Pokemon Go tops Scots' Google searches in 2016

In a year of political upheavals, you may expect the most commonly Googled question among residents in Scotland's two largest cities to focus on either Brexit or Donald Trump.

Pokemon Go was the most popular Google search in Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2016. Picture: John Devlin/TSPL

But according to data revealed by the internet search engine today, dwellers in Edinburgh and Glasgow both had a far more pressing question on their minds - what is Pokemon Go?

Queries on how to play the Japanese smart phone game, which was released in the UK to ecstatic reviews in July, topped the list of most popular searches in both cities for 2016.

Questions asking what Brexit and Article 50 are also made the top 10.

Unlike other major UK cities, residents in Edinburgh and Glasgow did not ask how to vote - perhaps a reflection on the number of major elections and referendums taking place in Scotland in recent years.

Bizarrely, the 10th most searched for question in Edinburgh asked what Mountain of Butterflies is - a reference to the discovery of the overwintering place of the graceful monarch butterfly had taken several decades of searching by thousands of volunteers.

Other commonly asked questions in the two cities included how to make pasta, omelettes and even how to cook a leg of lamb.

Matt Cooke, Head of Google’s News Lab in London said: “The diversity in the top 10 most trending topics of the year show how which political events have dominated the zeitgeist.”

EDINBURGH

Top 10 ‘what is...’ searches

What is Pokemon Go?

What is Brexit?

What is Article 50?

What is Sepsis?

What is the single market?

What is a grammar school?

What is a hernia?

What is autism?

What is Sky Q?

What is the Mountain of Butterflies?

Top 10 ‘how to...’ searches

How to play Pokemon Go

How to screenshot on a Mac

How to tie a tie

How to poach an egg

How to make pasta

How to draw

How to play basketball on messenger

How to work out a percentage

How to delete photos on iPhoto

How to install Kodi

GLASGOW

Top 10 ‘what is...’ searches

What is Pokemon Go?

What is Brexit?

What is a coup?

What is Bastille Day?

What is Thanksgiving?

What is Article 50?

What is MS?

What is Lupus?

What is the minimum wage?

What is the Mountain of Butterflies?

Top 10 ‘how to...’ searches

How to play Pokemon Go

How to update Kodi

How to lose weight

How to poach an egg

How to be happy

How to make an omelette

How to lose belly fat

How to cook a leg of lamb

How to make sweet potato fries

How to delete Facebook