Google Zeitgeist

U.S. Overview

This year started off on a roll and never stopped. From bills in Washington D.C. to blow-ups on TV, there was no shortage of events to captivate our attention. We hope you enjoy this look back to what was on the minds of Americans throughout 2009. Unless otherwise noted, these queries were the most popular searches on Google in the U.S. in 2009.

Fastest Rising By Quarter

Whether it's a fresh season of a TV show or a new policy out of Washington, something new is always entering the national spotlight.

This graph captures the fastest rising query for each quarter of 2009, visualized over the entire year. To find the fastest rising query for each quarter, we looked at the most popular searches conducted every three months and ranked them based on how much their popularity increased compared to the previous quarter. Note how some queries maintain a moderate level of search volume over an extended period of time, whereas others peak sharply and suddenly.

Google.com - Fastest Rising

  1. twitter
  2. michael jackson
  3. facebook
  4. hulu
  5. hi5
  6. glee
  7. paranormal activity
  8. natasha richardson
  9. farrah fawcett
  10. lady gaga

Google News - Fastest Rising

  1. swine flu
  2. susan boyle
  3. jon and kate
  4. adam lambert
  5. rihanna (chris brown)
  6. new moon
  7. inauguration
  8. michael jackson
  9. nadya suleman
  10. missing link found

Google Maps - Fastest Rising

  1. mount everest
  2. laguna seca
  3. in-n-out
  4. grand canyon
  5. eiffel tower
  6. white house
  7. great wolf lodge
  8. wild animal safari
  9. voodoo doughnuts
  10. path station

Google.com - Fastest Falling

  1. john mccain
  2. olympics
  3. heath ledger
  4. barack obama
  5. sarah palin
  6. circuit city
  7. ron paul
  8. iron man
  9. spore
  10. wii fit

Google Image Search - Fastest Rising

  1. lady gaga
  2. new moon
  3. michael jackson
  4. megan fox
  5. selena gomez
  6. rihanna
  7. taylor swift
  8. bella swan
  9. alice cullen
  10. jacob black

Google Mobile Search - Fastest Rising

  1. twitter
  2. michael jackson
  3. facebook
  4. imdb
  5. cta bus tracker
  6. bebo
  7. nba scores
  8. univision.com
  9. steve mcnair
  10. espn.com