A Year in Search: What the UK searched for in 2022

A Year in Search: What the UK searched for in 2022

Today, Google announces the results of its 2022 Year in Search, revealing the top trending news, people, sporting events, entertainment, and other burning questions that the nation turned to Google Search for across the 12 months of 2022.

It’s been a mixed year with amazing highs and difficult lows. But as the lists show, amongst the rollercoaster there have been moments that have helped the nation to escape and find connection together, be it this year’s top trend of “Wordle”, or movies with uplifting playlists, cult TV series and of course the Jubilee and celebration of the Queen’s life.

Games brought the nation together during tricky times

From “Wordle” to the “World Cup”, the top searches show the UK has been captivated by games both big and small. The former, developed by Welsh software engineer Josh Wardle for his wife who loved to play word games, captured the hearts of people all over the UK, and sharing our scores became a comforting part of our daily routine.

The “World Cup” has been the focus of football fans and viewers alike – we still have high hopes that it might just come home…

It also comes as no surprise that “Queen Elizabeth” was in the top five searched terms of the year, first with the wonderful Platinum Jubilee celebration in June and second as the country gathered in mourning and the world watched on as we rallied around our most British activity yet: a giant queue.

And of course “Ukraine” poignantly made it fourth on the top lists after the Russian invasion in late February – highlighting the impact this had on the nation.

And finally, who remembers the joy of the “Lateral Flow Test”? For some it may seem like a distant memory, but with Omicron rife at the beginning of this year – those pesky swabs made the top five terms of the year.

We mourned the loss of Queen Elizabeth HRH and celebrated the Elizabeth Line

Many of the trending news events are on the sombre side, with the top news event in the UK being “Queen Elizabeth Passing”.

February, saw a storm with a memorable name “Storm Eunice” hit our shores. Who can forget how Big Jet TV became a YouTube sensation overnight as it captured planes landing into Heathrow? Moreover, political turmoil and budget announcements put “cost of living payment” top of many Brits’ minds.

In lighter news and in typical British fashion, we were fixated by travel updates. From the frustrating “Train Strikes” to the exciting new “Elizabeth Line” we were right on track to have these two in our top ten events.

From a cinematic celebrity trial to a short lived prime minister

Despite being Prime Minister for just 44 days, “Liz Truss” makes the cut as one of the top five people of the year, alongside successor “Rishi Sunak”.

And who can forget that infamous slap, making the Oscars 2022 a night that has been talked about for the rest of the year, with no surprises that “Will Smith” made the list. Elsewhere in the showbiz world, we were keen to stay on top of the celebrity divorce and trial of “Johnny Depp” and “Amber Heard”.

The loss list sadly saw some true icons feature in our searches. Our Pink Lady “Olivia Newton-John” comes in second, with Scottish born “Robbie Coltrane” known as Hagrid to many at number ten.

The return of icons from Diana Ross to Kate Bush

It was a big year in music: either you were at Glastonbury 2022 as it returned after a three year hiatus, or had huge FOMO… so it’s no surprise that headliner “Diana Ross” made the top five musicians. Elsewhere new faces rocketed to stardom, with “Sam Ryder” becoming famous seemingly overnight after the Eurovision Song Contest.

And in TV we couldn’t help but admire the spooky universe of “Stranger Things”, complete with a newfound love of 80s pop star “Kate Bush” who ranked high on the musicians list, thanks to the show putting “Running Up That Hill” back on our playlists.

The return of the cinema made it a hit year for movies, with possibly one of the catchiest theme tunes ever (don’t talk about Bruno) giving “Encanto” a well-deserved number one spot on the film list.

We turned to Google for answers in the hardest of moments and to answer the obscure!

“When is the queen’s funeral?” and “Where will the queen be buried?” made the top lists with many keen to understand how the historic event would unfold.

Amongst the quirkier questions asked, “how many wheels are there in the world” and “how many doors are there in the world” gripped the nation after a person called Ryan on Twitter called on his followers to settle the debate.

Commenting on the lists, Matt Cooke, Head of Google News Lab says: “As we reach the end of 2022, the Year in Search trends are an insightful recap of what the nation has faced in the past 12 months. This year’s list reflects the arch of emotions experienced. Amongst the extreme highs and lows, including national mourning and geo-political instability, it’s humbling to see that a game like Wordle supplied comfort alongside family favourites like Encanto and Eurovision that provide a common thread to bring the nation together”.

Leicester TV

Education Technology Day must be extended to prisons

Education Technology Day must be extended to prisons

Typically thought of as being an easy to clean area of the home, hard floors have risen in popularity in recent decades. Globally, hard floors are the most common floor type,2 and research released today by Dyson has uncovered poor cleaning habits that mean hard floors are likely to be harbouring an array of hidden nasties. This comes as 32% of Brits – equating to 21.6 million people in the UK – will use the same dirty mop head for six months or more before replacing it. What’s more, one in 20 also admit to keeping the same mop for a year or longer, and one in 10 think it is acceptable to use the same mop 100 times, spreading dirt around their floors every time they use it. Cross contamination is a primary issue for most common and traditional mopping methods with germs and bacteria further being unknowingly spread around homes as Brits use dirty water to clean floors.3 45% only change the water to new water between rooms, whereas 41% wait even longer until it looks dirty. This could mean that floors are being washed with dirty water, adding more dirt rather than taking it away. Surprisingly, almost one in 10 (9%) even admit to not changing the dirty water at all when mopping. Over a quarter (28%) admit to mopping their floors once a fortnight or less while over half (53%) admit they don’t regularly clean behind appliances and leave dirt to build up for as long as six months at a time. image002.jpg On how to achieve a perfect barefoot clean feel after mopping, Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert offers their top tips for eliminating dirt around the home: 1. Create a cleaning schedule to stay on top of dirt build-up. In the last year, there has been a 15% global reduction in the number of people who maintain regular cleaning schedules. 47% of the British public admitted to only being motivated to clean when they spot visible dirt or dust.4 Regular floor cleaning with a wet hard floor cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™ removes more stubborn dirt than vacuuming alone. It is important to have a debris free surface, clear any clutter from the floor or other surfaces. Choose the right machine: Different vacuums are designed for different floor types and home sizes. Some machines will be engineered with hard floors in mind and will struggle on thick pile carpets, for example. Choosing the right machine for your home will make a big difference to the ease and speed with which you’re able to clean your home. Clean your floors ‘little and often’. Washing your floors frequently in areas that receive more foot fall will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor. Using a dedicated wet floor cleaner on hard flooring such as the Dyson WashG1 is helpful for this, as the versatile format means it vacuums and washes the floor simultaneously. Cleaning schedules have also become less regimented. In recent years only 41% of people claim to have a regular cleaning schedule, and 60% admit to cleaning reactively; being motivated to clean only when there is visible dirt or dust5. It’s perhaps not surprising, that a fifth of people are still concerned their floors are dirty after they’ve mopped them (22%) and one in four6 feel extremely worried about indoor dust at home. Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert reveals why it is important to change the way we mop: “Cleaning your hard floors properly and regularly is important for maintaining a healthy environment around your home. Without a proper cleaning routine, dirt may unknowingly build up and spread around your home. It is evident from our research that current mopping habits mean British households aren’t cleaning their floors as effectively as they should. “From ignoring problem areas where dust and debris build up, cross contamination with dirty water to not replacing mop heads or inconsistent cleaning, current mopping behaviours may be making floors dirtier as opposed to cleaner. Moving away from traditional methods, wet floor cleaners like the Dyson WashG1 simplify the floor cleaning experience and provide a modern efficient and hygienic solution” To help take the guesswork out of mopping, the brand new WashG1 is Dyson’s first dedicated wet floor cleaner that tackles wet and dry debris in one go. Engineered for hygienic cleaning and maintenance, the WashG1 is revolutionising wet floor cleaning, removing the need for multi-products and multi-steps to achieve a barefoot clean feel around the home. To put the product to the test, Dyson have cleaned one of London’s most iconic landmarks The Victoria and Albert Museum. From cleaning the grand marble floors housing the most prestigious exhibits, to cleaning up leftover food in the Gamble Room Cafe, the WashG1 had a dirt busting tour of the museum leaving it spotless. Images can be found here. The WashG1 introduces Dyson’s engineering expertise to cleaning hard floors. With a 1 litre clean-water tank to cover flooring up to 290m2, the Dyson WashG1 uses a combination of hydration, absorption, and extraction technologies to remove wet and dry spills and stains simultaneously. The Dyson WashG1 is available to purchase now from Dyson.co.uk, retailing at £599.99.

Typically thought of as being an easy to clean area of the home, hard floors have risen in popularity in recent decades. Globally, hard floors are the most common floor type,2 and research released today by Dyson has uncovered poor cleaning habits that mean hard floors are likely to be harbouring an array of hidden nasties. This comes as 32% of Brits – equating to 21.6 million people in the UK – will use the same dirty mop head for six months or more before replacing it. What’s more, one in 20 also admit to keeping the same mop for a year or longer, and one in 10 think it is acceptable to use the same mop 100 times, spreading dirt around their floors every time they use it. Cross contamination is a primary issue for most common and traditional mopping methods with germs and bacteria further being unknowingly spread around homes as Brits use dirty water to clean floors.3 45% only change the water to new water between rooms, whereas 41% wait even longer until it looks dirty. This could mean that floors are being washed with dirty water, adding more dirt rather than taking it away. Surprisingly, almost one in 10 (9%) even admit to not changing the dirty water at all when mopping. Over a quarter (28%) admit to mopping their floors once a fortnight or less while over half (53%) admit they don’t regularly clean behind appliances and leave dirt to build up for as long as six months at a time. image002.jpg On how to achieve a perfect barefoot clean feel after mopping, Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert offers their top tips for eliminating dirt around the home: 1. Create a cleaning schedule to stay on top of dirt build-up. In the last year, there has been a 15% global reduction in the number of people who maintain regular cleaning schedules. 47% of the British public admitted to only being motivated to clean when they spot visible dirt or dust.4 Regular floor cleaning with a wet hard floor cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™ removes more stubborn dirt than vacuuming alone. It is important to have a debris free surface, clear any clutter from the floor or other surfaces. Choose the right machine: Different vacuums are designed for different floor types and home sizes. Some machines will be engineered with hard floors in mind and will struggle on thick pile carpets, for example. Choosing the right machine for your home will make a big difference to the ease and speed with which you’re able to clean your home. Clean your floors ‘little and often’. Washing your floors frequently in areas that receive more foot fall will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor. Using a dedicated wet floor cleaner on hard flooring such as the Dyson WashG1 is helpful for this, as the versatile format means it vacuums and washes the floor simultaneously. Cleaning schedules have also become less regimented. In recent years only 41% of people claim to have a regular cleaning schedule, and 60% admit to cleaning reactively; being motivated to clean only when there is visible dirt or dust5. It’s perhaps not surprising, that a fifth of people are still concerned their floors are dirty after they’ve mopped them (22%) and one in four6 feel extremely worried about indoor dust at home. Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert reveals why it is important to change the way we mop: “Cleaning your hard floors properly and regularly is important for maintaining a healthy environment around your home. Without a proper cleaning routine, dirt may unknowingly build up and spread around your home. It is evident from our research that current mopping habits mean British households aren’t cleaning their floors as effectively as they should. “From ignoring problem areas where dust and debris build up, cross contamination with dirty water to not replacing mop heads or inconsistent cleaning, current mopping behaviours may be making floors dirtier as opposed to cleaner. Moving away from traditional methods, wet floor cleaners like the Dyson WashG1 simplify the floor cleaning experience and provide a modern efficient and hygienic solution” To help take the guesswork out of mopping, the brand new WashG1 is Dyson’s first dedicated wet floor cleaner that tackles wet and dry debris in one go. Engineered for hygienic cleaning and maintenance, the WashG1 is revolutionising wet floor cleaning, removing the need for multi-products and multi-steps to achieve a barefoot clean feel around the home. To put the product to the test, Dyson have cleaned one of London’s most iconic landmarks The Victoria and Albert Museum. From cleaning the grand marble floors housing the most prestigious exhibits, to cleaning up leftover food in the Gamble Room Cafe, the WashG1 had a dirt busting tour of the museum leaving it spotless. Images can be found here. The WashG1 introduces Dyson’s engineering expertise to cleaning hard floors. With a 1 litre clean-water tank to cover flooring up to 290m2, the Dyson WashG1 uses a combination of hydration, absorption, and extraction technologies to remove wet and dry spills and stains simultaneously. The Dyson WashG1 is available to purchase now from Dyson.co.uk, retailing at £599.99.

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