Google searches 2022: Wordle, Ukraine and Johnny Depp among top trends - what else is on list?

More people have been searching for the game Wordle on Google than any other word according to the tech company’s annual “Year in Search” report, outlining the top searches of 2022 around the world. Terms related to the war in Ukraine and the death of Queen Elizabeth, as well as cricket results between India and England, rounded out the top five trending searches according to Google.

In terms of people, actor Johnny Depp topped the list as his ex-wife Amber Heard came in third, which comes as no surprise given the infamous televised defamation lawsuit which captured the globe. And that was not the only controversy. Will Smith came in second after being seen to slap comedian Chris Rock during the Oscars this year after the presenter made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, which is most likely why Rock came in fourth and wife Jada came in fifth.

Thor: Love and Thunder was the most searched film this year while Black Adam and Top Gun: Maverick followed in second and third. In TV, American teen drama television series Euphoria was the highest trending show, with Game of Thrones prequel House of Dragon, Marvel series Moon Knight, and Netflix shows The Watcher, and Inventing Anna following respectively.

Google builds its lists by identifying the top trending search queries, which are searches that have a high spike in traffic over a sustained period compared to last year. The death of the Queen was the top trending news event of the year.

What is the most searched thing?

As for the most searched questions in the UK, people have been curious about geography asking “how many cities are there in Wales?” and “how many countries end in stan?” At the same time, as the country reeled in the loss of the monarch this year, many people turned to Google to ask “how many people watched the Queen’s funeral?” and “ when is the Queen’s funeral?”

Here are all the questions people in the UK asked, many of which we have answered for you!

Questions

1. Is the Queen dead?
2. When is the Queen’s funeral?
3. Why is Russia invading Ukraine?
4. Where will the Queen be buried?
5. How old is Diana Ross?
6. What happens when the Queen dies?
7. When is Father’s Day?
8. When does the World Cup start?
9. What is NATO?
10. How did Jamal Edwards die?

How many?

1. How many cities are there in Wales?
2. How many countries end in stan?
3. How many people watched the Queen’s funeral?
4. How many doors are there in the world?
5. How many episodes in Stranger Things 4?
6. How many wheels are there in the world?
7. How many Tory MPs are there?
8. How many children does the Queen have?
9. How many episodes of Trigger Point are there?
10. How many King Williams have there been?

When?

1. When is the Queen’s funeral?
2. When is Father’s Day?
3. When does the World Cup start?
4. When is the Queen’s Jubilee?
5. When will the coronation be?
6. When did the Queen die?
7. When does Fifa 23 come out?
8. When did Prince Philip die?
9. When does I’m a Celeb start?
10. When is the next general election?

As for the most searched questions in the US, Google revealed that the most popular search query starting with “what is…” was “what is NATO?” The second most searched was “what is Monkeypox?” followed by “What is rsv?” As for queries starting with “Where is…” the most searched question was “where is Hurricane Ian now?” The second most searched was “where is the Super Bowl this year?” followed by “where is Tonga?”