Google Reveals Top News, Questions, People, TV Shows We Searched in 2019

In 2019, Americans were puzzled by the location of Sri Lanka and what exactly Brexit is.

Jeffrey Epstein is the fourth most Googled celebrity death of 2019 in the U.S.
Jeffrey Epstein is the fourth most Googled celebrity death of 2019 in the U.S. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images.

On Wednesday, Google (GOOGL) released its hotly anticipated annual roundup of what people inquired about the most using its search engine in 2019.

As this years’s list reveals, 2019 has been a year marked by overwhelming interest in the new iPhone and Disney’s subscription service, as well as hurricane news, tragic celebrity deaths and superhero movies—in fact, “hero” was searched three times more than “villain” globally this year, according to Google News’ data editor Simon Rogers, making Avengers: Endgame a top inquiry in not only the movie category, but also as a general search term, in the U.S.

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The roundup also manifested how complicated world affairs can be at times—or just how ignorant we are about basic geopolitical facts. According to the top Googled “What is” and “Where is” questions, for example, Americans were puzzled by the location of Sri Lanka just as much as where Hurricane Dorian was last seen. And despite it being three years into the negotiation of Brexit, a considerable number of Americans still have no idea what on earth it’s all about.

Top Search Words Overall

1. Disney Plus
2. Cameron Boyce
3. Nipsey Hussle
4. Hurrican Dorian
5. Antonio Brown
6. Luke Perry
7. Avengers: Endgame
8. Game of Thrones
9. iPhone 11
10. Jussie Smollett

Top News of 2019

1. Hurricane Dorian
2. Notre Dame Cathedral
3. Women’s World Cup
4. Area 51 raid
5. Copa America
6. El Paso shooting
7. Sri Lanka
8. Government shutdown
9. Equifax data breach settlement
10. California earthquake

Top “What is…” Questions

1. What is Area 51?
2. What is a VSCO girl?
3. What is momo?
4. What is a boomer?
5. What is a quid pro quo?
6. What is camp fashion?
7. What is Disney Plus?
8. What is Bird Box about?
9. What is a Mandalorian?
10. What is Brexit?

Top “Where is…” Questions

1. Where is Sri Lanka?
2. Where is the Super Bowl this year?
3. Where is Area 51?
4. Where is 31 Savage from?
5. Where is the hurricane now?
6. Where is Xur?
7. Where is Clemson football team from?
8. Where is Gonzaga University located?
9. Where is Stranger Things filmed?
10. Where is Pebble Beach golf course?

Top People

1. Antonio Brown
2. Jussie Smollett
3. James Charles
4. Kevin Hart
5. R. Kelly
6. 21 Savage
7. Lori Loughlin
8. Jordyn Woods
9. Bryce Harper
10. Robert Kraft

Top Celebrity Deaths

1. Cameron Boyce
2. Nipsey Hussle
3. Luke Perry
4. Jeffrey Epstein
5. Tyler Skaggs
6. Beth Chapman
7. John Witherspoon
8. John Singleton
9. Eddie Money
10. Elijah Cummings

Top Movies

1. Avengers: Endgame
2. Captain Marvel
3. Joker
4. Toy Story 4
5. The Lion King
6. It Chapter Two
7. Frozen 2
8. Once Upon a Time In Hollywood
9. Midsommar
10. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Top TV Shows

1. Game of Thrones
2. Stranger Things
3. When They See Us
4. Chernobyl
5. The Mandalorian
6. The Umbrella Academy
7. Euphoria
8. Dead to Me
9. Surviving R. Kelly
10. The Boys

Google Reveals Top News, Questions, People, TV Shows We Searched in 2019