At the end of each year Google summarises just what were the trending searches on Google Search for the year and while much of the searches come as no surprise there are always a few that make you wonder how you missed that trend.

This year, the Olympics were front and centre, with Raygun’s performance taking the stage along with Aussies such as Jess Fox and Ariarne Titmus leading the Olympian searches. Unsurprisingly, Taylor Swift and her Eras tour were near the top, as was Liam Payne, who tragically lost his life in October.

The T20 World Cup was huge for Australia, with the Aussies taking the prize in India thanks to some historically huge performances along the way from Glenn Maxwell. Copa America was also near the top of searches in Australia. I must have slept through that one, unfortunately, but it was more popular here in Australia than at the T20 World Cup. *shrug emoji*

Of course, our number one search in 2024 was the US election, with it having an impact one way or another on the entire world, not just the US.

Aussies are foodies as a general rule and our searches show that with us constantly searching for new recipes. Interestingly, the new recipes searched for were nothing I’d heard of before, so my interest is now piqued. Cucumber Salad, Pornstar Martini, Oatzempic, Bitter Melon, Crumbl Cookie and more.

Aussies searched for some obscure words this year, which may well be an indictment on our education system and, given my ignorance of most of them, an indictment of me, too. Solfege, Vox, Monticello, Sobriquet, Biota were among the words we searched for most and yes I have no idea what any of these mean either.

Other highly searched items included DIY car maintenance, DIY Halloween costumes, “Cheap flights to Gold Coast from Melbourne,” and “visa free travel to China.”

For more lists and in-depth searches, head over to the Google Blog.