This week was a textbook example of how the Internet speeds information distribution faster than anyone can figure out what the information is.
The subject: a secret invention known as either IT or Ginger (#4), the latest development from a man named Dean Kamen (#10) and his company, DEKA Research.
The world first heard of Ginger from a small article on MSNBC January 9, reporting that Harvard Business School Press had just bought the rights to a book about this unknown invention. In the next three days the story began to spread through major news organizations, and for some reason on Friday it took off.
Faster than you could say "Claire Swire," the story was emailed across the country from friend to friend and co-worker to co-worker. That night stories about IT/Ginger appeared on every news program; the next morning, stories were in every newspaper. Lycos users flocked to their computers to find out the answer to the question on everyone's lips: "What is IT?"
CNN devoted an entire hour to IT. A website was set up to update people on IT. At the beginning of the week hardly anyone had heard of IT or Dean Kamen. By week's end, IT became more popular than the NFL (#6) or Las Vegas (#8), and inventor Kamen outpaced Pamela Anderson (#16) and Eminem (#18). This despite the fact that nobody knows what on earth IT is.
According to TheITquestion.com, we know IT/Ginger is not medicinal in nature, will be mass produced, will affect cities and the environment, as well as conventions and old-money institutions, and will (according to the handful of people who have seen it) change lives and trains of thought.
Kamen has allegedly been working on updating an old invention called the "Stirling Engine," which could provide low-cost, low-pollution power. On the other hand, a patent filed by Kamen makes it look like IT could be just a little personal scooter. Whatever it is, Kamen says the invention will not be unveiled until 2002, so Lycos users will just have to keep searching for rumors rather than facts.
LYCOS USERS TEMPTED: Last week's other question was "Who is cheating on Temptation Island?" (#13) The show was a huge hit both online and on television, but there were surprisingly few searches for Temptation Island pictures. Maybe those requests will come once more action transpires and more skin is shown. Then again, rumor has it that there won't be as much action as many expect.
Temptation Island was the big winner in the reality sweepstakes, easily outpacing The Mole with about nine times as many searches. Meanwhile, Survivor dropped slightly with about one-quarter the searches of Temptation Island. Still, not bad for a show that is two weeks away.
BRITNEY SPARKLES: The American Music Awards (#21) are big again this year, although not quite as big as last year when it was #8. About five percent of searches specified photos of host Britney Spears (#2) at the awards, thanks to another scantily-clad performance.
CAR TALK: Auto enthusiasts flocked to the web for information on last week's Detroit Auto Show (#27). The convention is officially called the North American International Auto Show, but 75 percent of searchers called it the Detroit Auto Show instead.
SHORT SUBJECTS: People! The stamps are 34 cents! It isn't that complex, yet the U.S. Postal Service (#7) is still in the top ten? As soon as we write about the Microsoft Xbox, (#41) it hits the Lycos 50? Valentine's Day (#34) makes the Lycos 50 two weeks earlier than last year? The release of the Lord of the Rings (#52) trailer, playing in theaters before the film Thirteen Days, nearly boosts the film into the Lycos 50; not bad for a movie that won't be out for 11 months? Football should swamp the Lycos 50 next week, as the Super Bowl (#51) and the XFL (#54) come close to making the list.
NEW THIS WEEK: IT/Ginger and its inventor Dean Kamen, Temptation Island, American Music Awards, prom dresses, Detroit Auto Show, Valentine's Day, Shakespeare, Xbox, Greek mythology.
DROPOUTS: New Year, college football, Christmas (after 18 weeks), digital cameras, Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing, Blink-182, closing retailer Montgomery Ward, NBA, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2.
BIGGEST RISE: Holiday namesake and civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. , up 31 spots to #5.
BIGGEST DROP: Video game Majora's Mask, down 19 spots to #40.
ONE YEAR AGO: Prom dresses made their debut on the Lycos 50 at #25. This year, they debut the same week, but one spot higher at #24.
FINALLY: Check out this clever pulp fiction story in Modern Humorist magazine, written to include all 50 topics on the Lycos 50 Web's Most Wanted 2000.
Note: We combined searches for IT and Ginger to get the total for IT/Ginger. Searches for Dean Kamen were totaled separately. Searches which mentioned both Kamen and IT/Ginger (For example, Dean Kamen Ginger) were counted once for each topic, as per the usual Lycos 50 protocol.
