Summer blockbusters and summer sports make strong moves on this week's Lycos 50, but both are outdone by the fervor over three hundred bucks. If you've received an envelope with a picture of George W. Bush on it, the prize patrol may already be on its way to your door.
This was the week that the famous letters from the IRS (#2) finally went out telling more than 90 million Americans that they are getting a whopping $300 from the government. The tax rebate moves up to #26 on the Lycos 50, and the IRS is higher than at any time other than tax deadline week (April 15).
We have finally discovered one of the reasons why web searches are so strong for the tax rebate. It turns out 32 million wage earners won't be receiving the money, and they won't be receiving any notice either. So if you are someone who pays only Medicare and Social Security taxes, but don't make enough to pay income taxes, you are searching Lycos for money that you aren't ever going to get. How's that for fuzzy math?
SPORTS: A couple of big time sports events are among Lycos' most popular items this week. The Tour de France (#3) and the British Open golf tournament (#5) both make our top five.
As far as individual athletes, cyclist Lance Armstrong proved more popular online than any baseball, auto racing, or male tennis star. Yet once again, golf seems to be a Tiger-only zone, as no other golfer received more than a handful of searches.
ALL A'S - What is KaZaA (#37)? Yes, it is yet another file swapping program that has popped up to fill the Napster (#9) void. The program just released a new version online and searches have doubled over the past two weeks.
Like MusicCity's Morpheus (#14), KaZaA is based on technology from the Dutch company Fast Track and it does not use a central server. Instead, it find the fastest computers on its network and makes them into temporary "SuperNodes" which serve as hubs to organize the searches.
Helping to make way for KaZaA, the file swapping program iMesh falls off the Lycos 50.
WRESTLING WATCH: Think that the WWF (#10) is glad they added the ECW name to their invasion storyline? For the first time ever, the ECW actually gets more searches than the WCW this week, 53 percent to 47 percent.
JUST MISSED: The saga of New York socialite (and hit-and-run driver) Lizzie Grubman nearly makes the Lycos 50. Her #52 ranking is helped by searches for an online game where the player, as Grubman, attempts to run over as many people as possible outside a Long Island nightclub.
Also just missing the Lycos 50 this week was Rush Limbaugh. The right-wing radio star makes it to #54 thanks to interest in a new contract, rumored to be as high as $250 million over eight years with a $35 million signing bonus.
SHORT SUBJECTS: With the band's new album Celebrity hitting stores today, 'N Sync is up to #18? We keep waiting for him to go, but Eminem (#48) keeps holding on? Mariah Carey (#46) will star in her first movie, Glitter, coming out in late August? As we predicted, Jurassic Park III (#20) established itself as one of the summer's biggest blockbusters, making over $50 million in its first week. Searches for dinosaurs also doubled last week.
NEW THIS WEEK: British Open, Jurassic Park III, KaZaA, Mariah Carey.
DROPOUTS: The Florida shark attack, Wimbledon, iMesh, Barbie.
BIGGEST RISE: Madonna, up 16 places to #29.
BIGGEST DROP: Backstreet Boys, down 15 places to #44.
TOMORROW: Another female athlete shows skin -- or threatens to.
