After four weeks of creeping higher, Mardi Gras makes a sudden pounce to #2 this week, bowing only to the awesome power of Pokemon.
Among the hot terms were: Mardi Gras webcams, Mardi Gras beads, Mardi Gras photos, and Mardi Gras flashers. That last entry, it seems, is a tradition engaged in by certain young ladies along the parade routes of New Orleans -- which perhaps explains the strong interest on the web.
Other key points from this week's Lycos 50:
FOLLOWING MARDI GRAS comes Lent, #25 on this week's list. We've included Ash Wednesday queries in this total; other key terms were Lenten season, Lent 2000, and Catholic Lent.
STILL MORE JAPANIMATION: Can Japanese animation get any more popular? Dubbed reruns of the Japanese cartoon Gundam Wing debuted last week on the Cartoon Network. Result: surfers put the show at #22 on the Lycos 50. It's one below The Simpsons, and joins fellow Japanese products Pokemon, Dragonball and Sailor Moon on our list.
(Self-congratulatory moment: it's true, we predicted Gundam's rise back in August.)
THE DOCTORS ARE OUT: Dr. Seuss and Dr. Martin Luther King both drop from our list this week. Seuss had only a one-week stay thanks to Read Across America Day. Dr. King spent a whopping nine weeks on the Lycos 50; he was far and away the most popular figure of Black History Month.
LOLO WHO? #40 this week is Lolo Ferrari, a French actress who died on March 5 of what were described as natural causes. According to the BBC, "Ms. Ferrari was billed as 'the woman with the biggest breasts in the world' and had a reputed 71-inch silicone-enhanced bust." The same story reports that Ferrari "suffered from depression," which seems like a contradiction in terms.
SHORT SUBJECTS: Many of the queries for the Census include the full URL, perhaps indicating a response to the bureau's recent publicity campaign... Alaska's annual Iditarod dogsled race began on March 4th... St. Patrick's Day follows the lead of Mardi Gras, moving sharply up our list... the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue spent just one short week on the Lycos 50... Sisqo is the newest rapper on our list, thanks to heavy MTV play of his new video.
NEW THIS WEEK: The Census, Lolo Ferrari, Gundam Wing, the Iditarod, Lent, Cindy Margolis, Sisqo, Star Wars.
DROPOUTS: Dr. Seuss, the NBA, football, golf, Martin Luther King, the Grammy Awards, Leap Year, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
BIGGEST RISE: St. Patrick's Day, up 18.
BIGGEST DROP: Jennifer Lopez's Grammy dress, down (finally) 29 places.
AND FINALLY: Why is Star Wars back in fashion? We don't know. Could the rumor mill on Episode 2 be in full swing already?
