5 Years Later, Google Remembers

It's been five long (or short) years since that fateful morning in early September and chances are high that almost anyone reading this post has crystal clear memories of that day. As it turns out, the Internet has a crystal clear memory as well. From archived versions of some of the most popular news site on the Internet to an in depth look at the search patterns that took place at popular search site Google, here's a quick roundup of a few interesting links and images from September 11th, 2001.

Google Operation System has a screen shot of Google's home page from that day.

Google Zeitgeist shares information on the searches that were conducted in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.

It's interesting to note not only the great influx of searches, but also to look at what was searched for. CNN was the top search, out ranking even the generic phrase "world trade center." The BBC came in third overall and ranked as the second most popular news source, while the Pentagon and MSNBC rounded out the top five. By September 13th, the week's fastest gaining queries gave some insight into people's thoughts on the attacks...the prophet Nostradamus was the fastest gaining query while Osama Bin Laden ranked fourth. The country of Afghanistan made it to 9th place on the list as news began to leak out about where Bin Laden was suspected to reside.

It's also good to note that searchers were interested in what they could do to help as well. The American Red Cross ranked as the 7th most increased search as Internet users flocked to find information on donating blood and money.

Even if you aren't curious about what Google searchers were hunting for, there's still plenty of good information to be found online. The USA Web Archives at September11News.com show the front pages of more than a dozen news related web sites from that morning. You can view home page of the Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today...even the White House's front page is archived on the site.