SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Robin Williams’ suicide seared into the world’s collective mindset more than anything else this year, based on what people were searching for on Google.
The reaction to Williams’ death in August topped Google’s list of 2014’s fastest-rising search requests. It beat notable events such as the World Cup, the Ebola outbreak, the March disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and the Ice Bucket Challenge, an Internet video craze to raise awareness and money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Other topics of worldwide intrigue on Google included the addictive smartphone game “Flappy Bird,” bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst, the Middle East extremist group ISIS, the hit Disney movie “Frozen,” and the Winter Olympics in Russia.
Williams, Ebola, the World Cup and the Ice Bucket also ranked among the most-discussed subjects this year on Facebook, which released its list last week. Google released its list Tuesday.
Williams’ death drove many people to reminisce about his career highlights. In the first few days after his suicide, there was a six-fold increase in the number of Google searches for “carpe diem” – a Latin phrase for “seize the day” that Williams popularized in the film “Dead Poets Society.” Reports about Williams’ long-running battle with depression caused searches for that term to triple. There was also a flurry of searches about his movies (the top five were: “Mrs. Doubtfire,” ”Dead Poets Society,” ”Good Will Hunting,” ”Jumanji” and “Patch Adams.”)