Bing Reveals Top Searches for 2014

Have you been wondering what exactly people have been searching for on the Internet in 2014? Bing has taken the guesswork out of that very question by releasing its top searches for 2014.

Each year, billions of people use the Internet on their desktop or mobile devices to find answers to questions, information on sports controversies, research a potential vacation spot, learn about the newest apps, or catch up on celebrity gossip.

So what were the trends this year? Below are some of the highlights from Bing’s top searches in the United States.

• Fifty percent of the most searched apps for 2014 were social media apps. Not surprisingly, Facebook came in at number one.
• Move over Beyonce – Kim Kardashian is now the most-searched person of the year.
• The most-searched-for sports team in 2014 was the most recent Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks.
• The iPhone 6 was the most-searched-for device, with Xbox and Fitbit coming in second and third, respectively.
• The news was largely dominated by sports this year: The World Cup, the Seahawk’s surprising Super Bowl win, and the controversial Winter Olympics topped the search charts. 
• Searchers also paid a lot of attention to the mystery surrounding the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.
• The Big Bang Theory was the most-searched TV show, followed by Dancing With the Stars.
• As expected, Frozen was the most-searched movie in 2014.

People We Lost in 2014

In 2014 we lost many legendary stars, some of whom passed under tragic circumstances.

1. Robin Williams
2. Joan Rivers
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman
4. Casey Kasem
5. Elaine Stritch
6. James Brady
7. Shirley Temple
8. James Garner
9. Eric the Actor
10. Maya Angelou 

Top News Searches

1. World Cup
2. Super Bowl
3. Missing Malaysia Airlines jet
4. Winter Olympics
5. The rise of ISIS
6. Ray Rice controversy
7. Shooting in Ferguson, Missouri
8. Ebola outbreak
9. Brittany Maynard, Death with Dignity debate
10. Ukraine conflict 

Stories That Moved Us

1. Ice Bucket Challenge
2. #BringBackOurGirls
3. Gust Kenworthy and the Sochi puppies
4. Birthday cards for 6-year-old Danny Nickerson
5. Boston Marathon victim marries his nurse
6. “Burger King baby” finds mom after 27 years
7. Waitress gets amazing tips in “Prank it Fwd” video
8. Teen carries brother with cerebral palsy 40 miles
9. Couple leaves $100 tip for overworked waiter
10. NASA’s #GlobalSelfie

Law & Disorder

1. Letterman cue-card man fired
2. Man sues McDonald’s over napkin
3. Sexy mug shot goes viral
4. 9-month-old arrested in Pakistan
5. 98-year-old faces eviction in San Francisco
6. Woman sticks hand in lion cage, loses finger, sues
7. Trooper stops car with paper license plate
8. Man takes road trip with dead girlfriend
9. Murder defendant wants ‘murder’ tattoo removed
10. Man, 90, faces charges for feeding homeless

Unusual Discoveries

1. Couple finds $10 million in buried gold coins
2. Mystery crater in Siberia
3. NASA rover finds ‘thing bone’ on Mars
4. Oxymoron alert: Giant shrimp caught
5. Writer claims to have ID’d Jack the Ripper via DNA
6. Found: 100-year-old message in a bottle
7. Long-lost Monet found in a suitcase
8. 18^th-century shipwreck discovered under 9/11 site
9. Two ancient Mayan cities discovered in jungle
10. King Richard III’s body exhumed, studied

Vacation Destinations

For those of us currently living in a frozen tundra, the very thought of a tropical vacation begins to warm us up. Below is the list of top vacation destination searches for 2014.

1. Costa Rica
2. Hawaii
3. Puerto Rico
4. London
5. Jamaica
6. Paris
7. Lake Tahoe
8. Bahamas
9. Aruba
10. Amsterdam

If you’re looking for more top search lists from Bing, be sure to visit Bing Trends. Which of the top results surprised you the most?