The news, people and questions that most intrigued the British public in 2011 have been revealed in Google's annual rundown of the most popular search terms.
The Zeitgeist survey - so-named because it tries to capture the spirit of the age - lists the most common keywords from the billions of queries tapped into the search engine each year.
The most popular search over the last 12 months was for Facebook - hardly surprising with 800 million users worldwide. But alarmingly for Google its much-hyped Facebook-killer, Google+, doesn't make it onto the list.
The fastest-rising search terms reveal the trends of 2011. The Royal Wedding comes top - though it is Kate Middleton, not her shapely sister Pippa, who steals the limelight online.
The much-anticipated, but never delivered, Apple iPhone 5 is the second fastest riser.
Celebrities, of course, feature heavily. Our appetite for gossip guaranteed that top spot on the 'people list' was Kim Kardashian - the TV reality star who married and divorced in the space of three months.
The list of fastest-rising people is dominated by death. Ryan Dunn, the Jackass star who died in a car crash, comes top.
Thin Lizzy guitarist Garry Moore, who was found dead in a hotel room, and soul singer Amy Winehouse, also make it onto the list.
The full weirdness of the web is revealed by the list of questions tapped into the Google searchbox.
'What is AV?' came in at number one, reflecting interest in the alternative vote ahead of the referendum.
More bizarrely, 'What is scampi?' comes second. The Shellfish Association of Great Britain admits to being baffled why this year there should be such intrigue over a perennial favourite on pub menus.
There are more serious problems that Google users seek answers for.
'How to revise', 'How to wallpaper', and 'How to snog' all make it onto the list.
Google strips out 'adult' search terms before calculating the annual run down.
Search terms are being put to serious use, too. Google monitors flu-related queries around the world, which doctors use as an early warning of an epidemic
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