Google Product Helping Blog

In just a few hours, people across the U.S. will be settling in for a day of food, family and football as they celebrate Thanksgiving. As the day of gluttony and gratitude comes closer, people have been turning to Google to plan the big meal, get cooking tips and more. Here�s a look at some of the top Turkey Day searches�for more, see Google Trends . The reason for the season In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, people turn to Google to learn more about the origins of the holiday and its traditions, both new and old. Top questions include �Why did the pilgrims celebrate the first Thanksgiving?� and �What president made Thanksgiving a national holiday?� The other reason for the season Gratitude may be in the name, but food is the centerpiece of Thanksgiving. For weeks now people have been searching for recipes to wow their relatives this Thursday, from classics like cranberry relish and mashed potatoes to turkey alternatives like lasagna and beef stew. Here�s a look at the top recipe...

�How many days until Halloween?� �What should I be for Halloween?� In the weeks leading up to All Hallows� Eve you turn to Google Search to ask these two crucial questions. So with just days left to perfect a costume for yourself, your kid, your pooch or your partner, here�s a look at some of the top Halloween costume trends across the United States. For more, see  Frightgeist , our Google Trends Halloween hub. Hair-raising If your costume involves a certain familiar �do, prepare to have company. Get-ups based on the bombastic GOP candidate for President are spiking, with the top-related search being �Donald Trump wig.� And don�t go looking for blue or purple hair-dye at the last minute on Saturday: chances are it will already have been bought up by kids dressing up as Disney�s �Descendants� characters Mal and Evie. And if you�re aiming for a unique costume, you might want to avoid buns on the side of your head too. �Star Wars� is the second most searched costume nationwide, and wi...

Even if you weren�t trying to keep up with all your fall shows returning, this week was a busy one. Here�s a look at what captured our attention the past seven days�from the Pope to a little rat with a big dream. Also, we�re changing up this series, so this will be our last regular Friday post for a while. We�ll be back soon in a different format. Until then, keep on searchin� on. Pizza rat is all of us Let�s start with the important stuff. This week the Internet was captivated by a YouTube video showing a rat carrying a slice of pizza down the stairs of a New York subway station. There were more than 50K+ searches for �Pizza Rat� on Monday, and the 14 second-video has more than 6 million views at last count. But while #PizzaRat memes multiplied across the web, New Yorkers had some more unsettling questions in mind, like: �How many rats are in New York?� and �What is the rat to people ratio in New York?� (Are you sure you want to know?) Whether Pizza Rat is a hero or a quitter , so...

Another week flown by�sometimes the pace is enough to make you need a dislike button . Here�s a look at the past seven days as seen through Google Search: Tick tock A 14-year-old teenager named Ahmed Mohamed found himself in the spotlight this week, with searches for his name soaring above 500K. Mohamed, who lives in Texas and is Muslim, was arrested on Monday after he brought a clock that he�d made himself to school and it was mistaken for a bomb. In the days that followed, thousands of people expressed their support for Mohamed online with the hashtag #IStandwithAhmed, and he received invitations to visit the White House, MIT, Facebook�and yes, even Google. As more and more people heard about the story, they turned to search with questions like �What did Ahmed�s clock look like?� and �What was Obama�s response to Ahmed�s clock?� Nature�s ways California has been battling brutal wildfires this year, as the drought has dried up fields and forests across the state. Last week�s Butte Fi...