Did you ever stop and try to remember life before Google? You know, before you could find the answer to such life-altering questions as “how do I tuck my pants into my boots?” or “is the post office open on Christmas?” with just a few keystrokes? Let 2015 go down as the year we spent a whole lot of time trying to get the Internet to answer our “how tos” and “what is.”
And thanks to Google’s 2015 Year in Search, we now know the burning questions that weren’t just on our minds, but on our friends’, family’s and the rest of the world’s too. So what is it we just couldn’t stop Googling?
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Here, a look at the top questions of 2015, and the answers, of course:
Top trending “What is…”
- What is 0 divided by 0? — If you asked Siri this math problem this year, you likely got a rather sassy answer.
- What is Ashley Madison? — A whole lot of trouble for a whole lot of cheating spouses, that’s what!
- What is a buckeye? — Well, there’s buckeye bark, which is delicious, and then there’s a tree that’s plentiful in Ohio, lending its name to the Ohio State University sports teams.
- What is the Charlie Charlie Challenge? — Something that gave plenty of teenagers the heebie-jeebies in 2015.
- What is a lunar eclipse? — Many a science teacher is hanging their head at the notion that so many Americans don’t know that sometimes the Earth’s shadow blocks the sun’s light that usually reflects off the moon. But now you do know.
- What is ebola? — A deadly and dangerous disease that hit American shores for the first time this year.
- What is ISIS? — Unfortunately there are few who don’t know about the terrorist group these days.
- What is Red Nose Day? — Hint: Who walks around in big, floppy shoes, mismatched clothes and a curly wig? If you said “clown,” you’re on the (red) nose, and you can guess the day is meant to use comedy to raise money for sick kids.
- What is a blue moon? — Besides being a popular beer, it’s the second full moon in one month (and it’s rare… hence the phrase “once in a blue moon).
- What is listeria? — Thanks to countless recalls of late, we’ve had to worry a lot about this foodborne illness.
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Top trending “How to…”
- How to use the new Snapchat update — Slo-mo filters, rewind and a whole lot more had us flummoxed.
- How to solve a Rubik’s Cube — Ahem, 1984 called. It wants the answer.
- How to get legendary marks — No, this doesn’t refer to grades in school, but to something much more legen -wait-for-it- dary, especially among teenagers: currency in the video game Destiny.
- How to play Charlie Charlie — Refer to question #4 above.
- How to upgrade to Windows 10 — This one’s pretty easy, considering anytime you log onto a Windows 7 machine you’re inundated with offers from Microsoft to do it.
- How to get the new emojis — The better question? Who should be the first recipient of a taco emoji?
- How to authorize a computer on iTunes — Thank goodness Apple has a help section. The question is, are we any more likely to read the fine print on that than we are on that looooooong contract? Hmm?
- How to Hit the Quan — So you finally figured out how to Whip and Nae Nae, but can you do this?
- How to lose 10 pounds in a week — This is the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Hot tip: It’s not all that healthy.
- How to use Apple Pay — Check first; does your local store take Apple Pay?
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