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Robin Williams Tragedy Leads Google's List of Top 2014 Searches


FILE - A Google search page is seen through a magnifying glass in this photo illustration.
FILE - A Google search page is seen through a magnifying glass in this photo illustration.
U.S. actor Robin Williams poses for photographers during a photo call
U.S. actor Robin Williams poses for photographers during a photo call

U.S. entertainer Robin Williams's suicide topped Internet search engine Google's list of global search requests in 2014.

Williams, an Academy Award-winning actor and comedian beloved for his rapid-fire, improvisational routines, hanged himself in his home near San Francisco, California in August. His death shocked fans and admirers flocking to Google to seek information about his career, as well as topics on suicide and depression.

After Williams's suicide, Google's other top searches were the World Cup tournament in Brazil, the Ebola virus outbreak, the tragedy-plagued Malaysia Airlines, and the "Ice Bucket Challenge," which had people going online dousing themselves with ice water to raise money to fight the degenerative muscular disorder commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

The Middle East extremist group ISIS, the popular animated movie Frozen, and the Sochi Olympics were part of Google's top ten list of global searches for 2014.

Material for this report came from AP and AFP.

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