Google's Year In Search For 2022 Puts Wordle In The Top Spot

We've still got a few weeks left in 2022, but Google already seems confident that the rankings for top searches of the year won't change much between now and the new year. For its 2022 Year In Search, Google revealed the top five search terms both globally and by region. The results may surprise you.

The world's population was most captivated by Wordle, a word puzzle game owned and operated by The New York Times. You have six tries to guess a five-letter word, almost like a lightning round of "Wheel of Fortune." The game is short and sweet, which is a winning recipe in a world with shortened attention spans and few ways to fill the short gaps in our increasingly busy lives. Its popularity has competing organizations experimenting with on-site games of their own.

India vs England was a late entrant on the list but jumped to the number two spot thanks to the global interest. It's not even in the FIFA World Cup tournament, yet it beat out Ukraine (3) and Queen Elizabeth (4). These two events probably rocked the world most significantly overall.

The conflict between Ukraine and Russia continues even today, but especially at its onset, most of the world tuned in heavily as the potential for nuclear war crept into our worst nightmares. This situation was also partly to blame for the rising cost of doing business in today's world. The global pandemic in 2020 kickstarted this inflation train for sure, but the escalation of instability in an oil-rich region certainly spurred it into overdrive.

Queen Elizabeth's passing was also a big shocker, even if word of her failing health long preceded it. The funeral processions and ensuing global coverage were unprecedented. In news, election results took third overall. It's unsurprising in a political climate that is perhaps even testier than it was when Donald Trump potentially incited violence at the U.S. Capitol. Everyone is doing due diligence to figure out who might be best equipped to deal with the current economic hardships and issues facing not just America, but the world.

India accounted for all of the top five global search spots related to sports, and it isn't even participating in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The world's second most populous country has never competed in the football tournament (despite qualifying on prior occasions), instead opting to lend its talents to the growing cricket scene, which hosts its World Cup circuit on a similar timetable. India is hosting the 2023 Cricket World Cup, and with no skin in the soccer game, it stands to reason that many of its citizens are buzzing about the potential to score a win in their home country.

On the celebrity front, two of this year's biggest stories were Will Smith slapping Chris Rock live on stage at the Oscars for taking a dig at Jada Pinkett Smith. The rapper-turned-actor caught a lot of flack for what many have coined the "slap heard around the world."

But even that couldn't drown out the chatter about Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard, a highly publicized divorce case that exposed strange acts of domestic abuse from both sides. It was a nasty breakup for sure, spurring loud debates about relationship dynamics and a healthy helping of juicy gossip that even reality TV couldn't artificially generate. Curious about more? Check out the full 2022 Year In Search results.