Searching History

This week Yahoo! Buzz provides a telling glimpse into the popular historical mind with a list of last Sunday’s top twenty “history” searches. Perhaps predictably the list leans towards the geeky (“History of the Computer” and “History of the Internet”), which probably reflects the technological and scientific biases of internet users, and towards the recreational (“History of Badminton” and “History of Swimming”), which probably reflects the fact the sample was taken on the weekend. But there are some oddballs in there as well, for instance “History of Mortgage Rates” at #3 and “Titanic History” at #10. Interestingly, moreover, “American History” ranks below both “Philippine History” and “Pakistan History”.

Here’s the whole list:

1. History of the Computer
2. History of Mortgage Rates
3. Philippine History
4. History of Badminton
5. Pakistan History
6. History of Psychology
7. History of the Internet
8. History of Physical Education
9. American History
10. Titanic History
11. History of Volleyball
12. History of Statistics
13. History of Biology
14. History of Table Tennis
15. History of Measurement
16. History of Gymnastics
17. History of Swimming
18. History of Mathematics
19. History of China
20. History of Chemistry