It's a big week for initials on the Lycos 50. But before we get to that, let's go to the science fair.
Science fair projects is the surprise hit of this week on the Lycos 50. A flood of searches for terms like science fair project, science fair experiment, and winning science fair projects pushed the topic to #16 on the new Lycos 50.
We're surprised but not shocked: science projects and science fairs were strong on our search logs all fall. We're not sure why the sudden rush happened now; back-to-school activity is our best guess. (And you thought the kids were just goofing off online.)
Now on to those other key items from this week's Lycos 50:
MLK HOLIDAY: Maybe the holidays aren't quite over yet. Searches for Martin Luther King, Jr. are way up as the U.S. heads for the annual MLK Day celebration on January 17.
Other than MLK, the holiday season has officially ended on the Lycos 50. Christmas, New Year's Eve, the millennium, and Auld Lang Syne all fell from the list. Time/Clocks held on at #50, as web users seemed interested in tracking the new year around the globe. Y2K remains popular as mopping-up operations continue.
Incidentally, Christmas remained on the Lycos 50 for 12 weeks -- nearly one-quarter of the year -- and spent four straight weeks at #1.
DMX IN A HURRY: Two weeks ago we reported that DMX looked like a good bet for popularity in 2000. We didn't know the rapper would arrive this soon: he debuts this week at #45.
SHOW ME THE MONEY: Gambling capital Las Vegas (#11) just edged the Internal Revenue Service (#12) this week; the rankings are a new high for both.
GAMES FADE: Last week four games took their place on the Lycos 50: Tomb Raider (#18), Donkey Kong 64 (#38), Resident Evil (#39), and Gran Turismo (#48). This week Tomb Raider drops to #25 and the rest disappear entirely. All those science fair projects must be cutting into gaming time.
YOU SAY YOU WANT A RESOLUTION, PT. II: Dieting continues its post-holiday rise, moving up 16 spots to #21.
NEW THIS WEEK: Science fair projects, Martin Luther King, Jr., marijuana, TV show The Simpsons, band Blink 182, DMX, baby names, shoot-em-up game paintball, and hack writer William Shakespeare.
DROPOUTS: Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt; games Gran Turismo, Resident Evil, and Donkey Kong 64; indicted actress Marylin Starr; holiday faves Christmas, New Year's Eve, the millennium, and Auld Lang Syne.
BIGGEST RISE: The Internal Revenue Service up 21 spots to #12. The IRS has been our fastest-rising term two weeks in a row; last week it rose 17 spots to #33.
BIGGEST DROP: Time/Clocks down 44 to #50; Publishers Clearing House down 28 to #32.
SPEAKING OF WHICH: What's up with Publishers Clearing House? It's a rollercoaster. Last week the sweepstakes shop leapt to #4 on our list; this week it plunges to #32. Their big $28 million drawing -- presumably the reason for the rise -- isn't until January 30th. So why the drop in interest now?
