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Google’s 2021 search list

By  US Desk
17 December, 2021

Globally, Afghanistan was the top news search, and “Covid vaccine” made up the third most searched-for term for news....

Google’s 2021 search list

BITS ‘N’ PIECES

The annual search trends list released by Google showed that Squid Game, the bloody South Korean smash hit on Netflix, was the most searched-for TV show, while the knitted gloves worn by Sanders, a former US presidential candidate, at Joe Biden’s inauguration ensured that searches for mittens reached a global high in January.

The top five overall searches globally were all sport-dominated, with the Australia v India series followed by India v England, IPL [Indian Premier League], NBA and Euro 2021.

Globally, Afghanistan was the top news search, and “Covid vaccine” made up the third most searched-for term for news.

Alec Baldwin, the actor involved in the accidental onset shooting of the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, was the most searched-for actor and person globally this year. The most searched-for death was that of DMX, the New York rapper who died of a heart attack in April.

American artists also dominated song searches, with Olivia Rodrigo’s single driver’s license coming top, followed by Lil Nas X’s album Montero and song Industry Baby, Walker Hayes’ song Fancy Like, and MAPA by the Filipino boy band SB19.

Mispronounced words of the year 2021

Google’s 2021 search list

If you’ve been stumbling over how to say “Omicron” or the pop singer Billie Eilish’s last name, you’re not alone.

Because they’ve made a list of 2021’s most commonly mispronounced words.

A survey has identified which words and names were the trickiest for newsreaders and people on TV to pronounce this year.

It was compiled by the US Captioning Company, which provides subtitles for live events on TV and in courtrooms.

They found Omicron had proven especially challenging.

The new Covid variant, named after the Greek letter O, is supposed to be pronounced “OH-mee-kraan” or “AH-muh-kraan”, depending if you are in the UK or the US, according to the list.

And many newsreaders were also mispronouncing Eilish’s name, which is said like “EYE-lish”.

Pantone names Very Peri as its colour of the year 2022

Google’s 2021 search list

Very Peri, described by Pantone as “a periwinkle shade of blue,” has been named colour of the year for 2022. The purple hue was informed by the rise of the metaverse, as well as the impact of coronavirus lockdowns.

Pantone, the company that sets one of the most widely recognised colour standards, says that the colour marries the “constancy” of traditional blue with the “energy and excitement” of red. Very Peri is indicative of the current physical and digital landscape.

For the first time this year, the brand decided to create a new shade that wasn’t already in its existing catalogue of colours for its colour of the year. To do so, the company blended blue tones with a violet-red.

The resulting Very Peri is similar to colours commonly found in nature, such as lavender flowers and birds with light purple plumage.