This week people searched for free coffee, the death of a media mogul, help with IKEA tasks and new wheels from Ford. And as Puerto Rico reels from the devastation of Hurricane Maria, people want to know how they can help. Here are the top trends of the week, with data from Google News Lab.
Hurricane Maria
Puerto Rico continues to grapple with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which left many without power and desperate for food, electricity and communication services. People in the U.S. continue to search for “hurricane donation” (interest went up 185% this week), as well as “How powerful was Hurricane Maria?” “How to donate to Puerto Rico” and “What is the Jones Act?” (A law that was waived to get relief to Puerto Rico quicker). The top regions searching for Puerto Rico were Florida, Connecticut and New Jersey.
Caffeine fiends
Wake up and smell the coffee—it’s National Coffee Day! And everyone is after the free java, with searches like, “Is Starbucks doing anything for National Coffee Day?” “Who gives free coffee on National Coffee Day?” and “What is National Coffee Day at Dunkin Donuts?” Cold brew coffee, butter coffee, and Irish coffee (for those starting early…) are the most searched types of coffee this week.
RIP Hef
Hugh Hefner passed away this week at the age of 91. Upon hearing the news, people searched to find out more about Hefner’s fortune and infamous love life: “How much was Hugh Hefner worth?” “Who gets Hugh Hefner’s money?” and “Who was Hugh Hefner married to?” Hefner will be buried next to Marilyn Monroe, Playboy’s first cover girl (search interest in Monroe went up 570% this week as well).
But will they assemble the meatballs, too?
This week, two of the top searched questions about IKEA were: “How to build IKEA Tarva nightstand” and “How to remove IKEA drawer front.” Well, now you can get some help with that. This week, IKEA closed a deal to buy the online errand company TaskRabbit so that the dreaded phrase “assembly required” will become slightly less scary. Those who are keen on IKEA are searching the most for dressers, desks, rugs, kitchen cabinets and beds.
Riding in style
Ford is getting revved up with its new F-450 Super Duty Limited truck, which can cost as much as $100,000 and tows 15 tons … talk about luxury. Search interest for the new truck went into overdrive—“Ford Truck” was searched 2000% more than “Ford SUV.” People are doing their due diligence on the Super Duty, searching “Where is the F-250 Super Duty made?” “What is the MPG of a Ford Super Duty Diesel?” and “What roof bars fit a Ford Super Duty?”