Gymnast Svetlana Khorkina and swimmer Ian Thorpe are the big hits of these Olympics -- at least with Web users.
Thorpe (AKA "The Thorpedo") ranks #34 this week, higher than any athlete but perennial pinup fave Anna Kournikova (#26). Thorpe has been rising for weeks on the basis of his good looks and his reputation as Australia's savior in the swimming pool.
Khorkina was expected to win multiple golds for Russia, but she became more famous last week when she was the victim of a blunder when officials set the vault 5 centimeters below regulation height. She rebounded to win gold on the uneven parallel bars.
Other clubs popular with searchers were male gymnasts Alexei Nemov (Russia) and Blaine Wilson (USA) and American swimmer Jenny Thompson.
Other key points from this week's Lycos 50:
BYE BYE, BACKSTREETS: The Backstreet Boys are the latest charter member to drop off the Lycos 50. They had been on list since our first tally in August of 1999 -- 57 straight weeks. The band's departure leaves 9 charter members remaining -- including rival boy band 'N Sync, which months ago blew by the Backstreets to become a fixture in our top 20.
SO LONG, PAULA: Famous rock wife Paula Yates (#22) passed away in London on September 17. In Britain Yates was known as a television hostess and celebrity interviewer; elsewhere she was known as the wild-living wife of rock stars Bob Geldof and the late Michael Hutchence. Yates was cheerfully notorious for the exotic names she gave to her four children: Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches, Pixie, and Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily.
SPEAKING OF BRITAIN: Big Brother's days on our list should be numbered. The British version of the show wrapped up last week, and the American version is set to end on September 29th. Still, Big Brother remains far more popular online than on TV, at least in the US.
GREEK MYTHOLOGY? That's right. School is in session and those old-fashioned Greek myths (#45) seem to be item one on everyone's syllabus. (It could have ranked even higher: we didn't count searches for Greek gods as part of this entry.) Just more proof that the Web is where kids today do their homework.
Other hot school topics so far: science fair projects (a gaudy #16), Cliff Notes (#38), and good old William Shakespeare (#39).
SHORT SUBJECTS: WWF star Chyna returns to the Lycos 50 at #46, thanks to a photo spread in Playboy magazine... Pokemon seems to finally be losing steam, dropping this week to #10 -- its lowest ranking ever... Madonna bounces back to #23 thanks to her new album Music... the Firestone tire recall fades to #25... Soccer (#49) replaces golf (# 42 last week) as the fall sports season hits full stride... Geena Davis was a one-week wonder. Last week she hit #11 thanks to her freaky Emmy dress, but this week she's off the charts completely.
NEW THIS WEEK: Paula Yates, Madonna, Ian Thorpe, Svetlana Khorkina, William Shakespeare, Greek mythology, Chyna, soccer.
DROPOUTS: The Emmy Awards, Geena Davis, the Backstreet Boys, golf, textbooks, Star Wars, rambunctious coach Bobby Knight, computer game The Sims.
BIGGEST RISE: Science fair projects and (ironically) marijuana, both up 12 spots.
BIGGEST DROP: Superstar wannabe Cindy Margolis, down 13.
CAMPAIGN WATCH: On our weekly comparison of campaign 2000 searches, Al Gore queries are leading George Bush queries by 55% to 45%. That's a 2 point gain for Gore, who led 53% to 47% last week.
