Grieving mother Cindy Sheehan ignites search interest for the War in Iraq (#50) this week. Nearly half of the searches for the War in Iraq are related to Cindy Sheehan, the mother of Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, who was killed in action in Iraq in April 2004 only days after he arrived. Sheehan, and a growing number of supporters, have spent the past week camped in front of President Bush's Crawford, Texas home, as a means of protesting the war and to ask for a meeting with the president. Sheehan's anti-war protest "sit-in" has caused a surge in search activity for Sheehan, whose searches are up 640 percent over last week. The latest tactic from Sheehan has been to invite President Bush to pray for the troops with her and her supporters at their make-shift camp, this Friday.

On Monday, the moms who have joined Sheehan camping outside of the vacation home of the president, are demanding answers to why their sons have died in Iraq. Meanwhile, Sheehan has also been joined by Iraq war veterans, who have announced their plans to keep the pressure on President Bush to meet with them soon. Cindy Sheehan and members of other military families invited President Bush to join them in prayer at what's been dubbed "Arlington Crawford," a patch of grass outside his ranch with white crosses representing the soldiers who've lost their lives in Iraq. Mothers are scheduled to take part in candlelight vigils across the country beginning Wednesday night. These mothers are supporting the Crawford moms in their demand for a meeting with the president to answer questions as why their sons were killed.

OTHER HOT TOPICS:
The Next Dragonball
This fall we will see the anime TV debut of Naruto (#40), which is being heralded as the next Dragonball (#3). Each week, searches continue to grow for Naruto, and this week, Naruto rose 1,400 percent. The series, with its cult-like fan base, features Naruto, a young ninja apprentice who, along with his rag-tag bunch of fellow students, has to master the evil fox spirit that is captive in his body. And like many of the popular Japanese cartoons that are hits on the web, Naruto was purchased by the Cartoon Network and airs this fall during Adult Swim.

Anchor Man
In a career that spanned five decades, legendary broadcast journalist Peter Jennings (#11) died last week of lung cancer at age 67. Jennings reported with clarity and authority on the great news stories of our time including three wars, two Presidential scandals and the horrific events of September 11, 2001. Searches for Jennings rose an incredible 2490 percent following the news of his death. Additionally searches for lung cancer rose 250 percent while, queries for ways to quit smoking also jumped 149 percent.

DROPOUTS:
This week give a fond farewell to: Pretty Ricky, Trish Stratus, Slipknot, Pussycat Dolls and FAFSA.

THIS TIME LAST YEAR:
The Olympics vaulted into the top 10 of The Lycos 50, although no one Olympic athlete generated enough search interest to make the list. U.S. softball pitcher Jennie Finch experienced the biggest rise in search activity, growing 12 times more popular over last week. Finch is followed closely by U.S. high jumper Amy Acuff. In an impressive marketing play Acuff appears on the covers of both Playboy and FHM.

TOP 10 FROM August 15, 2000:
The tube top-wearing teenybopper was almost overtaken by the Firestone tire recall. Firestone was the week's fastest climber, moving from #30 to #2 as nervous SUV drivers jumped on the Web to make sure their tires wouldn't melt down on their way to Wal-Mart. The race was impressively close: Britney's lead over was less than one percent over Firestone's total...
1.) Britney Spears, 2.) Firestone Tires, 3.) Dragonball, 4.) Pokemon, 5.) Big Brother, 6.) Survivor, 7.) Napster, 8.) 'N Sync, 9.) Tattoos, 10.) Diablo II.

Tomorrow the biggest search gainers for the week...

Dean Tsouvalas can be reached at The_Lycos_50@lycos-inc.com