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These Were The Answers Canada Needed From Google In 2014

Here's What We Were Too Embarrassed To Ask About (And Googled Instead) In 2014
Tinder

Today, Google Canada (and worldwide) released their trends in search for 2014, and as it does every year, it led us directly down a clickhole of "omigod, remember that?"

But once we recovered from reminiscing about the Raptors' stunning season, Eugenie's Wimbledon finals and the twists of Gone Girl, it turns out we learned an awful lot this year.

After all, when we don't want to appear ignorant in front of our colleagues and friends, who is there to turn to other than the almighty Google?

Take a look at the topics Canadians were most interested in searching this year under the "What Is" category. And we're not ashamed to admit, we definitely added to those stats.

ALS
Thomas Concordia/WireImage
Google's answer: "Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body."
Ebola
CELLOU BINANI/AFP/Getty Image
Google's answer: "an infectious and generally fatal disease marked by fever and severe internal bleeding, spread through contact with infected body fluids by a filovirus ( Ebola virus ), whose normal host species is unknown."
ISIS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Google's answer: "ISIS used to be al-Qaeda in Iraq. An Iraqi soldier during a fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq in January 2014. Ali al-Saadi/AFP/Getty Images. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) used to have a different name: al Qaeda in Iraq." (via Vox)
Bitcoin
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Google's answer: "a type of digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank."
Uber
Bloomberg via Getty Images
Google's answer: "Uber is an app-based transportation network and taxi company headquartered in San Francisco, California, which operates in cities in several countries." (via Wikipedia)
Gamergate
Joanne Rathe/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Alibaba
AP Photo/Mark Lennihan
Google's answer: "Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a Chinese e-commerce company that provides consumer-to-consumer, business-to-consumer and business-to-business sales services via web portals." (via Wikipedia)
Tinder
Google's answer is actually the literal definition of the word ("dry, flammable material, such as wood or paper, used for lighting a fire"), so instead we turn to Marie Claire's guide to the dating app.
Liposarcoma
Scott Tysick via Getty Images
Google's answer: "Liposarcoma is a malignant tumor that arises in fat cells in deep soft tissue, such as that inside the thigh or in the retroperitoneum. They are typically large bulky tumors which tend to have multiple smaller satellites extending beyond the main confines of the tumor."
Skiathlon
AP photo/ TT, Anders Wiklund
Google's answer: "The skiathlon is a cross-country skiing race in two stages. The first stage is done in the classic technique. After the first stage, the racers change skis at a transition area, then continue racing on skating skis using the free technique. The men's race is 30 km total distance, and the women's race is 15 km."

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