Re-living 2012 through the most interesting questions asked on Quora

As we wrap up 2012, it’s also the time when we look back and see what people have been talking about, searching for, and what questions they have been asking. This year was filled with many events from the Arab Spring to the US Presidential Election to the historic jump by Felix Gaumgartner. To share its insights, Quora has released a recap of the top questions asked on its network.

With over 250,000 topics listed on the site, Quora is increasing its depth of knowledge. Some might pass the service off as dead, but all evidence to the contrary, it’s doing the exact opposite: it’s thriving. And while there have been a lot of questions asked this year (with 180,000 topics added this year alone — up from 70,000 in 2011), Quora has been busy making updates to help get people answers, including the release of Online Now, it’s on-demand real-time answer service, the update to its iPhone application, and its integration with LinkedIn,

On Quora, some of the hottest topics this year included questions about a variety of topics:

• The iPhone 5
• The Presidential Debates: Notable politicians such as Congressman Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, and others took to Quora to help answer questions people had
• Hurricane Sandy: Where photos and questions were posted ranging from debunking whether photos were Photoshopped to what animals in the zoos had to do before the storm, and what transportation was available.

In addition, the 2012-13 NFL Season (with the replacement referees) along with the “Sh*t X Says” meme became quite popular.

Other things of note on Quora this year included:

• “What are the best stories about people randomly meeting Steve Jobs?” became the most popular question based on votes and followers
• “What does ‘Gangnam Style’ mean?” was the most viewed question

Questions weren’t entirely serious on Quora. Two of the most shared and answered questions included some that were useful and pretty amusing: “Is getting rich worth it?” and “What are the optimal siege tactics for taking Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle?” (I’m going to have to note this one down).

Photo credit: FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images