'What does the red button do?' tops Czech internet searches in 2022

Internet searches are a reliable mirror of collective thoughts and worries at a given time. Statistics from the Seznam.cz search engine for the year 2022 were a case in point. The most searched questions in Czech predictably revolved around current and annual events (winter time and the war in Ukraine) as well as seasonal activities such as mushroom picking.

It also turned out some head-scratchers related to the operation of certain household appliances and inquiries about a beloved Hollywood actor's medical diagnosis. The data's reliability rests upon the fact that half of Czechs use Seznam.cz at least once a month.

Searches about mushroom picking started popping up as soon as the mushrooms themselves appeared in Czech forests, meaning at the end of April, and only subsided once the mushroom season was over in November.

Technology-related questions are rife in our day and age, as gadgets tend to malfunction, like remotes whose red buttons cause confusion among users. In case the red button refuses to do anything, an urban legend says that reading the instruction manual that comes with the remote, might help.

As for cucumbers, their season in the months of July and August is also a good time to try your hand at pickling them in brine using our recipe that ensures they won't turn out bitter.

On a more serious note, the outbreak of the war in Ukraine dominated searches in several categories, with people worried about a potential nuclear attack, and wanting to know about the martial law which the country imposed after the Russian attack in February. The law has been prolonged several times, most recently until Feb. 19, 2023, according to Kyiv Independent.

The aphasia diagnosis of Bruce Willis also made people curious about the disease, which can affect a person's ability to speak, listen, read and write.

Questions about Mother's Day dominated searches in the time category. Interestingly enough, although the celebration falls in the second Sunday in May, which in 2022 was May 14, searches continued after that date, in an indication that some might have been caught red-faced by the special date.

Questions in the practical category were a good reflection of what people were up to at any given point in the year – take summer, when grilling is a favorite pastime, or fall, when the windy skies are ideal for flying kites, provided you know how to make them. Last but not least, choosing a carp for Christmas dinner is a matter that Czech households don't take lightly, leading to a surge in internet searches.