Six Surprising Things You Can Learn From 2009's Most Popular Google Searches

Contrary to popular belief, the world is not searching the Internet mostly for porn.

On Tuesday, Google published its ninth annual Zeitgeist survey, a collection of rankings of search term trends that the company calls its "view into the spirit of the times." Many of the results, which are grouped into categories ranging from "headline news" to "Internet memes" to "lyrics," are what you'd expect: Michael Jackson's death made him the fastest rising search term worldwide, while people aren't so interested in "Beijing 2008" anymore, dropping searches about last summer's Olympics to the top of the fastest falling list. Some of the entries, though, are much less familiar, especially to Americans -- and likely set off a fresh round of Google searches for information about the under- or off-the-radar trends that underlie them.

Here's what we found on a half-dozen of the more surprising results of the 2009 Google Zeitgeist survey:

The Only Celebrities More Popular Than Lady Gaga This Year Are Dead
Along with Jackson, Natasha Richardson and Farrah Fawcett also finished among the 10 fastest rising Googled terms in the United States this year, at eight and nine, respectively. (Walter Cronkite, Patrick Swayze and Billy Mays, sadly, did not.) It's a measure of the former Stefani Germanotta's sudden -- and some would say inexplicable -- fame that she was the only living person who made the list, placing 10th. She was also the most popular image search (those costumes likely helped), while her breakout single "Poker Face" topped searches for song lyrics.

Spanish for Facebook is 'Tuenti'
Actually, it's just "Facebook." But the invitation-only social networking site Tuenti is the rage in Spain right now. Founded in 2006, the site has millions of members and is the second most highly trafficked site in Spain, according to the company's Web site. Its increasing popularity moved it to third fastest rising search term in Google's global rankings, up from fourth in 2008.

There's Never An In-N-Out Burger Around When You Need One
Though the Google map of California is dotted with In-N-Out locations, the cult burger chain is the third highest searched for location -- but then, when you're craving an Animal Style burger, nothing else will do. Even more fascinating is the appearance of Voodoo Doughnuts at ninth place on the Google Maps list. It has just two locations in Portland, Ore. -- suggesting that either Voodoo is inspiring long-distance doughnut pilgrimages, or that its Grape Apes and Arnold Palmers are so mind-blowingly good that afterward Portlanders forget how to find their way back to the shops.

Car Racing Fans Are a Geographically Curious Bunch
The second fastest rising Google Maps search was for a place called Laguna Seca, or, more formally, the Mazda Speedway Laguna Seca. As for the surge in interest in its exact location, it may have something to do with the fact that earlier this year the course hosted a record-breaking lap by a 2010 Dodge Viper, which zoomed around its twists and turns in 1:33. (You can watch a video here.)

Britons Look for Love In All the Wrong Places
In the United Kingdom, the No. 1 emotion searched for was "love." Finishing second: "alone."

Today's American Teens Are More Tech Savvy, No Less Awkward
The top "How To" search term in the United States was "How to kiss." Also, and somewhat encouragingly, "How to fight" came in 10th.