Casey Anthony reacts to being found not guilty on murder charges as she stands next to her attorney Jose Baez at the Orange County Courthouse on July 5, 2011 in Orlando, Florida.
According to figures released by Bing, the most searched news story of the year in 2011 was the “Casey Anthony Trial,” outpacing “Osama Bin Laden Death.” When it comes to the Internet, sensation is king.
And while celebrity deaths were (unfortunate) hot searches—“Michael Jackson Trial/Conrad Murray” was seventh on the list and “Any Winehouse Death” was fifth—natural disasters actually ruled the web. The popularity of “Hurricane Irene” (third), “Japan Earthquake/Tsunami” (fourth) and “Joplin Tornado” (sixth) illustrates our desire to know just how bad other people’s lives have turned.
(PHOTOS: The Trial of Casey Anthony)
Milestones showed up on the list too, with “9/11 10 Anniversary” (eighth) and “Haiti Anniversary” (10th) both cracking the list. And what’s a top 10 list without some politics? “Republican Candidates – Hermain Cain, Rick Perry” slipped into the list at ninth.
Justin Bieber took over the most-searched person title, making him the only male on the top 10 list. He edged out Jennifer Aniston, Lindsay Lohan, Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian, 2010’s leader.
For sports figures, tennis star Maria Sharapova tipped Tiger Woods by 4% for the top spot. Tennis remained popular, as Serena Williams came in at third and Caroline Wozniacki was fifth. Brett Favre somehow remained relevant, sliding in at fourth.
To keep our celebrity obsession in perspective, the three Kardashians were all in the top-five of most searched reality stars and American Idol was the most searched television show. Of course, when you look simply at celebrity events, the Royal Wedding was the most searched. How was that not considered a news event?