These are the most popular 'how to' searches, Google says

Have you ever asked Google how to do something? You're not alone, as a new data visualization site from Google's News Lab and data journalist Xaquín González Veira shows - it compiles all of the most popular how to searches into an interactive graphic that you can adjust based on where you are in the world.

"We looked at what things we need the most help with around the house, from the simplest how-to-fit-a-bulb kind of fixes, to those fixes for which we know we need a professional, but our ego makes us take upon ourselves to at least try," says Viera.

Enter your location on the page and you can see how searches in your country match up against the rest of the world when it comes to getting guides on how to fix windows, doors, light bulbs, sinks, toilets and more.

Help me Google, you're my only hope

"North Americans and East Asians need their toilets, people in former Soviet countries are fearless enough to attempt fixing their own washing machines, warmer climates can't live without a fridge - makes sense - and North and Eastern Europeans need help fixing their light bulbs," explains Viera.

Other searches often tapped into Google include how to boil an egg, how to tell if a guy likes you, how to get a passport, how to tie a tie, how to lose weight (which pops up around the same time each year) and, of course, how to make money.

Viral how to queries are covered too, including ones for loom bands after a February 2014 Jimmy Kimmel show, and ones for the cup song, after Pitch Perfect hit cinemas. You can spend quite a few interesting minutes clicking around the site, so go and check out all the how to data it's got to offer.

TOPICS
David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

Latest in Search Engines
Perplexity search on a laptop.
How to replace Google Search with Perplexity AI
Google Learn About
Google Learn About is the patient teacher with a bag full of tricks we all wanted as kids
Bing
Microsoft is so desperate for people to drop Google for Bing it’s offering a $1 million reward
ChatGPT Search
I tried ChatGPT Search and now I might never Google again
Google AI Overviews
Google’s AI Overviews are now available to help a billion people avoid reading full articles
A person holding an iPhone close to the camera with the Google search homepage displayed onscreen
Judge rules Google has illegal search monopoly and you might not like what comes next
Latest in News
Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses
Samsung's rumored smart specs may be launching before the end of 2025
Apple iPhone 16 Review
The latest iPhone 18 leak hints at a major chipset upgrade for all four models
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Monday, March 24 (game #1155)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, March 24 (game #386)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, March 24 (game #652)
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Sunday, March 23 (game #1154)