How many fingers does a horse have and other Google searches from Poland in 2018
Google has published its 2018 review of people’s most popular searches.
Divided by categories, it shows what occupied the mind of Poles in this passing year and which questions and queries where in the forefront of their minds, from people, events and movies to the simple ‘what is..?’.
Back from Russia with a goodbye goal
The first item in the general and events categories was unsurprisingly the 2018 Football World Cup in Russia. It preoccupied not just Polish fans, but was the most searched phrase in the world. The performance of the White and Reds did not match the zeal of the fans and we were sad to bid them goodbye after one final goal. What wasn’t common knowledge, is that the goal posts for the championship were produced in Tuchom, in northern Poland.
More on the story: Goal in a box: Polish company supplying all the goal posts for Russia World Cup.
An emotional night in Turin saw Poland notch up a comfortable victory over Brazil to win Men’s Volleyball World Championship for the second time in a row.
The other events that Poles wanted to learn about were the Moon eclipse, the dramatic rescue mission on Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas, high school and junior high school finals and Black Friday. Poles celebrated victory in the Volleyball World Championship in Italy and Bulgaria, with the Polish team defending the title they won four years ago. TFN proudly reported: White, red and gold: Poland defends volleyball world champions’ title.
Thuy wants modern libraries, free of charge communication for schoolersand more green fields and trees in Warsaw.
Local government elections were one of the events that shaped the political scene this year. A testament to the growing presence of minorities in Polish society was Dao Minh Thuy’s bid to win a seat at Warsaw’s city council. Read what she told TFN: Destination city hall: Vietnamese woman hopes to bring a soothing note to Warsaw politics.
Teenage sensation Roksana ‘Roxie’ Węgiel, from Jasło, becomes first Pole to win Junior Eurovision contest.
At the beginning of May the Eurovision contest took over the Polish internet for a spell, as Gromee and Lukas Meijer performed their “Light me up”. They did not advance to the finals, unlike Roksana Węgiel who was unstoppable on her way to winning the Junior version.
The formula to get to the top? A massive talent and a song written for one of the biggest popstars – Rita Ora: That song! 'Roxie’s' Euro hit was originally meant for Rita Ora!
Kora, rebellious rock diva, dies of cancer aged 67
The people category payed tribute to those, who sadly passed away this year. The Swedish DJ Avicii, rappers Mac Miller and Tomasz Chada, actress Agnieszka Kotulanka, ground-breaking scientist Stephen Hawking, alpinist Tomasz Mackiewicz, who unlike his companion Elisabeth Revol saved by the superhuman efforts of Adam Bielecki, Denis Urubko, Piotr Tomala and Jarosław Botor, stayed forever on the high slopes of Nanga Parbat. TFN together with the Polish public grieved the death of rock icon Kora Jackowska, who passed away after battling cancer. We looked at her glamorous and sometimes controversial life: Kora, rebellious rock diva, dies of cancer aged 67.
Claire Ptak, owner of Violet Bakery in Hackney, east London, carries part of the cake for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle out of the oven in the kitchens at Buckingham Palace in London.
Poles were not immune to the craze over the British royal wedding. The nuptials of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry gathered a large following, who could watch it at the two biggest TV channels – TVP1 and Polsat News. Interestingly, both the engagement photos and the wedding cake were made by people of Polish origins.
Fashion photographer Alex Lubomirski, descendant of the noble House of Lubomirski took the couple’s engagement photos. The wedding cake, reported to cost Kensington Palace around 250,000 PLN (60,700 EUR) was made by American-born Claire Ptak, whose grandmother is Polish.
TFN reported on it in May: The royal weddings Polish twist.
The inquisitive minds on the two sides of Vistula had a lot of what? and how much/many? questions. GDPR, annual percentage rate (RRSO), RCB alert (government’s security centre), and CRP were only some of the abbreviations they needed help untangling.
There were some more philosophical questions too, such as what is independence (especially timely in the year of Poland’s regaining independence centenary), what does it mean to mouth off or what is an offside.
The big question all year long, apart from July and August, was ‘how long until vacation?’ An important issue, it was researched with heightened intensity in Spring and starting September 1st, right when the school year started.
Never say neigh: aging horses get new lease of life on Mazury farm.
It was one week in July, from 15th to 22nd, which brought the most pressing question in the ‘how much/many’ category. How many toes does a horse have? was a mystery brought forward by a question in the TV quiz show Milionerzy, based on the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The correct answer is only one toe.
The show gained its second winner this year. Maria Romanek, a retired Polish language teacher won million zlotys in March. The toes question was posed on July 18th for half a million zlotys. The other questions brought by the show were what is ‘sosręb’ (main beam in a wooden ceiling) and what is ‘habryka’ (tobacco in the language of Polish Gorals).
