Google Zeitgeist tells the search story of 2012: Whitney, One Direction and iPads

Google's revealed its annual list of the year's top searches, with the death of Whitney Houston gleaning more requests than even the Gangnam Style juggernaut and site powering over 1.2 trillion searches. One Direction topped the most searched image category, while events like Hurricane Sandy and the Olympics made an impact both in the primary top ten and the people we searched for. The top searched-for gadgets saw a conspicuous absence of the iPhone 5, likely due to its launch in the second half of the year. The new iPad (well, iPad 3) claiming first place, followed by Samsung's Galaxy S III. We've included Google's obligatory uplifting video after the break, if you've already started to forget what happened this year.

Top 10 Global Searches

1. Whitney Houston

2. Gangnam Style

3. Hurricane Sandy

4. iPad 3

5. Diablo 3

6. Kate Middleton

7. Olympics 2012

8. Amanda Todd

9. Michael Clarke Duncan

10. BBB12