“Zeitgeist” means “the spirit of the times,” and this spirit can be seen through the aggregation of billions of search queries Google receives every day. The annual Zeitgeist report reveals what captured the world’s attention in the past year—our passions, interests and defining moments as seen through search.
New Year’s Eve 6:30 AM CT
United States Hot Searches …
Kim Kardashian Pregnant
Adrian Peterson
Tony Romo
Hillary Clinton
Chicago Bears
Seahawks
Andy Reid
2012 Search Trends …
Overall news search trends in the United States
Most Popular in 2012 on The Cardinal — Arlingtoncardinal.com …
Here are the seven most popular articles for the year 2012 on The Cardinal — Arlingtoncardinal.com. In 2012, Arlingtoncardinal.com and supporting websites exceeded 908,000 individual visitors for the year. The Cardinal — Arlingtoncardinal.com and supporting websites reached a milestone of over 3 million visitors since web statistics began in December, 2003.
Paul Harvey: “If I Were The Devil” (Radio Audio and Transcript, Prophetic Warning for a Nation in 1965) Radio announcer Paul Harvey speculates in 1965 what he would do to the world if he were the devil.
Deadly Asian Giant Hornet Spotted in Arlington Heights, Illinois: Not Cicada Killer Wasp An Asian Giant Hornet was spotted in Arlington Heights — not once but twice. They look like a flying toy. They’re a lot bigger than Carpenter Bees, yellow jackets, honeybees — about the size of a big fat thumb. They were spotted about the same time as the short period when Killer Cicada Wasps were active in the area. Some people were skeptical about the Asian Giant Hornet sighting — saying it was just a Killer Cicada Wasp. The markings of the two species are quite different. The Killer Cicada Wasp has a black body with bright yellow markings. The Asian Giant Hornet has orange and dark-brown bands and a bright yellow-orange head. Unless backed into a corner, Killer Cicada Wasps will fly off when confronted. Asian Giant Hornets will square off and attack — and are even known to attack unprovoked. With international cargo areas at O’Hare International Airport less than 10 miles away, it’s possible the big hornet could have cruised over from O’Hare into Arlington Heights. They are known to fly up to 62 miles in a day at speeds up to 25 mph.
Judging from comments, there are other sightings …
Amy reported …
July 31, 2012 at 3:19 pm
“I noticed one of these in my back yard a few weeks ago and have been scouring the internet and polling friends trying to figure out what it was. This is it! I’m near Forest View Rec Center.”
Jason reported …
August 28, 2012 at 2:22 am
“These things are very aggresive and very fast! I live in Athens Il. and have killed 2 in 2 weeks. I have never seen such a large hornet in my life!”
Wes reported …
September 3, 2012 at 10:30 pm
“I’ve killed around 10 of them over the past 2 months. They have always been in pairs. The strange thing is, they have only been seen at night. Over the last 3 weeks, they seemed to have disappeared. I’ve heard of 4-5 other cases of them being in my area. (Central Alabama) I have never seen these hornets until this year.”
Heather Frachel reported …
October 5, 2012 at 8:58 pm
“I live in Bristow VA and the last 2 weeks my house has had numerous visits by the giant hornet. They hang out by the porch lights at night and my fruiting Dogwood Tree during the day. Do they ever sleep?”
Alanna reported …
September 25, 2012 at 11:35 pm
“I live in eastern Virginia, very near Richmond but still a ways into the country. In the past, we have had wasp nests and bees nests around our yard, even hornets. My father is extremely allergic to bee stings, so much so that he has to carry an epinephrine shot with him while he works in the yard. This being said, I obviously am not unfamiliar with all manner of flying insects. Last summer, I noticed these strange, HUGE flying insects – looked like giant bees or hornets- flying around the lights near where I park my car. I work retail so sometimes I don’t get home until really late. Sometimes there would be about 30 of them. As soon as I opened my car door, they would start flying at me. I had to spend the night in my car once because I was too afraid to get out. They have large bodies, 2 inches long with yellow heads and a distinctive cluster of eyes and there are yellow stripes around it’s brown body. I have scoured the internet and compared photos with ones my dad has had to kill just so I could enter my own home. They are Japanese Giant Hornets. Everyone who keeps insisting that these are Cicada Wasps and aren’t aggressive is in serious denial or is trying to cover up for whatever MAJOR screwup took place to get these things here. It’s only gotten worse this year. I’ve had to cut my hours at work so that I don’t come home to find my home swarming and get stung. In all the reports I’ve read (and I’ve gone to an actual library to find books on these things) 2 stings is enough to kill a person. What could happen to my father? My pets? Children in my family who visit?! I am a prisoner in my own home. These things do no respond whatsoever to yard or area treatments for infestations. I don’t know what to do and everyone keeps telling us that we’re overreacting, that what we have seen isn’t what we have seen… When is someone going to start trying to do something about this?
-Trapped in Quinton, Alanna”
Jennifer Weaver reported …
October 20, 2012 at 10:51 am (UNKNOWN LOCATION)
“I was bombarded by one of these wasps. It landed it my coffee cup while I was on the balcony. Right away I realized it was not a cicada killer. The cicada killer’s yellow pattern is very different.”
Marie reported …
September 12, 2012 at 7:59 pm (Chicago’s South Side)
“I saw the asian giant hornet in chicago near rodgers auto group and iit college on state street me and my kids thought we were seeing things…we thought that is the biggest bee I’ve ever seen”
Considering we just had a warm Fall, Winter, and Spring; it seems possible the giant hornets may have had an easier time surviving the Winter season.
Chevy Camaro Destroyed in Trailer Fire on Northwest Highway After Maine East High School Annual Charity Car Show This video went viral after it showed a woman and man transporting a Chevy Camaro in a trailer and getting upset while watching their car burn. The woman sarcastically asked firefighters if this was their first fire, while they were setting up to attack the fire.
VIDEO: NBC ‘Chicago Fire’ Pilot Filmed This Weekend, Finishes Monday for Now at River North The Cardinal was on set for the filming of “Chicago Fire” and took some photos of the fine cast — Taylor Kinney, Eamonn Wlker, and Joe Minoso, for example.
Michael Cacini of Arlington Heights Guilty of Attempted Murder, Aggravated Battery for Punching, Dragging, Running Over Chicago Cop After his arrest in April 2010, Cacini was convicted of attempted murder of a Chicago police officer after a two-day trial in February. He was sentenced to 23 years earlier this month.
‘Mic Check!’ Kiss Controversy at Rick Santorum’s Speech Segment on Values and Freedom Two males kissed in the north grandstand of Grace Gym at Christian Liberty Academy — only to be drowned out by boos to them and the cheering of “USA! USA! USA!” The video went viral and their action was supported online by gay rights advocates.
Bright Green Meteor Streak Visible Wednesday Night from West Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri A bright green meteor was reported about 8:22 p.m. CDT on April 11, 2012 by numerous sky watchers from Michigan to Wisconsin to Illinois to Iowa to Missouri. A Chicago police officer and others reported a plane down. The City of Chicago sent out a Chicago Fire Department helicopter and a Chicago Police Department helicopter to search for a downed aircraft near Wolf Lake on the south side of Chicago. No aircraft or debris were discovered. Many witnesses reported the meteor as brilliant green with a tail. A video of the meteor was captured in Madison, Wisconsin at the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (see article).