WebProNews

Another search engine, another set of top ten lists for 2008. But hey, they’re always pretty interesting as a sort of mirror of our society. Earlier today, Yahoo and AOL provided their own list of chart-toppers, and now Ask.com has provided WebProNews with their take.

The most interesting set is Ask’s most popular questions posed at its search engine. It seems only natural. Ask says its users form their queries as literal questions three times as much as users on other search engines. Many of those questions have fairly practical answers perhaps our parents should have covered—i.e., How do I get pregnant?—while others get a bit more esoteric.

Ask’s Top Question Searches of 2008:

1. How do I get pregnant?
2. How do I lose weight?
3. How do I write a resume?
4. How much is minimum wage?
5. How much is my car worth?
6. How do I change my name?
7. What is the meaning of life?
8. How do I register to vote?
9. Why is the sky blue?
10. How do I download videos?

Results indicate the answer to number seven can include the appropriate response of 42, along with several other stabs at it. If meaning is what they’re after searchers may have better luck with more definable terms like “maverick,” or “potholes,” both words on Ask-owned Dictionary.com’s top definition gainers list.

Dictionary.com’s Top Gainers of 2008

1.    Maverick
2.    Socialism
3.    Economy
4.    Recession
5.    Radical
6.    Cyclone
7.    Solace
8.    Realtor
9.    Environment
10.    Potholes

Something else evidenced by number seven, sometimes it takes a movie to get the people asking questions. Presumably, those seeking to understand “solace” already discovered “quantum” because of Scott Bakula. And perhaps that number one question was also inspired by the entertainment industry, especially the top celebrity “baby mamas”—hey, Ann Curry on Today used the phrase, so it must be legit, right?—flaunting their newfound fertility in front of every one.

Ask’s Top Celebrity Baby Mamas of 2008

1.    Angelina Jolie
2.    Jessica Alba
3.    Jamie Lynn Spears
4.    Sarah Palin
5.    Jennifer Lopez
6.    Christina Aguilera
7.    Halle Berry
8.    Nicole Kidman
9.    Salma Hayek
10.    Gwen Stefani

Those looking to answer the number one question of 2008 might do well not to follow their celebrity role models so closely though. As a new father, your humble author can tell you it’s probably not the best economic climate in which to produce offspring. Then again, not many of us were ever born under the best of circumstances now were we? If that’s the case, then you’ll be needing to follow the crowd to the results of

Ask’s Top Deals & Steals Searches:

1.    Cheap airline tickets
2.    Used cars
3.    Cheap apartments for rent
4.    Auto insurance deals
5.    Deals on hotels
6.    Cheap prom dresses
7.    Discount theme park tickets
8.    Restaurant coupons
9.    Used textbooks
10.    Cheap gas