What made you take out your smartphone or turn on your laptop and look something up online in 2020?
Somewhat unsurprisingly, it appears to have been the US Presidential Election and the coronavirus pandemic that were the most popular Irish search terms on Google, according to the company's annual 'Year in Search' results.
The election in the United States last month was the most popular overall search this year, while President-elect Joe Biden was the most Googled person by Irish people in 2020.
He was joined on the list of notable people by a number of other politicians, including Boris Johnson, Kamala Harris and Phil Hogan, as well as sports people like Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, trailblazing Irish boxer Katie Taylor and basketballer turned documentary star Michael Jordan.
The coronavirus pandemic, which has dominated the news agenda this year, was the second most Googled topic overall, while it also featured heavily in 'How to...' and 'What is...' searches.
'How to make a face mask' and 'How to make hand sanitizer' were the two most popular searches in that practical category.
The closure of hairdressers and barbers was reflected by the popularity of search terms like 'How to cut men's hair' and 'How to cut your own hair'.
People also turned to Google to learn more about the pandemic and the Government's reaction to it, with 'What is level 3 restrictions' the most popular search in the 'What is...' category.
In terms of entertainment, the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney's 'Normal People' was the show that got people Googling most this year, while Netflix's period drama 'The Queen's Gambit' and speculation about a summer series of 'Love Island' were also hot topics on the search engine.
Baking saw a resurgence during the first round of Covid-19 restrictions, with brown bread claiming the top spot on the list of Googled recipes.
Recipes for scones, pizza dough, apple tart and soda bread were also popular with home bakers.
Top 10 overall searches:
- US election
- Coronavirus
- Caroline Flack
- Premier League
- CNN
- Joe Biden
- Zoom
- Fox News
- Kobe Bryant
- Google Classroom
Top 10 people Googled:
- Joe Biden
- Boris Johnson
- Kim Jong Un
- Phillip Schofield
- Donald Trump
- Kamala Harris
- Phil Hogan
- Bruno Fernandes
- Katie Taylor
- Michael Jordan
Top 10 'How to...' searches:
- How to make a face mask
- How to make hand sanitizer
- How to register to vote
- How to cut men's hair
- How to make scones
- How to make banana bread
- How to cut your own hair
- How to make cookies
- How to cancel Covid payment
- How to get tested for coronavirus
Top 10 'What is..' searches:
- What is level 3 restrictions
- What is a pandemic
- What is 5g
- What is coronavirus
- What is the population of Ireland
- What is the population of America
- What is TikTok
- What is direct provision
- What is blackout Tuesday
- What is the electoral college
