Reuters
After popularizing the “Rachel”—a layered, shoulder-length cut in the mid-’90s, Friends actress Jennifer Aniston’s new bob sent Americans into a frenzy yesterday, as “Jennifer Aniston new haircut” became the second hottest trending topic on Google.
That’s quite a feat, even in our celebrity-obsessed culture. After all, it hasn’t exactly been a slow couple of weeks in the world of news. Egyptian citizens drove out President Hosni Mubarak to end a 30-year dictatorship in the nation. Tens of thousands of union members brought national attention to Wisconsin and Governor Scott Walker’s proposal to ban collective bargaining rights, unleasing labor unrest in other states, too. And oh yeah, there’s Libya. Demonstrations continue to escalate there, even as the government brutally beats down peaceful protesters.
(More on TIME.com: See TIME’s review of Aniston’s latest movie, Just Go With It)
Did any of these events make Google’s top trending topics? Nope. Not one. But Jennifer Aniston’s haircut? That got us riled up. But that was not to be outdone, of course, by Justin Bieber’s new ‘do, which generated an online frenzy of its own. We’re not judging, really, we’re not. But caring more about an actress’ new bob over unprecedented revolutions in the Arab world? Just sayin’.
(More on TIME.com: See Justin Bieber’s new haircut)