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| |  | | |  | | | The things you're searching for. | October 11, 1999 |
| Socrates = Elmo? |
Is ancient sage Socrates really as popular as cuddly doll Elmo?You'll find out in our brand new feature, Equally Popular, at the end of today's report. But first let's look at the fastest-rising search terms of the past few days... |
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| Charisma Carpenter |
Carpenter plays the harridan Cordelia on the new TV series Angel, a role she also played in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yes, "Charisma" is her real name. |
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| Brad Pitt |
Actor Brad Pitt is on the cover of the latest Rolling Stone magazine in a very cute print dress. To see the photos, click right here. |
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| India Elections |
Last week's national elections in India made Atal Behari Vajpayee the first prime minister to win re-election since Indira Gandhi in 1971. |
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| Columbus |
No surprise here, given the holiday. But (unlike with Halloween) we didn't see a rush on Columbus until the end of last week. For an interesting historical primer, see the InfoPlease feature Where Was Columbus? |
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| Continental |
We're guessing these searches are for Continental Airlines -- but we're not certain. Airlines are always hot search topics, and this could be a rush of pre-holiday ticket-buying. But we haven't seen an equal rise on other airlines like United. |
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Equally Popular |
Below are 26 terms which users typed into our search boxes at least 300 times during the week ending October 2. In each pair of terms the first is a famous historical figure; the second is a term which got the exact same number of search requests.
Note that the matches are for these precise spellings only. For instance, Picasso may be found elsewhere on our search lists as "Pablo Picasso" or "Picaso," while "weather forecast" is just one of the many ways people search for weather.
The equally popular pairs:
Abraham Lincoln
Lowriders
Einstein
Rental cars
Picasso
Female wrestling
Jesus
Philadelphia
Leonardo Da Vinci
Radio Shack
Aristotle
Weather forecast
Edgar Allen Poe*
Car insurance
Socrates
Elmo
King Tut
Rap MP3
Beethoven
Dog names
Van Gogh
Kittens
Joan of Arc
Pick up lines
* Note: this misspelling, Edgar Allen Poe, is actually searched for more often than the correct spelling of Edgar Allan Poe.
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Readers Yak Back! |
boards - Cybrarianboards - The Kidboards - Colonelboards - Lonwallboards - B21197boards - Manxleenboards - Jon Reevesboards - Dej Vegetaboards - Contortboards - Porkribsboards - Merboards - Searchfreakboards - Huhsojboards - Calinigtaboards - JHardestyboards - CJ Caufieldboards - MBauser2boards - New Revolutionboards - MMicheliboards - Dobhran |
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boards
Send mail to Fritz@Lycos.com
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| Mystery Terms |
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Here are two fast-rising search requests which have us baffled:
HAMPTON
VINYL
Can you tell us why people are searching for these terms? If so, please speak up on the boards.
For previous mystery terms, visit the Lycos 50 archives.
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| Case Closed! |
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Recent mystery terms dissected:
"October 11 is THANKSGIVING day in Canada," writes reader boards. He was the first of several users to point out that this probably explains the rise in Thanksgiving queries mentioned in Friday's report. We'll keep an eye on the term this week.
STEAK may be yet another query related to carbohydrate diets, guesses the boards. Apparently fleshy protein figures prominently in those low-carbo meal plans.
An alternative theory is offered by boards, who says that the DVD of the film The Matrix contains a secret code word at the end -- STEAK -- which can be used on the film's website. The Matrix jumped to #34 on the Lycos 50 last week, which makes this sound even more likely.
NAVAJO searches may be from viewers of a History Channel program titled "Navajo Code Talkers," says user boards.
Interest in MELANIE could be due to the new album release by Melanie "Mel C" Chisholm of Spice Girls fame, according to user boards.
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| Lycos 50 Bonus List:
Top 10 Ailments |
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Here are the ailments Lycos users searched for most last week:
10. Dyslexia
9. Lupus
8. Stress
7. Herpes
6. Arthritis
5. Autism
4. Multiple Sclerosis
3. AIDS
2. Diabetes
1. Cancer
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| Questions |
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The Lycos 50 FAQ: Discover how we come up with these fascinatin' factoids.
Who Are Those People? Read about the humans who bring you The Lycos 50. |
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| Archives |
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Friday, October 8
Actress Mena Suvari; climber Alex Lowe | |
Thursday, October 7
Carbo-loading with Oprah | |
Wednesday, October 6
Jesse Ventura, Digimon, & Search Log Oddities | |
Tuesday, October 5
Melissa Joan Hart crashes the Lycos 50 | |
Monday, October 4
Chris Gaines, encephalitis, & JC Penney | |
See the full archives...
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