It's been a yr TikTok. The social media video portal reached 170 million users within the US and one billion worldwide, sharing ideas, products, dance videos and more. According to a year-end survey, users flocked to topics like food, music, sports, and books—and The top trends of this yr even included a librarian from the Bay Area. Here's a have a look at among the hottest trends:

Eat
Unique and delicious variations on popular staples like peanut butter and pickles were one among the various top food trends. NerdyNuts, a dessert-style nut butter company and Kaylin and Kaylin Pickles, According to the report, each of them took their products from farmers markets to online videos and sold a fun-flavored pickle business with great success.

Music
TikTok spotlighted latest artists, rediscovered some classics, and was the final word fandom platform. The top 10 US songs have inspired 140 million TikTok creations worldwide, with breakout hits like Tommy Richman's MILLION DOLLAR BABY (VHS) leading the best way.

Top 10 US Songs (Ranked by variety of creations with music.)

1. 1. MILLION DOLLAR BABY (VHS) by Tommy Richman
   2. CARNIVAL by ¥$ & Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign feat. Rich The Kid & Playboi Carti
   3. Tell Ur Girlfriend by Lay Bankz
   4. Type Shit by Future & Metro Boomin & Travis Scott & Playboi Carti
   5. Never Lose Me by Flo Milli
   6. Champagne Coast by Blood Orange
   7. BIRDS OF A FEATHER by Billie Eilish
   8. Magic Johnson by ian
   9. TGIF by GloRilla
   10. Gata Only by FloyyMenor & Cris Mj

Mega pop star Sabrina Carpenter was the highest female artist within the US. Her music, which included the hits Espresso, Please Please Please, and Taste, collectively generated over 15 million TikTok video creations, making her one among the world's biggest artists on the platform.

Top 10 US Artists (Ranked by variety of creations with music.)

1. Sabrina Carpenter
2. Ice seasoning
3. NLE Choppa
4. Billie Eilish
5. Meghan Trainor
6. Olivia Rodrigo
7. Addison Rae
8. KATSEYE
9. Benson Boone
10. Lay Bankz

sport
The Olympics, Paralympics and #womeninsports contributed to a 350 percent increase in sports posts on TikTok. Women's sports alone saw an explosive increase of two,400 percent last yr because of athletes like Caitlin Clark, Simone Biles and Ilona Maher. Additionally, 80 percent of TikTok users within the U.S. said they follow or are all for the WNBA, and 30 percent more would likely say that “women's sports are exciting to watch,” the report said. This bodes well for the success of the Bay Area's latest skilled women's sports teams, the WNBA Golden State Valkyries and the NWSLs Bay FC, which made the playoffs in its inaugural yr.

Books
The literary scene also flourished on TikTok in 2024. #BookTok, a thriving community of book lovers, has created greater than 1.2 million posts in the primary 10 months of 2024. The hashtag helped highlight obscure titles and fuel literary trends, including “library joy.” .” Mychal Threets, A former Fairfield librarian has used the platform to rejoice libraries and offer book recommendations, library suggestions and affirming messages – inspiring literary fans latest and old.

Originally published: December 30, 2024 at 10:03 am PST

The online video giant YouTube has published its annual financial statements Top US trend lists for 2024 and includes Bay Area content creators.

The variety of original content creators, particularly video podcasts, has continued to grow on YouTube in 2024 as users search for alternatives to traditional news sources. In addition to video podcasts like “Club Shay Shay” and “The Joe Rogan Experience” All that smoke Hosted by former Golden State Warriors teammates Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, the film was the highest viewer last 12 months. According to YouTube, the cheeky podcast even hosted presidential candidates, demonstrating its influence and cultural relevance.

Gaming continues to be a giant driver of online video. This 12 months, San Mateo-based Roblox's Dress to impress The game has quickly turn into a world phenomenon. The competitive fashion game appeals to gamers and non-gamers alike and features IRL fashion competitions, beauty routines and fan art, in line with YouTube. Since the start of 2024, there have been greater than 4 billion views of gaming videos with variations of “Dress to Impress” within the title.

Here's a take a look at the highest YouTube trends within the US in 2024:

Trending topics

• 2024 United States presidential election
• Kendrick Lamar
• Sean Combs scandal
• Jujutsu Kaisen
• Amazing digital circus
• Hazbin Hotel
• Dress to impress
• Deadpool and Wolverine
• Sabrina Carpenter
• Helldivers 2

Top songs

1 Tommy Richman – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2 Lay Bankz – Tell your girlfriend
3 prodbycpkshawn – Pop like this Pt. 2 (slowed)
4 Odetari – CONTINUE
5 Bobby Caldwell – What you wouldn't do for love
6 pictures, Joyful – Bounce (I Just Wanna Dance)
7 Eternxlkz – SLAY!
8 Megan Thee Stallion – Mamushi (feat. Yuki Chiba)
9 Surf Curse – Disco
10 Steve Lacy – Static

Top Creators

1 MrBeast
2 Stokes twins
3UR · Cristiano
4 caseOh
5 Zack D. Movies
6 Nick DiGiovanni
7 Jordan matter
8 Mark Robert
9 The Trench Family
10 Camilla Araujo

Originally published: December 18, 2024 at 1:41 pm PST

Search giant Google has released its lists of the highest search queries within the US in 2024. The presidential election, the Olympics and extreme weather were, unsurprisingly, at the highest of an important lists.

The Bay Area was well-represented within the polls due to Kamala Harris, who ranked high in overall searches and folks in her bid for the U.S. presidency. Other search topics with strong local ties included athletes (San Francisco 49ers star Brandon Aiyuk) and films (Pixar's “Inside Out 2,” which was No. 1 on the list).

The top Google searches within the Bay Area included sports: Copa América and the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the New York Yankees within the World Series.

Here's a take a look at Google's top search listings within the US:

Top searches:

1. Choice
2. Donald Trump
3. Connections
4. New York Yankees
5. Kamala Harris
6. America's Cup
7. Hurricane Milton tracker
8. Number of Olympic medals
9. Toby Keith
10. Liam Payne

News:

1. 1st alternative
2. America's Cup
3. Olympia
4. Hurricane Milton
5. Paralympic Games
6. Project 2025
7. Trump shot
8. Parliamentary election results
9. Heat advice
10. Hurricane Helene

People:

1. Donald Trump
2. Kamala Harris
3. JD Vance
4. Joe Biden
5. Catherine, Princess of Wales
6. Tim Waltz
7. Mike Tyson
8. Jill Stone
9. usher
10. Imane Khelif

Athletes:

1. Mike Tyson
2. Imane Khelif
3. Simone Biles
4. Scottie Scheffler
5. Jake Paul
6. Anthony Edwards
7. Caitlin Clark
8. Harrison Butker
9. Jordan Chiles
10. Brandon Aiyuk

Films:

1. “Inside Out 2”
2. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”
3. “It ends with us”
4. “salt burn”
5. “Dune: Part Two”
6. “Twister”
7. “Deadpool and Wolverine”
8. “Despicable Me 4”
9. “Terrifier 3”
10. “Alien: Romulus”

Originally published: December 10, 2024 at 1:45 pm PST

WASHINGTON – An iconoclastic film legend and one in all the world's most enduring music acts lead this 12 months's Kennedy Center Honors recipients.

director Francis Ford Coppola And the grateful dead is honored for his life's work in the humanities, along with jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, blues legend Bonnie Raitt and the legendary Harlem Theater The Apollothat has produced generations of black artists.

This forty seventh 12 months of the Kennedy Center shall be honored with a night of tributes, confessions and performances on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on December 8. The ceremony shall be broadcast on CBS on December 23.

The Grateful Dead began as a folk-inspired quintet in Nineteen Sixties psychedelic-era San Francisco and regularly evolved right into a cultural phenomenon and some of the successful touring acts of all time.

Fueled by the carnival spirit of their traveling Deadhead fan base and an ethos that encouraged tape swapping and prioritized live performances over studio productions, the Dead have endured several generations and remain extremely popular. Lead guitarist and founding member Jerry Garcia died in 1995, however the band continues to tour almost repeatedly in various incarnations.

“There are a lot of ingredients in there,” said drummer Mickey Hart when asked concerning the music's longevity. “The fans say the shows feel like home. It gives them this feeling of connection and community and joy and love for life and music.”

The band is currently called Dead and Company and is replaced by guitarist John Mayer, who’s currently acting at The Sphere in Las Vegas for several months.

Coppola, 85, has established himself as a groundbreaking filmmaker, winning five Oscars and earning a fame as an ambitious artist willing to risk his fame and funds for his vision. Even after the massive successes of “The Godfather” and a sequel, Coppola nearly drove himself out of business during filming. “Apocalypse now,” which turned out to be one other classic.

He sometimes wondered if he had upset too many influential people along the method to ever be included within the Kennedy Center Honors.

“I've been eligible for the past 20 years, and the fact that I never got it made me feel like I might never get it,” said Coppola, who attended fellow director Martin Scorsese's induction in 2007. “I just assumed I wasn't going to win it, so it was a surprise and a joy to hear that I was selected.”

Coppola, who has been producing wine from his Northern California vineyard for greater than 40 years, also made sure to focus on one other Northern California award winner this 12 months.

“And it's a great pleasure to be there this year with the Grateful Dead and my colleagues from San Francisco,” he said. “I'm really excited and very satisfied.”

Sandoval, 74, rose to fame as a musician in his native Cuba. He played piano and drums, but specialized within the trumpet. Through his work, he got here into contact with jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie, who championed his music and personally helped him leave Cuba during a European tour in 1990. Shortly after his escape, Sandoval performed at his mentor Gillespie's induction ceremony into the Kennedy Center Honors.

“Humility aside, I think I deserve it. I've worked so hard for so many years,” Sandoval told the Associated Press. “It's a huge honor and I feel completely overwhelmed. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. I'm just a little farmer from Cuba. God has been so good to me.”

“I was able to visit the White House and spend time with the Carters,” said Raitt, 74. “I experienced for the first time what this weekend really means.”

As an adult artist, Raitt has also experienced the opposite side of the Kennedy Center Honors equation: She performed as a part of the honors for Mavis Staples in 2016 and Buddy Guy in 2012. Those performances are sometimes kept secret from the honorees themselves, and Raitt said she looks forward to seeing who planners suggest for her honor.

“I really, really want to be surprised, and I don't want to know,” she said.

Over the course of her 50-year profession, Raitt has received quite a lot of music awards, including 13 Grammys and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone magazine included her in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. But Raitt said the Kennedy Center Honors status holds a special significance since it extends to all points of the performing arts, encompassing all types of music, dance and performance.

“The special thing about the Kennedy Center Honors is that they are cross-cultural,” she said. “It's hard for me to understand what that means.”

It is incredibly rare that the Kennedy Center Honors select a venue relatively than an artist. But The nine many years of operation of the Apollo As an incubator for generations of black talent, it is taken into account an exception.

“This is certainly not a traditional award,” said Michelle Ebanks, the theater's president and CEO, who described the recent addition of the show “Sesame Street” as a similarly unusual selection. “We are thrilled to receive this honor.”

The Harlem landmark has served as a proving ground for black artists since Billie Holiday, James Brown and Stevie Wonder, in addition to modern artists like Lauryn Hill. This 12 months, the theater has moved its events to a brand new venue down the road, called Apollo Stages on the Victoria Theater, while the unique venue is renovated and expanded.

“It's more than a theater. It's a cultural touchstone … that's rooted in the Harlem community,” Ebanks said. “It's really a recognition of a collective passion. … Over the decades, the Apollo has never stood still.”

Originally published: July 18, 2024 at 6:00 am

Both children and adults explored a brand new educational playground near downtown San Jose on Friday, spinning the wheel to open an enormous solar sunflower or crawling through a series of hexagonal tubes paying homage to a beehive.

The 22,000-square-foot area, called the Exploration Portal, is a component of the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose and is positioned in an urban area adjoining to Freeway 87 and the Guadalupe River. The area, which is free to the general public, features eight interactive exhibits designed to show children about pattern, proportion, scale and symmetry by reflecting mathematical and scientific concepts through nature.

Marilee Jennings, executive director of the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose, said the museum wanted to make use of the Exploration Portal to develop concepts from Bill's Backyard, an out of doors space dedicated to natural history. Interest from visiting families in a beehive on display on the museum inspired an open structure product of stacked hexagons that children could climb through, she said.

Another example were the three giant Smartflowers in the realm. Using a hand crank, the petals may very well be opened in order that the solar modules inside were exposed to sunlight. This gave children an idea of ​​what solar energy was all about.

“Our philosophy is that children learn best when they are allowed to explore with all their senses,” Jennings said.

Other exhibits include “Measure Me!”, a measuring device that helps children learn concerning the conditions in their very own bodies; “Rocks that Sing,” a small set of xylophone-like rocks that children can use to make music; and “Whirling Flyers,” a kinetic sculpture that makes birds fly when someone turns a crank.

Colette Gribben, an eight-year-old girl from Oakland, was fooling around within the “Measure Me!” exhibit, using the rulers to measure her height. She said she liked that there have been things to climb on on the Exploration Portal.

Gribben said she also enjoyed the “Patterns Everywhere” exhibition, which featured greatly enlarged images of natural patterns, resembling the arrangement of seeds on a strawberry or the scales on a butterfly’s wings.

Rich Turner, the museum's director of exhibits and facilities, said the interactive exhibits are designed to show children to acknowledge patterns, sequences and groupings, which may help them learn counting and arithmetic.

“The ability to make these simple little connections that we take for granted, but young children have to learn that,” Turner said.

In addition to encouraging children to explore nature, the space had two other goals: transforming the unused urban area adjoining to Bill's Backyard right into a welcoming and academic environment, and demonstrating the usage of sustainable materials. Various features of the portal utilize natural techniques to filter pollution from stormwater, recharge groundwater, and highlight drought-resistant plants and renewable wood resources.

Planning for the Exploration Portal began in 2018, however the opening, scheduled for 2021, was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the space opened, Jennings thanked the greater than 200 donors for helping to fund the location. Several local officials spoke concerning the museum's efforts to create an accessible, environmentally sustainable and academic space for youngsters.

Students from Educare, a preschool in East San Jose, were invited to play on the location and even ripped the tarp off the gate to the Exploration Portal. The area is scheduled to officially open to the general public on June 29.

“I think we're really focusing on early learning, especially in science and math,” Jennings said. “We're getting very young children to think about how they can recognize patterns in nature and developing the skills to do that,” Jennings said.

Looking for holiday inspiration? Men's Journal recently ranked the country's best vacation destinations, including the whole lot from beach towns to gastronomic treasures to adventure-packed gems. It's a series of fifty tantalizing locations from coast to coast and border to frame, complete with tips about when to go, where to remain, and what to do and eat there.

The top spot goes to Ouray, a Colorado mountain town that, in response to the magazine's editors, “feels like you've stepped foot into a real-real REI commercial.” But California gets several sensational awards, starting with the coastal town of SLO – San Luis Obispo – at No. 3, due to its mild temperatures, small-town atmosphere and proximity to surfer-friendly beaches, rolling vineyards and wine tasting rooms.

San Francisco is available in at number 14, with a must-see list that covers all the large attractions – the Golden Gate Bridge, the California Academy of Sciences, Alcatraz and all the opposite places where tourists gather, take photos and discuss ” San Francisco, “The SoCal sobriquet that makes locals shudder. (Hmm, do Los Angeles residents – #11, by the way – roll their eyes when we say “SoCal”?)

Also on the SoCal list: San Diego, with its 70 miles of sentimental, sandy beaches and luxurious, museum-like Balboa Park, is available in at No. 21.

All 50 travel destinations with restaurant and sightseeing suggestions may be found at www.mensjournal.com/travel/. In the meantime, here's a have a look at the highest 10:

The 10 Best Vacations within the USA

1 Ouray, Colorado

2 Chattanooga, Tennessee

3 San Luis Obispo, California

4 New Orleans, Louisiana

5 Bend, Oregon

6 Boise, Idaho

8 Sedona, Arizona

9 Washington, DC

10 Portland, Maine