Here we are, preparing to farewell 2021. Another year of lockdowns, pandemic uncertainty and some pesky new virus variants that reminded us we’ve still got a ways to go until we’re completely in the clear.
Captivated By COVID
Unsurprisingly, COVID still dominated our habits on Google in 2021, with the search engine revealing what Aussies looked for most over the course of another strange and unusual year.
Across the board, we looked to stay up to date with the latest case numbers and outbreaks in NSW, Queensland and Victoria, while also flocking to book in for our jabs and looking for instructions on how to download our vaccine certificates. As news of the Omicron variant began to surface, we searched for more information about what exactly it meant and what it could mean for our newly minted freedoms. As it happens, we also searched for how to stay safe with many of us researching ‘how to make a facemask’ and interestingly, ‘how to make oxygen.’
Room To Improve
It wasn’t all virulence and vigilance, however. It was also a year of looking to better ourselves and our understanding of the world around us, while we mourned the loss of some very public figures, remained captivated by true crime and got more invested (figuratively and literally) in cryptocurrency.
With many of us confined to our homes for weeks on end yet again, it’s only natural we searched for ways to get creative in order to pass the time. Searches for how to make
candles, playdough and paper boats reigned supreme while we also wanted to take classes in dance, pottery, piano and even glass blowing.
Food For Thought
On the food front, we wanted dips on our lips with searches for guacamole and tzatziki recipes dominating. We also craved a bit of comfort and looked for recipes for gnocchi, lamb shanks and minestrone soup while getting a little adventurous with our newfound interest in curried sausages. While the menu for 2021 was mostly savoury, we did squeeze in some sweets with Anzac biscuits and rocky road.
People, Places and Things
When it came to true crime we could not tear our eyes away from the cases of Cleo Smith in Australia and Gabby Petito in the US. While the former had a happy outcome with Smith thankfully being found, the latter took a tragic turn with the discovery of both Petito’s and her partner-turned-suspected-killer, Brian Launderie’s, bodies.
2021 was also a banner year for sports — one of Australia’s greatest passions — with the Olympics and Wimbledon taking centre stage and the bravery of athletes Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles encouraging us to take mental health more seriously.
Some of the terms we sought to understand in 2021 were ’emancipated’ (thanks Britney), ‘insurrection’ (as a result of the riots on the US Capitol at the year’s beginning) and ‘gaslighting’ — which was likely in relation to the contentious relationship between Married at First Sight participants Bryce Ruthven and Melissa Rawson.
Melbourne’s earthquake and the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan also kept our attention.
And, following the shooting tragedy on the set of indie film Rust, in which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins lost her life, Alec Baldwin became the most searched global figure of the year. Rita Ora took out the number two spot on the list thanks to a stint on The Voice Australia and a hot romance with Thor director Taika Waititi, while Travis Scott came third after ten people tragically died at his Astroworld Festival performance.
Read on for the full breakdown of what Aussie’s searched for the most on Google in 2021.
Overall searches
- NBA
- AFL
- Australia vs India
- NRL
- Euro 2021
- Wimbledon
- Olympic medal tally
- COVID NSW
- Coinspot
- Prince Philip
News events
- COVID NSW
- Cleo Smith
- QLD COVID update
- Alec Baldwin
- Coronavirus Victoria
- William Tyrrell
- Bert Newton
- Christian Porter
- Afghanistan
- Melbourne earthquake
Aussies
- Cleo Smith
- Ash Barty
- William Tyrell
- Christian Porter
- Nadia Bartel
- Dominic Perrottet
- Nick Kyrgios
- Ariarne Titmus
- Peter Bol
- Melissa Caddick
Global figures
- Alec Baldwin
- Rita Ora
- Travis Scott
- Kyle Rittenhouse
- Adele
- Naomi Osaka
- Pete Davidson
- Simone Biles
- Tiger Woods
- Emma Raducanu
Loss
- Prince Philip
- Gabby Petito
- Bert Newton
- Brian Laundrie
- Sean Lock
- Michael Gudinski
- Sarah Everard
- Carla Zampatti
- Helen McCrory
- Larry King
Sport
- NBA
- AFL
- Australia vs India
- NRL
- Euro 2021
- Wimbledon
- Olympics
- Australian Open
- EPL
- French Open
Recipe(s)
- Gnocchi recipes
- Guacamole recipe
- Curried sausages recipe
- Anzac biscuits recipe
- Negroni recipe
- Lamb shank recipe
- Brussels sprouts recipes
- Minestrone soup recipe
- Rocky road recipe
- Tzatziki recipe
‘How to…?’
- How to get vaccination certificate
- How to tie a tie
- How to deliver uber eats
- How to buy dogecoin
- How to watch Olympics Australia
- How to book COVID vaccine
- How to watch Euro 2021 in Australia
- How to link medicare to mygov
- How to book Pfizer vaccine
- Million dollar vax how to enter
‘How to make…?’ DIY queries
- How to make a face mask
- How to make candles
- How to make playdough
- How to make a paper plane
- How to make a chatterbox
- How to make a website
- How to make slime without glue
- How to make a paper boat
- How to make fake blood
- How to make oxygen
Classes and lessons
- Dance classes near me
- Swimming lessons near me
- Driving lessons
- Pottery classes
- Swimming classes for kids near me
- Art classes near me
- Guitar lessons near me
- Piano lessons near me
- Zumba classes near me
- Glass blowing classes
Meanings and definitions
- Emancipated meaning
- Insurrection meaning
- Gaslighting meaning
- NAIDOC meaning
- NFT meaning
- Omicron meaning
- Frigid meaning
- Narcissist meaning
- ROC meaning
- Sedition meaning
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