Anyone wanting to know what moved people in this country throughout the year can get a good overview from the annual analysis by search engine giant Google. This year, besides the FIFA World Cup, people primarily searched for the names of deceased or missing celebrities.
Daniel Küblböck, who rose to fame through the RTL show "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" (Germany's version of "Pop Idol"), jumped from a cruise ship into the Labrador Sea in September; the search for him has since been called off. Jens Büchner, known as "Mallorca-Jens," was followed by a TV channel Vox for years and died of cancer in November. Musician Avicii was found dead in a hotel room in Oman in April. All three are among the top five most searched Google results in Germany.
Germans were also interested in the lunar eclipse in July, the events in Chemnitz in September, and the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. When it came to TV series, internet users in Germany primarily searched for German productions: Babylon Berlin, Bad Banks, and Tannbach occupied the top three spots.
The "how" questions then reveal, alongside inquiries about the World Cup and other celebrities, the dominant theme of the summer: How long will the heat last?
The year 2017 at Google
Did you Google the World Cup draw this year? Or the German federal election? If so, you helped make these two keywords the fastest-growing Google search queries
Furthermore, it has stirred up questions among people in this country about where Manuel Neuer got married, where Hurricane Irma is right now, and where the engine displacement is located.
The big "why" questions this year revolved around the G20 summit and Pentecost. Germans were also preoccupied with why butter had become so much more expensive. In fifth place among the most frequent "why" questions in this Reformation anniversary year was Martin Luther, who, although he reformed the Christian church, is also said to have asked: "Why don't you belch and fart?"
The year 2016 at Google
Thematically, the year for Germans fell somewhere between Brexit, Prince, and cats' fear of cucumbers. At least, that's the impression one gets from the most popular Google search queries. year-end review reveals what preoccupied the German psyche in 2016. The top five headlines were dominated by topics related to the rise of populism in politics: Brexit, Donald Trump, and the AfD (Alternative for Germany). Interest in celebrities, from top-level sports to trash TV, was high, with Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg in first place and former "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!" contestant Helena Fürst in second. TV presenter Jan Böhmermann also stirred up controversy and came in fifth. The big "why" questions Google users asked were about Prince's death, cats' fears, and the European Football Championship in France.
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