Coffee, negative oil prices and Oktoberfest: what people are searching for on Google amid coronavirus

Google Trends shows how we're engaging our curiosity as Covid-19 sends ripples throughout the world

Search around coffee has hit a record high during the coronavirus outbreak. AP

In these unprecedented times when the coronavirus seems to impact just about every aspect of our lives, the world is looking for answers on just about everything.

Recent Google search trends data shows the breadth and depth of that curiosity, as people continue to seek answers while also exploring random interests.

In recent weeks, according to the internet search giant, there has been unprecedented interest in coffee, based on data going back to 2004.

"Coffee has reached its highest peak ever in search interest," tweeted Google in a social media thread about searches taking place amid Covid-19.

Not to be overshadowed by coffee, however, was the curiosity surrounding UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is still recovering from coronavirus. In a tweeted GIF animation, Google indicated there was a 5,000 per cent increase in UK specific searches for "When will Boris Johnson return to work?"

Around the world, the topic of oil proved to be something that really captured the fascination and possible panic of people as US oil prices turned negative for the first time in history.

According to Google, there was a 5,000 per cent increase in people asking "What does negative oil prices mean?" as well as "How can oil prices go negative?"

It also showed how some might be seeking to take a less-than-stellar situation and make the most out of it. Searches for "Should I buy oil stocks now?" increased 1,900 per cent.

There was also a lingering dismay made apparent by the cancellation of Oktoberfest. At one point, that dismay manifested into the question of "How many times has Oktoberfest been cancelled?"

Searches for that particular question increased 3,400 per cent around the world on Tuesday.

Google has routinely made search trend data available to anyone, but the company recently started a specific page dedicated to Covid-19 related inquiries, complete with line graphs detailing how symptoms are being searched.

While Google does not specifically comment on why certain trends spike, a spokesperson for the search company offered the following overall insight: "Google Trends showcases the people, topics, events, and dishes that capture the world’s attention everyday. Just as Search can help you explore and discover the world of information, there are many ways to explore the day or month or year through the lens of Google Search," said Salma El Shahed, communications and public affairs manager at Google.

"From overall global stories to hundreds of top 10 lists of trending topics across pop culture, sports, music, food, news, and more from across dozens of countries," she added.

The search-giant also offers some insight into the methodology for how the searches are calculated.

"By sampling data, we can look at a dataset representative of all Google searches, while finding insights that can be processed within minutes of an event happening in the real world," the company writes on its Google Trends FAQ website.

Google also goes into detail about how it helps to ensure the accuracy of the search trends it lists.

"Google Trends data reflects searches people make on Google every day, but it can also reflect irregular search activity, such as automated searches or queries that may be associated with attempts to spam our search results."

The company also emphasised that the search data is anonymised, so that individual users are not identified, categorised, or aggregated.