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Pandemic - This one seems obvious, but who would have thought at the beginning of the year that "pandemic" would be one of the most common words around the world?

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Herd immunity -

Herd immunity is achieved when a large enough portion of a community becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of the disease unlikely and thus protecting the whole community.

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Herd immunity -

It’s interesting to note that some politicians have used this term to endorse natural infection of the coronavirus, while the World Health Organization insists that herd immunity can only be achieved by protecting people from the virus, not by exposing them to it—AKA by vaccinating enough people in the population to protect everyone.

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BLM - With more time to pay attention to social issues, and the subsequent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, the Black Lives Matter movement gained worldwide attention and sparked international protests. BLM was searched worldwide five times more than in 2019.

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Lockdown - Life in lockdown has changed so much about our experience of society, sparking trends in remote working, eating habits, home workouts, virtual interaction, and even some surprising perks. Mostly though, it’s made us appreciate our regular freedoms so much more.

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Doomscrolling -

This modern phenomenon involves scrolling your way deeper into rabbit holes filled with negative news, from topics like coronavirus to police brutality,  trying to learn everything you can about something spinning out of our control, and harming your own mental health.

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Zoom -

Even the creators of Zoom never intended for the video-calling platform to gain such immense popularity, but Zoom has totally eclipsed what Skype once was and has become the go-to for companies, families, doctors, and more.

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Megxit - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle dropped a bombshell at the beginning of the year by announcing that they would be taking a "step back" from royal duties. The controversial split from the British royal family looked more suspicious as the Queen announced the couple would not be allowed to use their royal title in any commercial ventures.

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Antifa -

Donald Trump infamously declared Antifa a terrorist group. But the group’s name actually means “anti-facist.”

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Sourdough bread -

You might have thought that banana bread would have been the most searched baking recipe on Google, but sourdough actually surpassed it!

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Karen -

In the wake of many viral cases of white women using their privilege to engage in racist acts, to police others’ behavior, or to demand their way at the expense of others, the term "Karen" was popularized as a sort of pejorative label through meme.

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How to learn coding -

Coding was the top trending thing people searched to learn on Google. This year certainly emphasized the types of jobs that you can do online.

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Ghislaine Maxwell -

On July 2, the late Jeffrey Epstein's former confidante was arrested for her alleged involvement in his sexual abuse case. This came soon after the release of the docuseries ‘Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich.’ Maxwell had evaded capture by federal authorities for almost a year, but is now in prison awaiting her July 2021 trial start date.

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Bong Joon-ho -

Remember when the Oscars happened and ‘Parasite’ was the biggest news as a foreign film that took home Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and International Feature? Yeah, that was this year...

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Kanye West -

This was yet another messy and controversial year for Kanye West, from his comments about the Kardashians to his presidential run, and all the subsequent backlash. He’s not done yet, however, and he plans on making it to the White House in 2024.

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Election results -

The US experienced a very long, drawn-out election this year, the results of which current sitting president Donald Trump continues to deny. Joe Biden, the winner of the election, was also listed as the most searched person on Google.

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Insomnia -

Did you have more trouble than usual sleeping this year? So did most people, apparently, since “insomnia” was searched more in 2020 than ever before, according to Google trends.

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Dalgona coffee - One of the biggest trends of lockdown, when people had way too much time to themselves, was the Dalgona coffee. The viral fluffy beverage was a beautiful and tantalizing distraction from the world outside.

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'Tiger King' -

Also while in lockdown, the docuseries ‘Tiger King’ gained immense fame for its eccentric stars, Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin, and the introduction into the surprisingly dark world of big cats within the US.

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'WAP' -

If you haven’t seen this, you haven’t been on social media. It was a not safe for work song released by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion that gained fame both for its explicit female sexuality and for its viral TikTok dance.

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Kobe Bryant - The most Googled loss this year was NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who died tragically in a helicopter accident alongside his daughter, Gianna, on January 26.

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Tom Hanks - Hanks was the most Googled actor this year, likely because he was one of the first A-listers to test positive for COVID-19, alongside his wife Rita.

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Together at Home concert -

The majority of the most popular concerts that happened this year were online, and the one that was searched the most on Google was Together at Home. It was a benefit concert organized by Global Citizen and curated by singer Lady Gaga, in support of the World Health Organization.

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Adele - The singer was a hot topic this year not because of her music, but because of her dramatic weight loss reveal. She lost around 100 lbs (45 kg), and popularized the Sirtfood diet once again.

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Naya Rivera -

On July 8, the ‘Glee’ star drowned while boating on a Southern California lake with her young son, and from the first moment she was reported missing to the announcement of her death, shockwaves were felt through Hollywood and her fans, especially in the LGBTQ+ community.

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‘Contagion’ -

Perhaps out of some masochistic urge, or maybe in an investigation of life imitating art, the 2011 film about the threat of a mysterious virus saw an unexpected second peak amid the pandemic.

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Chadwick Boseman -

On August 28, the ‘Black Panther’ star lost his battle to cancer, one most people didn’t even know was fighting. The announcement of his shocking death, the final tweet posted to the late actor's Twitter account, became the most-liked post in Twitter history as fans paid tribute to the real-life superhero.

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Grimes and X Æ A-12 Musk -

In May, Grimes and Elon Musk welcomed a baby boy named X Æ A-12. According to the singer, it means, "X, the unknown variable. Æ, my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence) A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent."

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‘The Queen's Gambit’ -

The year’s most-binged Netflix drama broke records as the streaming platform's most popular scripted limited series to date, after 62 million households tuned in within a matter of weeks.

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Vaccines -

The big will-they-or-won’t-they tale of 2020 revolves around the question of the COVID-19 vaccine. As we proceed into 2021 and the vaccine becomes available, many people are deciding whether they’ll take the voluntary dose.

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See also: Everything you need to know about vaccines

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