Vice Presidential Debate 2012: 'Malarkey,' 'Biden Laughing' and other Hot Google Search Trends Explained

The Vice Presidential Debate between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Paul Ryan took place Thursday evening (Oct. 12), and since then Google search trends for "malarkey" and "Biden laughing" have skyrocketed, along with a number of other "popular" VP-themed keyword phrases. Read on to see just what particular phrases were trending during the Debate event, and explanations as to why.

First off, the "Top 4 Rising Search Terms" during the Debate (based on Google searches between 8:45-10:45 p.m. on Oct. 12):

1.      Biden: President Barack Obama's Vice Presidential candidate running for reelection. Many pundits believe the 69-year-old incumbent was the overall winner of the Debate.

2.      Conflating: Definition is, "bringing together, melding, or fusing."

3.      Malarkey: A popular Biden-ism, the current VP said this in response to Ryan's claims on Libya, "With all due respect, that's a bunch of malarkey."

4.      Who is Winning the Debate: A pretty important factor. Viewers like to see other peoples' opinions, especially political experts, to see how each candidate is faring.

Interesting to note that Paul Ryan does not appear on the list, although his name was being searched more often than Biden's before the Debate.

As for hot Google search terms concerning both individual candidates:

Joe Biden:

1.      Ryan Debate

2.      How old is (69, for those interested).

3.      Laughing: Biden flaunted his pearly whites A LOT during the Debate, some have criticized him for it, saying he wasn't taking his role seriously enough.

4.      Jill: Biden's wife.

Paul Ryan:

1.      Biden Debate

2.      How old he is (much younger, 42).

3.      Shirtless (yeah, Ryan has a pretty buff physique. Pictures of him shirtless while on vaca hit the web like wildfire).

4.      Workout: Again, concerning Ryan's physique. THE VP hopeful follows the intense P90X workout plan - in a recent "Time" profile Ryan participated in a "workout" photoshoot.

So what do readers think of the lists? Who do you think came out victorious in the Debate?