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'Brexit' beats off 'porn' in search terms

Google Trends shows a rapid rise in searches for information related to the UK's vote to leave the EU.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
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Protesters gather outside the Houses of Parliament in London to protest against the EU referendum result.

 Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images

People are more interested in Britain pulling out of the European Union than in pornography.

Searches for the word "Brexit" -- a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit" -- spiked on Friday 24 June, the day it was announced the UK population had voted to leave the EU. The spike was so priapic it eclipsed searches for "porn", the Guardian's Chris Moran spotted.

With the implications of the Brexit vote still unclear, Google Trends shows the spike in searches lasting a couple of days, dwarfing other popular searches such as "Taylor Swift" and "Donald Trump".

"Porn" is consistently one of the most searched-for words on the internet, up there with people searching for their Gmail, Amazon or Craigslist accounts.

Watch this: Online petition to annul Brexit vote has millions of signatures