Google Zeitgeist 2012

Google has released its lists of what people searched for most in 2012. This year, Whitney Houston dominated the charts.

Around the world, it seems that Whitney Houston's death in February was what shocked us the most in 2012; that is if Google's Zeitgeist is anything to go by.

The search giant has released its top-10 lists of what people were searching for most in 2012, both in a larger global context and then by country. Around the world, the Zeitgeist list is a strange one, populated by deaths, entertainment, disaster and Apple:

1. Whitney Houston
2. Gangnam Style
3. Hurricane Sandy
4. iPad 3
5. Diablo 3
6. Kate Middleton
7. Olympics 2012
8. Amanda Todd
9. Michael Clarke Duncan
10. BBB12 (Big Brother Brazil)

We weren't as concerned with iPads or Whitney Houston here in Australia, or even tech — not a single gadget made our charts. Instead, Gangnam Style rose to the top of the list. Apparently, we're also deeply interested in Morgan Freeman.

1. Gangnam Style
2. The Voice
3. One Direction
4. Whitney Houston
5. Olympics
6. Oz Lotto
7. Diablo 3
8. Hurricane Sandy
9. KONY
10. Morgan Freeman

But what were the most popular 2012 gadgets? Well, the iPhone fell off the top-10 list completely, which is interesting. Instead, Samsung took pride of place as the favourite phone with the Galaxy S3 — beaten to the top by the iPad 3.

1. iPad 3
2. Samsung Galaxy S3
3. iPad Mini
4. Nexus 7
5. Galaxy Note 2
6. Play Station
7. iPad 4
8. Microsoft Surface
9. Kindle Fire
10. Nokia Lumia 920

If you have an Android phone and are peachy keen to check out all the lists, you can now download a free Google Zeitgeist app. Otherwise, head on over to the Zeitgeist home page for a more in-depth look at the "spirit of the times" — Google style.