George W. Bush and Al Gore both hit this week's top 20 after their October 3 debate.
Last week Bush was ranked #26 to Gore's #22; this week he leapfrogs Gore to land at #10 -- the first time any politician has ever ranked in our top 10. Gore has to settle for #14, an improvement of 8 places over last week. (The debate itself ranked #26 this week.)
The last time Bush beat Gore in Web searches he had to talk dirty to do it. This time it appears he won the debate -- at least as judged by online interest. He also beat rapper Eminem (#12) while Gore managed to outpoint pinup fave Pamela Anderson (#15).
Other key points from this week's Lycos 50:
WIRED DEMOCRACY? The debates aren't the only election topics gaining steam. Voter registration queries quadrupled last week, landing the topic at #25. That's three spots below Election 2000, a term which includes all general queries for "presidential elections," "vote 2000," and the like.
Altogether five of our top 50 terms are related to the upcoming elections, a very respectable 10% of the total.
DEATH OF TRUDEAU: Speaking of political leaders: former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau (#23) died last week at age 80. He was the charismatic leader of Canada for nearly 16 years from 1968-84. A full 10% of Trudeau searches mentioned the prime minister's son Justin, who delivered a stirring eulogy at his father's funeral. (For the latest Trudeau news, see our friends at Lycos Canada.)
GHOUL POWER: Halloween finally hits #1 this week as the Olympics fade to #3. (Last year Halloween didn't take #1 until October 26th.) And the craze for Halloween costumes keeps growing: this week the topic is an amazing #13. Also hot: ghosts, witchcraft, and the Salem witch trials.
FIRST HIT OF 2001? Jessica Alba stands at #32 thanks to her starring role in the new TV series Dark Angel. (The series is the creation of Titanic director James Cameron.) Alba is the very first ranked item related to the new television season; that seems like a sign that viewers just aren't that interested this year. Dark Angel itself didn't crack the Lycos 50, but it came close: we figure it at about #65 last week.
HOMEWORK HOTTIES: The periodic table of the elements is so popular with chemistry students that it reaches #47 this week. Pretty heady stuff for a scientific chart.
Another academic topic that didn't make the Lycos 50 but is rising fast: everyone's favorite high school English novel, Lord of the Flies.
SHORT SUBJECTS: Aussie/Russkie high jumper Tatiana Grigorieva is the top athlete for a second week in a row, still lording it over usual favorite Anna Kournikova (#45)... Columbus Day drew a modest round of queries, finishing at #33... Even a week after the show ended, Big Brother (#16) is still a hit online... The Seattle Mariners were the most requested of the eight teams participating in baseball's playoffs.
NEW THIS WEEK: Pierre Trudeau, voter registration, presidential debates, Jessica Alba, Columbus Day, the periodic table, student fave William Shakespeare.
DROPOUTS: Space agency NASA, fall sport soccer, hospitality doyenne Martha Stewart, chatster Oprah Winfrey, hot issue capital punishment, homework favorite Greek mythology, and holiday Rosh Hashana.
BIGGEST RISE: Costumes, up 20 spots to #13.
BIGGEST DROP: Tatiana Grigorieva, down 16 spots to #39.
CAMPAIGN WATCH: In our weekly comparison of campaign 2000 searches, George W. Bush queries are leading Al Gore queries by 56% to 44%. That's a whopping 10 point gain for Bush, who trailed 54-46% last week.
