Getty Images/Getty Images – WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 15: In this handout image provided by The White House, U.S. President Barack Obama jokingly mimics U.S. Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney’s “not impressed” expression while greeting members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic gymnastics teams in the Oval Office November 15, 2012 at the White House in Washington, DC. Maroney’s expression became an internet sensation when during the ceremony for her 2012 Olympic vault silver medal she was photographed giving a brief look of disappointment with her lips pursed to the side. Steve Penny, USA Gymnastics President, and Savannah Vinsant laugh at left. (Photo by Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images)
What can online searches — especially a billion or so — tell us? In a way, the nonstop stream on Yahoo! can be an instant poll of our online curiosities and interests. Stepping back and taking a year’s view can give insight into our collective behavior — what distracted us, what obsessed us, what involved us. In addition to the annual Top 10 Searches, News Stories, and other major trends, we’ve also pulled together a few more (let’s say 30) wide-ranging rankings that span everything from questions we type into the search box to our favorite sports teams.
A note about our methodology: To develop the Yahoo! Year in Review, we editors analyze Yahoo! Search queries based on a number of factors, including absolute volume and the growth from previous periods, to see which themes and trends bubble to the surface. Individuals and their Search queries always remain anonymous. Top searched refers to searches with the highest volume. Spiking refers to searches with the greatest change from one year to the next.
Memes & Questions
2012 top meme searches on Yahoo!
- KONY 2012
- Binders full of women
- Hurricane Sandy fake storm photos
- Ridiculously photogenic guy
- Big Bird
- Dogshaming
- Stingray photobomb
- Eastwooding
- Etch A Sketch
- McKayla Maroney is not impressed
2012 top questions asked on Yahoo!
- How to cook pumpkin seeds
- Where do I vote
- What is the electoral college
- Who is winning the presidential race
- What is a blue moon
- When is Father’s Day
- How to boil eggs
- When is Sweetest Day
- What time is it in London
- How to cook pork tenderloin
2012 top ‘where is’ searches on Yahoo!
- Where is the Super Bowl 2012
- Where is Monica Lewinsky
- Where is Bora Bora
- Where is Ecuador
- Where is Amy Robach going
- Where is Chuck Norris
- Where is Croatia
- Where is Tunisia
- Where is Annie Dookhan from
- Where is Notre Dame
2012 top ‘definition of’ searches on Yahoo!
- Define reductive
- Define secede
- Define truancy
- Define optimal
- Define vetted
- Define bloviate
- Define austerity
- Define concede
- Define narcissism
- Define renege
2012 top ‘who is’ searches on Yahoo!
- Who is the girl with the dragon tattoo
- Who is Elizabeth Smart
- Who is Joseph Kony
- Who is Aviva Drescher
- Who is leaving Grey’s Anatomy
- Who is Uncle Drew
- Who is James Holmes
- Who is Paul Ryan
- Who is Honey Boo Boo
- Who is Ann Coulter
2012 top ‘what is’ searches on Yahoo!
- What is SOPA
- What is love
- What is the “Hunger Games” about
- What is KONY
- What is a zip line
- What is Obamacare
- What is Scientology
- What is a blue moon
- What is tapenade
- What is the electoral college
2012 top ‘how to’ searches on Yahoo!
- How to make a diaper cake
- How to buy Facebook stock
- How to build a deck
- How to boil an egg
- How to cook corn on the cob
- How to cook swiss chard
- How to make salsa
- How to get rid of bags under the eyes
- How to make cake pops
- How to cook pumpkin seeds
Farewells
2012 top farewell searches on Yahoo! (alphabetical)
- Kyle Bennett
- Sarah Burke
- Robin Gibb
- Sam Gibbons
- Andy Griffith
- Whitney Houston
- Alex Karras
- Junior Seau
- Sage Stallone
- Adam Yauch
2012 top searches for TV & radio personalities on Yahoo!
- Rush Limbaugh
- Ellen DeGeneres
- Kelly Ripa
- Chris Matthews
- Robin Roberts
- Maria Menounos
- Paula Deen
- Katie Couric
- Oprah Winfrey
- Howard Stern
Finance
2012 top financial terms on Yahoo!
- Facebook IPO
- Coupons
- Jobs
- Gas prices
- FAFSA
- Resumes and cover letters
- Gold prices
- Mortgage rates
- Student loans
- Oil prices
2012 top spiking financial terms on Yahoo!
- Stamp prices
- Stocks to buy
- Mortgage deal
- 30-year mortgage rate
- 1040 instructions
- Stimulus payment schedule
- 10 best mutual funds
- New home sales
- Top 10 stocks
- Free tax filing
2012 top ‘job’ searches on Yahoo!
- Work from home jobs
- Kaiser Permanente jobs
- Government/federal jobs
- Part-time jobs
- Walmart jobs
- Truck driving jobs
- Target jobs
- FedEx jobs
- Costco jobs
- home depot jobs
Politicians
2012 top politician searches on Yahoo!
- Barack Obama
- Mitt Romney
- Sarah Palin
- Ron Paul
- Hillary Clinton
- Rick Santorum
- John Edwards
- Paul Ryan
- Elizabeth Warren
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
Shopping
2012 top gadget searches on Yahoo!
- iPhone 5
- iPad 3
- iPad mini
- Samsung Galaxy S3
- Kindle Fire
- iPhone 4
- Nook
- iPod Touch
- Samsung Galaxy Tab
- Samsung Galaxy Note
2012 top jean searches on Yahoo!
- Levi’s
- True Religion
- Miss Me
- Wrangler
- Lucky Brand
- Lee jeans
- YMI
- Not Your Daughter’s Jeans
- Silver jeans
- Apple Bottom
2012 top coupon/deal searches on Yahoo!
- Dick’s Sporting goods coupons
- Kohl’s coupons
- Grocery coupons
- JCPenney coupons
- Hobby Lobby coupons
- Lowe’s coupons
- Michael’s coupons
- Pizza Hut coupons
- Zappos coupons
- Chuck E. Cheese coupons
Entertainment
2012 top female celebrity searches on Yahoo!
- Kim Kardashian
- Kate Upton
- Lindsay Lohan
- Jennifer Lopez
- Katy Perry
- Kristen Stewart
- Miley Cyrus
- Britney Spears
- Scarlett Johansson
- Jennifer Aniston
2012 top male celebrity searches on Yahoo!
- Justin Bieber
- Robert Pattinson
- Clint Eastwood
- Johnny Depp
- Chris Brown
- Channing Tatum
- John Travolta
- Lamar Odom
- Brad Pitt
- Tom Cruise
2012 top 10 celebrity baby searches on Yahoo!
- Beyoncé & Jay‐Z’s baby
- Kourtney Kardashian’s baby
- Jessica Simpson’s baby
- Snooki’s baby
- Giuliana Rancic’s baby
- Jennifer Garner’s baby
- Tori Spelling’s baby
- Vanessa Minnillo & Nick Lachey’s baby
- Kristin Cavallari’s baby
- Kelsey Grammer baby
2012 top song and lyric searches on Yahoo!
- “Call Me Maybe” (Carly Rae Jepsen)
- “Gangnam Style” (Psy)
- “Someone Like You” (Adele)
- “Somebody That I Used to Know” (Gotye)
- “Sexy and I Know It (LMFAO)
- “We Are Young (Fun.)
- “Rolling in the Deep” (Adele)
- “You Belong with Me” (Taylor Swift)
- “What Makes You Beautiful” (One Direction)
- “Gummy Bear Song” (Gummibär)
2012 top music artist searches on Yahoo!
- Whitney Houston
- Jennifer Lopez
- Katy Perry
- Justin Bieber
- Britney Spears
- Miley Cyrus
- Beyoncé
- Selena Gomez
- Chris Brown
- Taylor Swift
2012 top spiking tours/concerts on Yahoo!
- Van Halen tour
- Aerosmith tour
- Rolling Stones tour
- Iron Maiden tour
- New Edition tour
- Maroon 5 tour
- Barbra Streisand tour
- Adele tour
- “American Idol” tour
- Dave Matthews tour
Recipes
2012 top recipe searches on Yahoo!
- Chicken recipes
- Crockpot recipes
- Halloween recipes
- Vegetarian recipes
- Salmon recipes
- Beef stew recipes
- Zucchini recipes
- Eggplant recipes
- Cake recipes
- Shrimp recipes
2012 top spiking recipe searches on Yahoo!
- Barbecue recipes
- Easter recipes
- Banana smoothie recipes
- Irish recipes
- Ham recipes
- 6 easy Halloween recipes
- Paleo diet recipes
- Leg of lamb recipes
- Avocado recipes
- Pumpkin recipes
2012 most appetizing yet stomach‐turning searches on Yahoo!
- Candy corn Oreos
- Pork doughnuts
- Bacon ice cream
- Flamin’ Hot Cheetos
- Deep fried strawberries
- Beer milkshake
- Fried Kool‐Aid
- Guinness cupcakes
- Maple bacon beer
- Grape jelly meatballs
Health
2012 top health ‘symptom’ searches on Yahoo!
- Diabetes symptoms
- Lung cancer symptoms
- Depression symptoms
- Colon cancer symptoms
- Prostate cancer symptoms
- Heart attack symptoms
- Pregnancy symptoms
- Shingles symptoms
- Gall bladder symptoms
- Lupus symptoms
Sports
2012 standout sports searches on Yahoo!
- Olympics opening ceremony
- Kim Mulkey makes NCAA history
- Australian Open
- Ekaterina Makarova’s win over Serena Williams
- NCAA brackets 2012
- Wimbledon
- Preakness
- US Open golf
- Sarah Phillip
- Giro d’Italia 95th edition
2012 athlete searches on Yahoo!
- Tiger Woods
- Maria Sharapova
- Peyton Manning
- Danica Patrick
- Amanda Beard
- Tim Tebow
- Jeremy Lin
- Anna Kournikova
- Lolo Jones
- Serena Williams
2012 top sports team searches on Yahoo!
- Dallas Cowboys
- New York Yankees
- Los Angeles Lakers
- San Francisco Giants
- Detroit Tigers
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Green Bay Packers
- St. Louis Cardinals
- San Francisco 49ers
- Oakland A’s
2012 top Olympian searches on Yahoo!!
- Maria Sharapova
- Lolo Jones
- Serena Williams
- Hope Solo
- McKayla Maroney
- Caroline Wozniacki
- Leryn Franco
- Michael Phelps
- Misty May‐Treanor
- Aly Raisman