Search is increasingly becoming a tool to help people accomplish certain tasks. We took a look at some data from 2008 and want to share our findings.

Last year people in the U.S. were learning to cook turkeys and to brine them. To argue with their spouses (maybe about whether to cook or brine the turkey) and to improve their marriages (probably after getting too worked up about the turkey). They wanted to learn how to make money and how to save it, how to lose weight both in general and in specific places, and how to lose their tan lines.

In that way, 2008 wasn’t a lot different from the years before. But look a little closer and you might see some unusual trends. Here were the leading searches in 2008 using “How to” questions in the U.S. market:

• How to lose back fat
• How to tie a tie
• How to avoid tan lines
• How to save money
• How to write a resume
• How to lose weight
• How to make money
• How to improve your marriage
• How to save on home heating bills
• How to cook a turkey
• How to pronounce palahniuk
• How to brine a turkey
• How to argue with your spouse
• How to choose a pediatrician
• How to reduce stress in your life
• How to be happy at work
• How to make gravy
• How to recycle cell phones

It’s pretty much a collector’s list for trend-spotters, or maybe just a peephole into last year’s national psyche.

We all know why people want to know “how to reduce heating bills” and “how to write a resume.” But does learning to tie a tie have anything to do with that? And what’s up with pronouncing “Palahniuk”?

Anyone want to guess what’ll be on the 2009 list?

Mike Polson, Senior Program Manager, Keyword Intelligence Platform team, Live Search