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Pippa Middleton at Britain's royal wedding in April. Yui Mok/PA Wire

Google Zeitgeist: what have you been searching in 2011?

The search engine has released Ireland’s top searches for this year which included Pippa Middleton, Donedeal and… how to shuffle.

GOOGLE ZEITGEIST has released the top searches made on Google in Ireland in 2011 with “how to shuffle”, Sickipedia jokes, Pottermore and Pippa Middleton all featuring strongly.

The top three celebrities searched in 2011 were Kim Kardashian (whose sister Khloe also made the top ten), Scarlett Johansson and David Beckham.

However, in the fastest-rising people section, princess bride Kate Middleton was beaten by her bridesmaid and sister Pippa, who topped the list. The only Irish entries in the list were Georgia Salpa and the late Michaela Harte who was murdered while on honeymoon in Mauritius in January 2011.

The Irish buying and selling site Donedeal was the fastest-rising search in the country in 2011. The site also performed strongly in the shopping searches category, coming fourth behind big brands eBay, iPad and Amazon.

GAA Fixtures 2011 beat the Rugby World Cup to top this year’s sports searches, while Orlando was the most popular travel destination searched in 2011, followed by ‘Disney’. On that note, warm weather was the common theme among each of the ten most-searched holiday locations.

“How to shuffle” topping the list of “how to…” searches (for which there are about 609 million search results today).

Harry Potter dominated the “What is…” searches with the most popular question in that category in 2011 being “What is Pottermore?” (it’s a new collaborative project launched for Harry Potter fans by author JK Rowling).

Here are the top Google searches in Ireland in 2011:

Fastest Rising Searches

  • Donedeal
  • iPhone 5
  • Rugby world cup
  • Saorview
  • Pippa Middleton
  • Tayto park
  • Imogen Thomas
  • Galway Races 2011
  • Jessie J
  • Steve Jobs

Fastest Rising People

  • Pippa Middleton
  • Imogen Thomas
  • Jessie J
  • Steve Jobs
  • Kate Middleton
  • Casey Anthony
  • Mila Kunis
  • Michaela Harte
  • Kelly Rowland
  • Georgia Salpa

Shopping searches

  • Ebay
  • iPad
  • Amazon
  • Donedeal
  • Argos
  • Digital camera
  • iPod
  • Laptop
  • iPhone 4
  • HP Touchpad

How to…? searches

  • How to Shuffle
  • How to study
  • How to reference
  • How to pronounce
  • How to draw
  • How to flirt
  • How to make
  • How to hack
  • How to crotchet
  • How to meditate

What is…? searches

  • What is pottermore
  • What is spooning
  • What is reiki
  • What is ICT
  • What is bipolar
  • What is dubstep
  • What is thrush
  • What is paypal
  • What is zumba
  • What is mono

Song Lyrics

  • Adele
  • Something like you
  • Rihanna
  • Eminem
  • Your song
  • Love Song
  • Bruno Mars
  • Lady Gaga
  • Friday
  • Justin Bieber

Entertainment

  • Sickipedia jokes
  • Newstalk listen live
  • Ryan Dunn
  • Xfactor 2011
  • Google Guitar
  • Big Brother 2011
  • Jedwards eurovision
  • Batman Arkham
  • City
  • Amy Winehouse
  • Movie Star planet

Celebrities

  • Kim Kardashian
  • Scarlett Johansson
  • David Beckham
  • Jennifer Aniston
  • Britney Spears
  • Emma Watson
  • Victoria Beckham
  • Megan Fox
  • Khloe Kardashian
  • Lindsay Lohan

Sports

  • GAA Fixtures 2011
  • RWC 2011
  • PGA Leaderboard
  • Irish Open 2011
  • WWE 12
  • 6 Nations 2011
  • Wimbeldon 2011
  • Copa America 2011
  • USPGA Leaderboard
  • Rory Mcilroy twitter

Travel Destinations

  • Orlando
  • Disney
  • Caribbean Islands
  • Cancun
  • Barbados
  • Maldives
  • Las Vegas
  • Croatia
  • Manhattan
  • Cayman Islands

And in case you still don’t know how to shuffle, here’s a guide:

(Video via TonyTouch831)

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35 Comments
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    Mute Peter Gavin
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    Jun 5th 2013, 2:11 PM

    Amazing list of accomplishments for someone who is only 42

    75
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    Mute Robin Pickering
    Favourite Robin Pickering
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    Jun 5th 2013, 4:13 PM

    And to think, if her parents had stayed in Ireland, she could have risen through the ranks of the ICA to become a Branch Secretary or even the lady that does the roster for cleaning the church.

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    Mute Michael
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    Jun 5th 2013, 1:47 PM

    Congrats to her.

    Will she condemn the US actions in the Middle East as terrorism?

    46
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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Jun 5th 2013, 2:00 PM

    Nope. She’s a cheerleader. She wouldn’t be where she is if she’d gone around telling the truth!

    49
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    Mute Michael
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    Jun 5th 2013, 2:05 PM

    Sounds like a lot of this administration. Divide the country more and blame the republicans.

    As a famous man once said, “Bush is gone”.

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    Mute Danny Murray
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    Jun 5th 2013, 2:13 PM

    she called Hillary a monster :-) good appointment imo

    20
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    Mute Aran Fitzpatrick
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    Jun 5th 2013, 1:52 PM

    This is the same woman that wrote a book entitled “A problem from hell”. The premise of the book was that the U.S. didn’t intervene enough in another countries affairs.

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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Jun 5th 2013, 1:59 PM

    Correct. She is a major proponent of ‘humanitarian intervention’ – a vile euphemism.

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    Mute Peter Gavin
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    Jun 5th 2013, 2:09 PM

    Yeah like those terrible times when they intervened in Somalia to try and protect the food supply to millions of starving people or when they went into Bosnia and kosovo to stop ethnic cleansing. How dare they!

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    Mute phunkyboy
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    Jun 5th 2013, 2:12 PM

    You obviously haven’t watch the film ‘The whistleblower ‘ starring Rachel Weisz . True story .

    10
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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Jun 5th 2013, 2:24 PM

    Peter — Can I interest you in a second-hand car?

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    Mute Peter Gavin
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    Jun 5th 2013, 2:39 PM

    Oh you’re hilarious Petr. Why don’t you entertain us with stories of the fantastic human rights record of your heros in Russia, China and North Korea then?

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    Mute Bob MacBob
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    Jun 5th 2013, 3:37 PM

    Anyone who actually read the book couldn’t but agree that the delays in intervention documented in the book were mistakes.

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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Jun 5th 2013, 4:02 PM

    But if you’d also read other books and used your own head you might arrive at your own independent conclusion.

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    Mute Aoife
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    Jun 5th 2013, 4:46 PM

    @ Peter: Somalia was a long, long way from an attempt to “protect the food supply to millions of starving people”. They didn’t even arrive at the right time or place to prevent the famine – the US (technically the UN, but the US were the largest contingent) went to Mogadishu, while the famine was close to the Kenyan border. (It was also mostly over by the time they arrived.) Instead, they ended up being drawn into the Somali civil war and, at one point, bombed a meeting of Somalis and killed 50 of them in an attempt to kill a Somali warlord. It was a utter debacle, and a terrible example to use if you’re trying to discuss the benefits of humanitarian intervention.

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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Jun 5th 2013, 5:14 PM

    If the ruling classes of powerful states started acting altruistically to ‘save’ people here and there it would be the first time this has ever happened in human history.

    Powerful states and other powerful entities tend to behave in a way that protects their own narrow interests. Morality and humanitarianism have literally no place in a discussion of international relations. Those who, against all evidence, believe otherwise or at best deeply naive.

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    Mute steve white
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    Jun 5th 2013, 6:00 PM

    maybe the US ad other countries UK, France etc had aleady intervened and that was parrt of progrma

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    Mute steve white
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    Jun 5th 2013, 6:01 PM

    problem^ sorry for typos

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    Mute Jim Flavin
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    Jun 5th 2013, 6:06 PM

    @Peter Gavin
    the fact that other countries have a sbad o worse Human rights than USA is no argument to be joyous about the Human Rights in US – which are being removed with Patriot Act and NDAA – and increasing survelliance of the population .
    As for interventions – the US record of interventions is disastrous both by themselves and by proxy from Vietnam , to Chile , Chagos Island , Phillipines , Iraq , Afgahistan . Its a long list – like all imperialists they leave behind death and destruction .
    IF USA is so great – why dont they stay at home – they dont as they need to rob other countries to maintain their declining [ for the majotity ] standard of living .
    taken from John pilgers site – latest article
    ”The “mess” left by George Bush and Tony Blair in Iraq is a sectarian war, the bombs of 7/7 and now a man waving a bloody meat cleaver in Woolwich. Bush has retreated back into his Mickey Mouse “presidential library and museum” and Tony Blair into his jackdaw travels and his money.

    Their “mess” is a crime of epic proportions, wrote Von Sponeck, referring to the Iraqi Ministry of Social Affairs’ estimate of 4.5 million children who have lost both parents
    full article
    http://johnpilger.com/articles/from-iraq-a-tragic-reminder

    5
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    Mute Conor O'Riordan
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    Jun 5th 2013, 6:23 PM

    I love the assumption that if you oppose the US’s foreign policies you must be an ardent supporter of Russia, China, North Korea etc. Can’t I hate everyone?

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    Mute Peter Gavin
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    Jun 5th 2013, 6:41 PM

    @aoife but the food aid was being delivered into the port of mogadishu and then intercepted by aidid and other warlords so that’s where the un forces needed to be
    @ Jim I’m not trying to portray the US as some paragon of virtue and I disagree with some of their actions certainly but they are dammed if they do and dammed if they don’t. Anytime they intervene somewhere they are condemned as imperialists but if they don’t then they are condemned as aloof and uncaring usually with jibes that there is no oil so they don’t care. Well there was no oil in Somalia or Bosnia or kosovo but they acted while Europe wrang it’s hands and did nothing. I remember the horror here when we saw the killing begin in kosovo but there were no protests against the Serbs. However the second The US started to bomb Belgrade there were demos from the usual left wing in Ireland against the Americans despite the fact that they were trying to stop the sort of ethnic cleansing seen in Bosnia. I just hate the knee jerk anti Americanism that is so common here despite them being a good friend to this country and all the ties of blood and culture

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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Jun 5th 2013, 6:55 PM

    I love the assumption that if you oppose the US’s foreign policies you must be an ardent supporter of Russia, China, North Korea etc.

    4
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    Mute Jim Flavin
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    Jun 5th 2013, 9:25 PM

    ” They are condemned as being aloof ”.
    Now that is one word I have never heard about US . They go in guns blazing – unlike the Chinese – who do business .
    as for kosovo – again I refer to John Pilger – one of the few real investigative journalists left on Planet Earth http://www.labournet.net/balkans/9911/pilger.html
    the fact that there is no oil – well its not always about Oil – but Power and control
    What the heck did they do in Indonesia – the great eperiment in New World Order .

    Why did they bomb Laos – the most bombed country on Planet Earth .one could give many examples of US inetrference .- Why do they train death squds – to do their killing in other coutries eg Honduras
    the whole thing is sickening .They are a Terrorist nation with a Terrorist Foreign Policy – and this woman is now part of it – hardly something to be proud of .

    6
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    Mute hsianloon
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    Jun 6th 2013, 11:29 AM

    Having it her way theyd probably have nuked the entire planet. But then they’d run out of people to terrorize.

    Mistake thinking a government can’t be a terrorist. Pity the British didn’t wipe the Americans out centuries ago….

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    Mute Brian Leddin
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    Jun 5th 2013, 1:54 PM

    She wrote a great biography of Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN diplomat who was killed in Iraq just after the invasion in 2003. Not sure if her support for the intervention in Libya is something to boast about though. Time will tell.

    35
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    Mute Diotavelli Smeesh
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    Jun 5th 2013, 3:10 PM

    Her article about the Clinton Administration’s lack of reaciton to Rwanda genocide, published in The Atlantic, is very good. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2001/09/bystanders-to-genocide/304571/

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    Mute vusi
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    Jun 5th 2013, 5:17 PM

    Obama have Irish roots so he taking care of his Irish families , love it

    4
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