The tragic death of Matthew Perry, the cultural phenomenon that was Barbenheimer and the shock of Hamas’ attack on Israel.
These are just three of the topics that fascinated Americans in 2023, according to Google’s annual report on top search trends.
War in Israel and Gaza ranked top in the News category, followed by the Titanic submarine story that left the world on the edge of its seat while the US Coast Guard searched for the submersible that went missing during a dive into the famous shipwreck.
While Barbie topped the entertainment world, the controversial child trafficking movie Sound of Freedom also made the top three.
Americans were also captivated by McDonald’s Grimace shake – the top most searched recipe – and the Roman Empire trend that took social media by storm.
Jason Alden was the most searched musician, and his controversial song ‘Try That In A Small Town’ was the most Googled tune in 2023.
War in Israel and Gaza was Google’s top News search
War in Israel and Gaza was the top News search on Google, which captivated the world two months ago when Hamas carried out a terrorist attack on October 7 in Israel that killed more than 1,4000 people and took over 240 hostages.
The unprecedented strike reignited the ongoing war between the two nations.
But months before this event, the public watched anxiously as the US Coast Guard desperately searched for a mission submersible in the North Atlantic Ocean that had gone missing following a dive into the Titanic wreckage.
NFL safety for the Buffalo Bills topped the list of most searched people, likely due to his return to the league on October 1 after suffering a cardiac arrest on the field nine months prior.
NFL safety for the Buffalo Bills topped the list of most searched people and athletes
Another victorious story came in second – actor Jeremy Renner. He was also the top-searched actor
Searches about celebrity deaths were also shared in Google’s 2023 wrap, with Matthew Perry at number one. The Friend’s star was found dead in his hot tub at age 54
The 25-year-old had required resuscitation on the field during a ‘Monday Night Football’ game against the Bengals in January.
Another victorious story came in second – actor Jeremy Renner.
Renner was nearly killed by a 14,300-pound Sno-Cat plow in January when he attempted to pull his nephew’s car out of the deep snow near his Lake Tahoe home.
But when the actor jumped out, he forgot to activate the emergency brake, sending the machine barreling toward his nephew.
Renner is believed to have tried to get back into the snowplow while it was moving in in an effort to bring it to a halt. That is when he was pulled beneath it and crushed.
2023 had cheerful moments, with people searching for memes like Kevin James, which shows the King of Queens star smirking at the camera while shrugging his shoulders
He suffered 30 broken bones, a collapsed lung and had his liver pierced by a shattered rib in the horrific.
Searches about celebrity deaths were also shared in Google’s 2023 wrap, with Matthew Perry at number one.
The Friend’s star was found dead in his hot tub at age 54.
The Queen of Rock, Tina Tuner, also passed away this year – she ranked second.
Her representatives confirmed to DailyMail.com that she died from natural causes.
Barbie may be queen in the entertainment world, but Oppenheimer came in second – and likely was not off by that much. The two Blockbusters were released on July 21 this year, forming ‘Barbenheimer.’
Americans were also captivated by McDonald’s Grimace shake – the top most searched recipe
Renner also ranked number one among the most searched actors, followed by Jamie Foxx, who also suffered an undisclosed medical issue that hospitalized him in April.
And shamed That 70s Show star Danny Masterson came in third.
Masterson was sentenced to 30 years in September as sentenced to 30 years behind bars, three months after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting two women in 2003.
Hamlin was also the most searched athlete, and the Chief’s tight end, Travis Kelce, came in second.
Kelce has long been thought to be one of the best players in the NFL, but he also seemed to skyrocket in stardom when his romance with popstar Taylor Swift was made public in September.
Jason Alden’s controversial song Try That In A Small Town was number one in the Songs category. Aldean released the song in July and faced criticism over the lyrical content and interlacing clips of a BLM protest in the video
Most searched book titles were also included in Google’s top results, with My Fault by Mercedes Ron taking the number on the spot telling of an enemies-to-lovers story.
Barbie may be queen in the entertainment world, but Oppenheimer came in second – and likely was not off by that much.
The two Blockbusters were released on July 21 this year, forming ‘Barbenheimer.’
Sound of Freedom was surrounded by controversy due to Tim Ballard, founder of an anti-child-trafficking group whose life story inspired the film, being accused of sexual misconduct by five women.
But 2023 had cheerful moments, with people searching for memes like Kevin James, which shows the King of Queens star smirking at the camera while shrugging his shoulders.
The whimsical image has been used alongside captions about being shamelessly guilty, cheeky, bashful and confident.
And popular social media trends were also shared in the roundup, including the Moon phase, AI yearbook and Instagram notes number.
HBO’s The Last of Us was released in January and maintained the top Google search for TV shows – Ginny & Georgia came in second.
Jason Alden’s controversial song Try That In A Small Town was number one in the Songs category.
Aldean released the song in July and faced criticism over the lyrical content and interlacing clips of a BLM protest in the video.
The country singer was also the most searched musician in the US, followed by Ice Spice and Oliver Anthony.
