A Map That Shows 2021's Most "Googled" Things is Fascinating

To say it has been a long year feels like a massive understatement. And if you are having trouble remembering what exactly happened in 2021, you can get a bit of a refresher in the form of a video that showed each state’s most Googled term for every day of the year.

The visual map was created by V1 Analytics and serves as the perfect guide for looking back at the year because the most-searched terms are almost always a reflection of whatever was going on at the time. And chances are, you forgot most of it, even if you search it like the rest of us.

At the start of 2021, “Biden” and “Mega Millions” were the most-searched terms, as the nation prepared for a new President and people were tracking one of the highest jackpots in Mega Millions history. Then, “Capitol” took over following the coup attempt on January 6 before stock dominated search, with “GME” becoming the most-searched term in nearly every state by the end of the month, which is the shorthand for the Gamestop stock name… and obviously defined an economic conversation for nearly a month.

From there, it continues to be a way to be reminded of the never-ending trends that dominated 2021, including “The Weeknd” getting a healthy bump following his Super Bowl halftime performance in February and everyone googling “stimulus check” in March when we were all wondering when we’d be getting that final payment. (Some of us are still waiting!)

A string of celebrities, both living and deceased, became the most-searched-for the following months, including Prince Philip, DMX, Jake Paul, and Lil Nas X. “AMC Stock” and “Dogecoin” briefly held the country’s attention before Simone Biles’ mental health struggles took over during the Olympics.

The entire video kind of feels like a visual version of “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” as it’s both strange and comforting to look back and remember all of the things that held our attention this year, like Squid Game, Afghanistan, Adele, and Spotify Wrapped. But it’s also a little scary, because boy, does time fly when you are sometimes not even having all that much fun!