Google Releases 2008 Zeitgeist Rankings

Google recently released their 2008 Zeitgeist rankings, an amalgamation of billions of search queries that may or may not collectively define what captured the world's spirit this year. From their "Top of Mind" section, they have a listing of "Fond Farewells," those that passed away who were most searched for and many of whom are names we recognize:

1. Heath Ledger

2. Bernie Mac

3. Tim Russert

4. Isaac Hayes

5. George Carlin

6. Brad Renfro

7. Randy Pausch

8. Paul Newman

9. Boyd Coddington

10. Michael Crichton

Their Showbiz section also features the graph above and a listing of the most searched for movie trailers:

1. Dark Knight

2. Iron Man

3. Hulk

4. Star Wars

5. Indiana Jones

6. Twilight

7. Spiderman

8. Superman

9. Terminator

10. Harry Potter.

Finally, you can see the graph above for some of the most popular movies of the year. I'm heartened to see Del Toro's Hellboy on the list and discouraged that Hancock was as popular on Google as it was in theaters (still dreading that sequel). Check out their main website for a full listing of all the rankings.