eye of pop-culture cultists on the Paris Hilton-Nicole Richie reality show. A one-time vocal contributor for Britney Spears and Flo Rida, Kesha Rose Sebert now has the cash — and flash — to go with the dollar…