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Hurricane Irma, iPhone, Matt Lauer, Meghan Markle, Bitcoin, Despacito and fidget spinner are among the top Google searches for 2017.

People from the United States and Caribbean islands understandably had great interest in hurricanes. The category 5 Hurricane Irma caused widespread damage on Caribbean islands and in the American state of Florida in September. Not long before Irma, Hurricane Harvey flooded the city of Houston, Texas.

From Taiwan to Ghana, and Germany to Sri Lanka, everyone seemed to search for the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X this year. The search for Apple smart phones outdistanced other technology news for the year.

People searched for Matt Lauer more than any other person in 2017. The well-known television host of a morning news program was dismissed in November after a coworker accused him of sexual abuse.

American actress Meghan Markle also made Google's list. She and Britain's Prince Harry announced their engagement in late November. Markle is best known for her work on the television show Suits.

Searches for "bitcoin" also rose in November around the world. Since the virtual currency is still something of a mystery, most people looked for "What is Bitcoin", "How to buy Bitcoin" and "How to mine Bitcoins."

This summer, the hit dance song Despacito became the most-streamed song ever. Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi and rap singer Daddy Yankee released Despacito, which means slowly in Spanish, in both Spanish and English. The song drew interest in many countries including Egypt, Vietnam and Croatia.

A fidget spinner is a small ball-bearing device that users can rotate very quickly between their fingers. It was originally seen as a device to help people who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Many teachers barred students from using fidget spinners during class. So, students decided to try to construct their own fidget spinner using paper. The search term "How to make a paper fidget spinner" became a top search in May, just in time for the end of the school year in the United States.

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English based on Google Trends. Ashley Thompson was the editor.