See the full list: Australians' serious and surprising searches for 2023

These are the top things Australians were looking for online this year.

A split image. On the left are people wearing green and gold colours cheering. In the middle is a message on a phone that reads "We're sorry for the outage". On the right is the purple, blob-shaped McDonald's mascot Grimace.

The Women's World Cup, Optus network outage, and a limited-edition shake for McDonald's mascot Grimace's birthday were all among the trending search terms of 2023. Source: Getty, AAP

What do the Optus outage, Sam Kerr, and a coronation quiche have in common? They were all among the top things on Australians' minds this year.

Google on Monday published its list of the most searched-for things across the world this year, including what was piquing the interest of Australians.

Among heavier items — the weeks-long Hamas-Israel war, Voice referendum results and devastating Türkiye-Syria earthquake — were some lighter and, perhaps in the opinions of some, stranger queries.

Take King Charles' coronation in May, for example.

Australians might not have been celebrating in the same way as the Brits, but coronation quiche was the most searched-for recipe this year, with queries spiking during the week of the ceremony.

And the second most popular recipe? None other than a DIY version of the Grimace shake, which McDonald's had on limited release in honour of its mascot's 52nd birthday in June. It wasn't available Down Under though; so Australians were looking to recreate it at home.

It was a big year for women's football. Matildas fans new and old turned out in droves to stadiums and live-streaming sites to watch Australia's national team compete. And if they weren't there, they were glued to their TVs, with their matches drawing huge viewership numbers.

So it might come as no surprise that the Women's World Cup was among the top five most searched-for sport-related terms this year. When the Women's World Cup was last held in 2019, it was in tenth position.

FIFA Womens World Cup 2023 - Australia v England - Stadium Australia — The Women's World Cup was among the top 10 sport-related topics Australians were searching for. Credit: Sports Press Photo/Sipa USA

Australians were also keen to find out more, or know the latest, about Matildas stars including captain Sam Kerr, striker Mary Fowler, and defender Ellie Carpenter. They were all on the list of trending Australians, with the first two placing first and second, respectively.

Take a look below to find out who and what else made the list.