Google, the company that for better or for worse understands a lot about our collective psyche, has been sharing the top annual searches since 2001. At that time, the internet was barely unrecognizable and "Nostradamus" was the top rising search term (over Osama bin Laden even!).
In recent years, the company has been breaking its search data down city-by-city, and here are the top trending searches in Los Angeles for 2013:
1. Paul Walker
2. Dodgers
3. Cory Monteith
4. Christopher Dorner
5. Boston Marathon
6. Aaron Hernandez
7. James Gandolfini
8. Government Shutdown
9. Amber Alert
10. Mayweather vs. Canelo
Paul Walker made the top of our list, but that wasn't just an Angeleno thing: he made the top of the lists of cities, like Austin and Chicago as well. The unexpected celebrity deaths of Cory Monteith and James Gandolfini ranked high, too. Renegade ex-LAPD cop Christopher Dorner made the list, and so did the Amber Alert that jostled us out of bed one August eve. Since last year, the Dodgers whose season verged on magical at some points went up a spot, while the Lakers and Clippers totally dropped off the list.
Last year, Angelenos were googling the LADWP but they didn't make this year's list either, which is probably a good thing for the agency's rep (do you ever Google the LADWP looking for good news?). SigAlert dropped off the list, and I'm just spitballing here but maybe Google along with Waze is biting into SigAlert? LAUSD and UCLA dropped off the list, too, in lieu of national stories, like the government shutdown, the Aaron Hernandez case and the Boston Marathon bombings.
Feel free to add your own unscientific theories about the list in the comments along with Nostradamus' predictions for 2014.
If you're feeling nostalgic, here is the city-by-city data for 2012, 2010 and 2009. Here are the more general searches for the other years, including 2011, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 and 2001.
