Google has revealed a snapshot of Britain in 2018 after publishing the top UK searches online this year.
In the year Google celebrated its 20th anniversary, England’s World Cup heroics topped the list with the team making a surprising run to the semi-finals where they were beaten by Croatia.
With football fever gripping the nation, Meghan Markle was bumped into second place, though the new Duchess of Sussex remains the top trending person in the UK for a second year running.
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Her wedding to Prince Harry saw Royal Wedding surge to third on this year’s list, boosted by the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank in October.
Superhero blockbuster Black Panther, this year’s highest grossing film comes in fourth, closely followed by disgraced US TV star Roxanne Pallett and hit video game Fortnite.
On the "What is…?" lists, while political queries dominated in 2017, "What is Bitcoin?" came out on top in 2018 as the nation’s interest in cryptocurrency continues, while "What is GDPR?" was the second hottest "What is…?" question following its implementation in May.
GDPR also came third in the UK’s Top Trending News Events, behind Royal Wedding and Royal Baby, with the Spice Girls reunion tour seeing them come in at number 4.
Top Trending "How to…?" queries also featured some surprising entries, with a huge number of Brits asking Google how to delete Instagram (5) and Facebook (6). Perhaps surprisingly, "How to solve a Rubik’s Cube" also featured in the top 10, proving that the classic 1974 puzzle is still testing the nation’s patience almost 50 years on.
UK top trending queries
- World Cup
- Meghan Markle
- Royal Wedding
- Black Panther
- Roxanne Pallett
- Fortnite
- Demi Lovato
- Ant McPartlin
- A Star Is Born
- Khloe Kardashian
UK top trending ‘what is…?’ queries
- What is Bitcoin?
- What is GDPR?
- What is an ibex?
- What is a nerve agent?
- What is the Commonwealth?
- What is Diwali?
- What is upskirting?
- What is UEFA Nation’s League?
- What is the Brexit deal?
- What is Vero?
UK top trending news events
- Royal Wedding
- Royal Baby
- GDPR
- Jeremy Thorpe
- Spice Girls
- Carillion
- Australian flu
- Hurricane Florence
- Stormy Daniels
- iPhone XR
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