The most searched news stories made on Yahoo! UK and Ireland this year shows just how dominant the royals and the London Games were in 2012. 'Olympics' was the most searched-for term, closely followed by 'Kate Middleton'. The huge influence of technology on our lives was reflected in 'iPhone 5' being third, while 'Windows 8' and 'Blackberry' also featured in the top 20. The story of missing schoolgirl April Jones only broke in October, but such was the public concern for the missing five-year-old that she was the fourth most searched term this year. Similarly, Madeleine McCann has been missing for over four years now, but she remains in the British public's thoughts and was the 14th most searched-for term of 2012. Elsewhere, the staggering popularity of erotic novel '50 Shades of Grey' saw it reach number seven in the top 20 list, proving more popular than 'Euro 2012' (9th), 'Prince Harry' (10th), and Hurricane Sandy (15th).
