What Term was Googled More in Grand Rapids Than Anywhere Else?

Whenever we need an answer to something, the first thing most of us do it turn to Google.

Everything you do on Google is tracked. It is interesting to look back and see just what people were "googling" in the last year.

Google has put together their "Local Year in Search" for 2022. What do you think the most searched term in Grand Rapids is? It might surprise you...

Photo by Firmbee.com on Unsplash

What Do We "Google"?

You would think maybe people would want to know where the best restaurants in Grand Rapids were. Or maybe people would want to know what is there to do around Grand Rapids? Or maybe what famous person is from Grand Rapids? Surprisingly, none of those were the number one "near me" search.

Photo by MChe Lee on Unsplash

What We Really Want to Know from Google

According to Google's Local Year in Search 2022...

The Grand Rapids, MI area searched for SCHOOL CLOSINGS NEAR ME more than anywhere else in the country.

Wow, people really want to know if their school is open or closed. And when you stop to think that schools are closed for the summer, that search really only happens from September through June. That makes it more incredible that it would be the top term searched for the entire year. There was a time when radio stations had to read off a list of hundreds of school closings (I did that way too many times!). Now days, schools can email or text parents and students. TV stations still scroll the closings on the bottom of the screen, or you can find them online. (Remember you can also find school closings on our website!)

School closings are also so important to both parents and students that WOOD TV-8 Meteorologist Blake Harms puts together "School Closing Predictions" when weather is going to be bad.

Photo by Johannes Heel on Unsplash

Some Other Interesting Google Searches

The Local Year in Search goes on to inform us that the Grand Rapids area's top trending animal in 2022 was the "pallas cat". I had never heard of this small wild cat that is also called a maul. These cats live in Central Asia and love the cold and snowy weather. The interest in these cats might be because of the pictures we have seen of a "grumpy" cat, which looks a lot like the face of a Pallas cat.

Grand Rapids also likes video games, being one of only four places with "arcades" trending as a top "near me" search.

Photo by Joakim Orrhult on Unsplash

What was the Top Trending Recipe in Grand Rapids?

Many of us turn to Google for recipes. The top trending recipe was something I have never heard of. At first I thought it might have been an error (but would Google ever make a mistake?!). The top recipe search was "shotgun shells". Perhaps they confused it with hunters wanting information for their ammunition? Nope, there actually are things called "shotgun shells" and now I want to try them. One recipe shows manicotti tubes filled with ground beef and cheese, wrapped in bacon, and then covered in bbq sauce.

Photo: Scott Winters/Townsquare Media