Yahoo searches: Here's what we wanted to find

When it came to what was on America's mind in 2011, technology beat out a high-profile defendant, several actresses, a natural disaster and the death of a terrorist.

The iPhone won top honors in Yahoo's annual accounting of what people searched for online using its search engine in the past year. Casey Anthony, the young mother accused and then acquitted of killing her daughter in 2008, came in second.

Female entertainers made a fine showing on the top 10 overall list, with Kim Kardashian and her split-second marriage coming in at No. 3 in a grouping that also included singer Katy Perry at No. 4, Jennifer Lopez at No. 5 ("American Idol," which she hosts, was No. 7), Lindsay Lohan at No. 6 and Jennifer Aniston at No. 8.

Male entertainers were a no-show in the top 10, which was rounded out by Japan's earthquake in March and Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader and Sept. 11 mastermind who was killed by U.S. troops in May.

Last year the top search was the BP oil spill, while Michael Jackson dominated 2009. But this was certainly not the first big year for female entertainers. Britney Spears was the top search over four years, from 2005 through 2008.

The overall top 10 is not the only list featured on Yahoo's Year in Review.

Drill down through the categories and you find that mobile users in 2011 searched for iPhone 5, Powerball and MLB.

News hounds looked most often for the Casey Anthony trial, the royal wedding and the death of bin Laden.

Yahoo says the "top obsessions" of 2011 were Charlie Sheen, The Rapture, Tiger Mom, Rebecca Black's "Friday" and Angry Birds. We were somewhat less obsessed with planking, extreme couponing, a government shutdown, Game of Thrones and mortgage rates.

In the category of athlete searches, Americans hunted for Danica Patrick most often, with Tiger Woods in second and Manny Pacquiao in third place.

In money news, we wanted the Dow Jones Index, gold prices and FAFSA, the federal student aid program.

Sarah Palin was the most searched-for politician, ahead of Barack Obama and Michele Bachman.

And a lot of people wanted the lyrics to Nicki Minaj's "Super bass" and two Bruno Mars songs, "The Lazy Song" and "Grenade." As for movies, we wondered about "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2" and "Twilight: Breaking Dawn."

We also had some questions: How to tie a tie, to kiss, to lose weight. ...

If all these lists are making you hungry, you are not alone. In droves we looked up recipes for breakfast, how to cook chicken and what to concoct in the Crock Pot. Followed, of course, by dessert: ice cream, Dippin' Dots and cake pops.

Email: lois@desnews.com, Twitter: loisco