Turmoil in the Middle East left Web users uninterested last week.
Despite heavy news coverage, the clash between Israelis and Palestinians ranked only #30 on the Lycos 50, well below such tame topics as science fair projects (#28), singer Madonna (#23) and Christmas (#16).
The attack on the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen scored even lower, ranking #47. By comparison the sunken Russian sub Kursk ranked #7 its first week, and this summer's Concorde crash rated #8. Both those incidents had better 'hooks' -- the Concorde story featured dramatic visuals, and the Kursk drama included men trapped alive below the sea -- but even so, #47 seems awfully low for a fatal attack on an American vessel.
Other key points from this week's Lycos 50:
GUNDAM GONE: The Japanese TV series Gundam Wing drops off the Lycos 50 this week after more than 7 straight months. The show debuted at #22 on our March 14th rankings. (This after we predicted its rise more than a year ago.)
Gundam's drop leaves six animated series still in the top 50: Dragonball (#2), Pokemon (#7), Sailor Moon (#29), Digimon (#32), old warhorse The Simpsons (#41), and South Park (#48).
GORE & BUSH FLIP-FLOP: Without the debates to spark interest, Al Gore and George W. Bush both dropped in ranking this week. Bush fell farthest, dropping from #10 to #17. Gore beats Bush this week by dropping only one place, from #14 to #15. Meanwhile the presidential debates, ranked #26 after the candidates' first meeting, dropped off the charts this week despite the telecast of the second debate.
A sidelight: Pam Anderson, beaten by both Bush and Gore last week, tops them both at #12 this week. A dark horse candidacy, perhaps?
ANNA ENDURES: Two weeks ago Anna Kournikova was dethroned as the Web's most popular athlete by Tatiana Grigorieva, the Australian pole-vaulter who made such clubs at the Olympics. But this week Kournikova gets the last laugh: she's back as the #1 athlete (and #37 overall), while Grigorieva plunges off the Lycos 50 entirely.
SHORT SUBJECTS: Columbus Day climbs to #14 the week after the holiday -- slightly odd, since most holidays do best the week before they occur... Speaking of which: why are you still thinking about the Olympics? The games ended two weeks ago, but they still rank #6 among user queries... Christmas continues its early climb, hitting #16 this week... actress Jessica Alba moves up another 7 places to #25 on the strength of her new TV series, Dark Angel... skateboarding (#34) shows no signs of going away as autumn takes hold; apparently it's not just a warm-weather passion... what's up with Nascar? The auto racing league has been languishing in the low 30s and 40s for months, but this week it jumps up to #24... the latest Halloween-related term to hit the 50: witchcraft (#43).
NEW THIS WEEK: Israel & Palestine, actresses Alyssa Milano and Cindy Margolis, witchcraft, NASA, the Backstreet Boys, the USS Cole, South Park.
DROPOUTS: Gundam Wing, the periodic table of the elements, the Firestone tire recall, William Shakespeare, TV show Big Brother, the presidential debates, late Canadian PM Pierre Trudeau, Olympic favorite Tatiana Grigorieva.
BIGGEST RISE: Nascar, up 22 places to #24.
BIGGEST DROP: Anna Nicole Smith, down 20 places to #49.
CAMPAIGN WATCH: In our weekly comparison of campaign 2000 searches, Al Gore queries are leading George W. Bush queries by 51% to 49%. That's a 7 point gain for Gore, who trailed 56-44% last week.
