What Each State Googled More Frequently Than Any Other State in 2016
By nearly every measure 2016 was an absolute garbage year, a stretch of time that would have best been taken out back and shot. There’s little to look back on fondly, but look back we did… at the whole wretched thing. Using Google Trends we mapped out what each state Googled more frequently than other state in 2016. We measured Google searches for world events, famous people who passed away and those who made news, things that made us laugh and cry and shake our fists, new movies and shows, and even the stupid memes and celebrity missteps that distracted us from the depressing misery that was 2016. We took this snapshot of 2016 and put it on the map above, and made a more complete list below.
Make of it what you will, and let’s hope 2017 offers much better things to occupy our internet searches. And if you’re searching online for a home to buy, do yourself a favor and try out Estately.com.
ALABAMA: Harper Lee (Pulitzer Prize-winning author who passed in 2016) / Was Scalia murdered (conspiracy theory regarding the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia) / Attrell Cordes (P.M. Dawn lead vocalist who passed in 2016) / Tim Tebow baseball
ALASKA: Juno spacecraft (NASA spacecraft sending back closeup photos of Jupiter in 2016) / Alan Rickman (English actor who passed in 2016) / Is Jon Snow really dead? / The Huntsman: Winter’s War (2016 film) / Star Trek Beyond (2016 film) / Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016 film) / Breitbart News / WikiLeaks / Pizzagate
ARIZONA: Brock Turner sentence / Gary Shandling (actor/comedian who passed in 2016)
ARKANSAS: Kobe Bryant retirement / Day of Rage (planned protest)
CALIFORNIA: 88th Academy Awards / National Parks 100th anniversary / Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán (drug lord arrested in 2016) / deep learning / Elon Musk (entrepreneur) / Vin Scully (legendary Dodgers broadcaster who retired in 2016) / Curtis Hanson (Hollywood director who passed in 2016) / 2016 worst year ever? / Depp Heard divorce / Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party
COLORADO: Super Bowl 50 / Peyton Manning retirement
CONNECTICUT: Billy Bush (radio host) / Megyn Kelly (FOX News host) / Carpool Karaoke (feature of The Late Late Show with James Corden) / Huma Abedin (Hillary Clinton advisor) / Comey letter / Kesha lawsuit
DELAWARE: Donald Trump Presidential campaign, 2016 / Make America great again / Obama mic drop / Angie Tribeca (new TV comedy series on TBS) / Kellyanne Conway (political strategist) /Brangelina divorce / Merrick Garland (Supreme Court Justice nominee) / Leslie Jones (actress, comedian) / Scott Kelly (astronaut) / Podesta emails / Morley Safer (broadcaster who passed in 2016) / Edward Albee (playwright who passed in 2016) / Agnes Nixon (soap opera creator who passed in 2016) / Alan Thicke (actor who passed in 2016) / Kim Kardashian robbed
FLORIDA: Kimbo Slice (mixed martial artist) / Pulse Nightclub / Orlando shooting / Zika virus / Fidel Castro (former Cuban leader who passed in 2016) / Obama in Cuba / Barrier Reef dead / José Fernández (MLB pitcher who passed in 2016) / Hurricane Matthew / Dima Rousseff impeachment (former President of Brazil)
GEORGIA: Harriet Tubman $20 / new Comey letter / Jack Davis (cartoonist/illustrator who passed in 2016) / Denise Matthews (singer-songwriter known as Vanity who passed in 2016)
HAWAII: Pokémon GO! (mobile game) / Bhumibol Adulyadej (late King of Thailand) / Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016 film) / Moana (2016 film) / Christina Grimmie (singer who passed in 2016) / Nate Diaz (MMA fighter who both won and lost to Conor McGregor in 2016) / fanny pack / paddleboarding / Rodrigo Duterte (President of the Philippines) / supermoon
IDAHO: George Kennedy (actor who starred in “Cool Hand Luke” and “Naked Gun”—passed in 2016) / The Shannara Chronicles (new TV series appearing on MTV) / Malheur National Wildlife Refuge / Bundy standoff / What is transgender? / How did Trump win? / Patty Duke (actress who passed in 2016) / Kenny Baker (R2-D2 actor who passed in 2016)
ILLINOIS: Craig Sager (sports reporter who passed in 2016) / Chance the Rapper “Coloring Book” (album that dropped in 2016) / Cubs parade route / Dennis Hastert sentencing / Depp Heard apology
INDIANA: Harambe meme / Mike Pence (Vice President-elect) / Joe Martin Feek (singer-songwriter who passed in 2016) / Ben Higgins (eligible man on Season 20 of The Bachelor) / Florence Henderson (actress who passed in 2016)
IOWA: Islamic State (terrorist group) / ISIS (terrorist group)
KANSAS: LGBT / Boko Haram (terrorist group)
KENTUCKY: Muhammad Ali (he took on the world) / Axl Rose (singer-songwriter who reunited w/ other members of Guns ‘N Roses) / Ralph Stanley (bluegrass musician who passed in 2016)
LOUISIANA: Alton Sterling shooting (video of African American killed by Baton Rouge Police) / police shooting / Beyonce Lemonade album / Beyonce halftime show / When they go low, we go high
MAINE: Gwen Ifill (journalist who passed in 2016) / Aleppo (major city in Syria) / Sausage Party (2016 film)
MARYLAND: Simone Manuel (U.S. Olympic swimmer) / Robert Stigwood (music producer/manager who passed in 2016) / Lahore explosion (bombing in Pakistan) / Bill Nunn (actor who passed in 2016) / Michael Phelps (U.S. Olympic swimmer) / Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
MASSACHUSETTS: Brexit / Ryan Lochte (U.S. Olympic swimmer) / Simone Biles (U.S. Olympic gymnast) / Carpool Karaoke Adele / data science / Istanbul attack / Boris Johnson (U.K. Sect. of State of Foreign Affairs) / De Niro on Trump / Usain Bolt
MICHIGAN: Gordie Howe (hockey legend who passed in 2016)
MINNESOTA: Prince (singer-songwriter) / Black Lives Matter / Philando Castile (African American killed by Minneapolis-area police officer who was charged with manslaughter)
MISSISSIPPI: mannequin challenge / Maurice White (founding member of Earth, Wind, and Fire who passed in 2016) / clowns / Miss Cleo (spokesperson for psychic pay-per-call service who passed in 2016) / Gloria Naylor (novelist who passed in 2016) / iOS 10
MISSOURI: McDonald’s breakfast all day
MONTANA: Roger Ailes (former FOX News producer accused of sexual harassment) / cupping therapy / white nationalism / Guy Clark (singer-songwriter who passed in 2016)
NEBRASKA: Pepe meme / John Saunders (sports journalist who passed in 2016)
NEVADA: Colin Kaepernick (pro football player) / René Angélil (husband and former manager to Céline Dion who passed in 2016) / Alexis Arquette (actor who passed in 2016) / China Machado (fashion model who passed in 2016)
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Dat Boi (internet meme killed by The Daily Dot) / Abe Vigoda (actor who passed in 2016) / European migrant crisis / Jon Alito (actor and voice actor who passed in 2016) / Tammy Grimes (actress who passed in 2016) / Carrie Fisher (actress who passed in 2016)
NEW JERSEY: Donald Trump (President-elect of the U.S.) / Copa América 2016 / Hoboken train wreck / Bridgegate verdict / Garry Marshall (legendary actor/director/producer who passed in 2016) / Monte Irvin (pro baseball player who passed in 2016) / George Michael (singer-songwriter who passed in 2016)
NEW MEXICO: Gary Johnson (Libertarian Presidential candidate) / Umberto Eco (author of “The Name of the Rose”—passed in 2016) / Mars (the red planet) / Kanye hospitalized
NEW YORK: Panama Papers / Phife Dawg (a.k.a. the 5 Foot Assasin, a.k.a. Malik Issac Tayloer, a rapper in A Tribe Called Quest—passed in 2016) / Syrian boy ambulance / Gigi Hadid (model) / American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson (new TV series on FX) / iPhone 7 / Marion Cotillard (actress) / Hamilton (Broadway musical) / Lin-Manuel Miranda (actor) / Anthony Weiner documentary / Podesta risotto / assault on Mosul / Zaha Hadid (famed architect who passed in 2016) / Shimon Peres (former president of Israel who passed in 2016) / Kanye 2024 / pizza box made out of pizza / Buffalo Bills dildo
NORTH CAROLINA: Transgender bathroom law
NORTH DAKOTA: Dan Haggerty (actor who played Grizzly Adams who passed in 2016) / Neighbor’s 2: Sorority Rising (2016 film) / Luke Cage (web series) / Dirty Grandpa (2016 film) / EgyptAir Flight 804 / Dakota Access Pipeline / Mac n’ Cheetos
OHIO: 3-1 lead / The NBA Finals / 2017 NFL Draft / Sen. John Glenn (former astronaut who passed in 2016)
OKLAHOMA: Kevin Durant decision
OREGON: Syria / Bab al-Hara (popular Middle Eastern TV series) / Recep Tayyip Erdogan (President of Turkey) / extrajudicial killings
PENNSYLVANIA: Arnold Palmer (legendary golfer who passed in 2016) / Anthony Weiner investigation
RHODE ISLAND: Arianne Zucker (actress) / Harambe / Frank Sinatra, Jr. (singer, son of Frank Sinatra—passed in 2016) / Grease: Live (live version of the famous musical) / Boutros Boutros-Ghali (sixth Sect. General of U.N who passed in 2016) / Doris Roberts (actress who passed in 2016) / Winona Ryder (actress starring in Stranger Things in 2016) / How did Clinton lose? / Zsa Zsa Gabor (actress who passed in 2016) / George Martin (music producer who passed in 2016) / Harry Styles haircut
SOUTH CAROLINA: KKK victory parade / Walter Scott mistrial / The Lady Chablis (actress who passed in 2016)
SOUTH DAKOTA: Glenn Frey (guitarist for The Eagles who passed in 2016) / How to Be Single? (2016 film) / transgender / Mother Teresa (declared Saint by Pope Francis in 2016) / Arnold Palmer (the beverage, not the golfer) / Elie Wiesel (author, Nobel Prize-winner who passed in 2016)
TENNESSEE: Mr. T dead (actor was rumored to have died in 2016, but he’s very much alive and still pitying fools) / Gatlinburg wildfires / Pat Summitt (legendary Tennessee Volunteers basketball coach who passed in 2016) / Dolly Parton telethon
TEXAS: Dallas police shooting / Juan Gabriel (singer-songwriter who passed in 2016)
UTAH: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (JK Rowling book/film) / Gilmore Girls (Netflix revival of TV series) / Zoolander 2 (2016 film) / Utah vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016 film) / Captain America: Civil War (2016 film) / Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016 film) / Finding Dory (2016 film) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016 film) / Stranger Things (web series) / glamping
VERMONT: Orlando Bloom naked / Swedish fish Oreos / Bernie Sanders (Senator, Democratic Presidential candidate in 2016) / David Bowie (singer-songwriter) / Hillary Clinton (Democratic Presidential candidate in 2016) / Jill Stein (Green Party Presidential candidate) / Syrian Civil War / Boaty McBoatface / nasty woman / Paul Kantner (guitarist for Jefferson Airplane who passed in 2016) / Justice Antonin Scalia (Supreme Court Justice who passed in 2016) / Rob Ford (Canadian politician who passed in 2016) / Downton Abbey finale (TV series ending in 2016) / Microcephaly (medical condition) / Melania Trump (model, next first lady) / Black Mirror (British TV series) / Steve Bannon (political strategist) / grammatical gender / Coup d’état / Trans-Pacific Partnership / Nobel Prize in Literature / Millennials / Trial of Oscar Pistorius / Clinton emails / Spotlight (2016 Academy Award for Best Picture) / Leonard Cohen (singer-songwriter who passed in 2016) / Ron Glass (actor who passed in 2016) / Sharon Jones (singer who passed in 2016)
VIRGINIA: Chardonnay GO video / Eric Fanning (first openly gay person confirmed by Senate as first secretary of branch of U.S Military)
WASHINGTON: The X-Files reboot (popular TV series on FOX) / Cam Newton tantrum / Gravitational wave / man in tree / Obama in Hiroshima / Ernestine Anderson (jazz and blues singer who passed in 2016) / Sad Ben Affleck
WEST VIRGINIA: Chyna (pro wrestler who died in 2016) / Nancy Reagan (former first lady and actress who pass in 2016) / Fuller House (TV series reboot on Netflix) / Guns N’ Roses reunion / Merle Haggard (singer-songwriter who passed in 2016)
WISCONSIN: Reince Priebus (Chairman of the RNC)
WYOMING: U.S. Presidential Election 2016 / Olympic Games Rio 2016 / Chewbacca Mom (viral video sensation) / Gene Wilder (comedic actor who died in 2016) / U.S. Electoral College / The Boss (2016 film) / The Jungle Book (2016 film) / Ghostbusters (2016 film) / Deadpool (2016 film) / January 2015 Île-de-France attacks / Gretchen Carlson (commentator) / coup in Turkey / The Secret Life of Pets (2016 film) / Orionids (meteor shower) / Janet Reno (former U.S. Attorney General who passed in 2016)
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