Google releases top searches of 2016

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The Google logo. (Google via AP)

(MEDIA GENERAL) — Google has released its top searches of 2016 and this summer’s “Pokemon Go” craze tops the list when looking at searches across the globe. In the United States, no other subject was searched more than Powerball.

The top five global searches were as follows:

1. ‘Pokemon Go’

In this Friday, July 8, 2016, file photo, “Pokemon Go” is displayed on a cell phone in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

“Pokemon Go,” the free-to-play smartphone game that sends players hiking around cities looking for Pokemon, topped the list of Google searches in 2016. The app was launched in July and its popularity skyrocketed in the weeks that followed.

2. iPhone 7

(AP Photo)

Unveiled in September and touted as the most powerful iPhone yet, the iPhone 7 was the second-most searched term globally on Google.

3. Donald Trump

President-elect Donald Trump smiles as he arrives to speak at an election night rally, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Donald Trump’s unprecedented run for president in 2016 had people across the globe Googling the now president-elect’s name.

4. Prince

In this Aug. 9, 2011 file photo, U.S. musician Prince performs during his concert at the Sziget Festival on the Shipyard Island, northern Budapest, Hungary. (AP Photo/MTI, Balazs Mohai, File)

Prince’s shocking death in April sent droves of people to Google. Widely acclaimed as one of the most inventive musicians of his era, Prince broke through in the late 1970s with “Wanna Be Your Lover” and soared with albums “1999” and “Purple Rain.” He died at his home in suburban Minneapolis on April 21, 2016. He was 57.

5. Powerball

Rebecca Hargrove, second from right, president and CEO of the Tennessee Lottery, presents a ceremonial check to John Robinson, right; his wife, Lisa, second from left; and their daughter, Tiffany, left; after the Robinson’s winning Powerball ticket was authenticated at the Tennessee Lottery headquarters Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. The ticket was one of three winning tickets in the $1.6 billion jackpot drawing. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

2016 saw the largest Powerball jackpot in the lottery’s history so it’s no surprise that Powerball was among the top global Google searches and No. 1 in the U.S. The $1.6 billion jackpot on Jan. 13, 2016 was split three ways.

When narrowed down to the U.S., Prince was the second-most searched term behind Powerball.

Hurricane Matthew made the list at No. 3 followed by “Pokemon Go” and the online multiplayer game “Slither.io” to round out the top five.

Read more at Google.com.

Source: Heather Pelat - WoodTv