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:
- History of the Computer
- History of Mortgage Rates
- Philippine History
- History of Badminton
- Pakistan History
- History of Psychology
- History of the Internet
- History of Physical Education
- American History
- Titanic History
- History of Volleyball
- History of Statistics
- History of Biology
- History of Table Tennis
- History of Measurement
- History of Gymnastics
- History of Swimming
- History of Mathematics
- History of China
- History of Chemistry