New York vs. Washington
vs. Transylvania
Guest Commentator: Aaron SchatzThree topics dominated this week's Lycos 50: Halloween, baseball, and politics.
Halloween maintained its position as the #1 topic, and costumes bulldozed their way into the top five. But it's that other late October tradition, the World Series, which made the most dramatic move this week.
Excitement over this year's all-New York Subway Series boosts Baseball (#9) into the top ten thanks to numerous Series-related searches. The Mets (#37) and Yankees (#45) also make it onto the list, marking the first time that specific sports teams have appeared in the Lycos 50. While the Yankees defeated the Mets on the field this weekend, the Mets have the upper hand on this week's chart.
Meanwhile, that old November standby, the presidential election, saw a surge in popularity as it enters the homestretch. Election 2000 rose all the way to #4, while both Al Gore and George W. Bush moved into the top ten, and the presidential debates (#36) reappeared after a week off the chart. Web users seemed particularly interested in Electoral College predictions, since the close race makes it possible that one candidate could win the popular vote and the other the electoral vote.
One election-related topic, voter registration, fell off the chart now that a number of states have closed registration for the year.
Other key points from this week's Lycos 50:
DRIVERS, DIABLO DEPART: The rise of baseball and election-related searches knocks a number of Lycos 50 regulars off the chart, including video game Diablo II (after 21 weeks) and children's fad Digimon (after 10 weeks). Nascar also fell out after a 39-week run; the auto racing circuit had been in the Lycos 50 since the beginning of the season back in early February.
MIDDLE EAST NEWS: Searches for news on the Israeli-Palestinean conflict (#32) dropped slightly from last week, but searches for the attack on the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen rose 14 spots to #33. Web searchers had a few more days to digest the news and look for information on the search for suspects.
PLAYSTATION, THE SEQUEL: Sony's newest game console Playstation 2 debuts at #23 thanks to its U.S. release this Thursday. The updated version of old standard Playstation has as much power as competitor Sega Dreamcast, plus it plays DVDs and games from the original Playstation. The Playstation 2 is already the subject of much controversy; apparently component shortages have forced Sony to cut the number of game consoles available in stores for Thursday's launch, meaning a lot of anxious Playstation fans (and Lycos searchers) may have to go without.
STERN SWEETHEART: Howard Stern (#29) leapt back into the Lycos 50 for the first time since August 22 due to reports of his first romance since splitting with wife Alison. Reports say Howard's new paramour is actress Beth Ostrosky, who appeared as a beach volleyball player in the 1996 Ben Stiller movie Flirting with Disaster. Ostrosky herself almost made the Lycos 50, getting more searches than chart regulars like Nascar and Korn.
SHORT SUBJECTS: The Olympics are falling quite slowly, still ranking at #13 despite having ended three weeks ago? Christmas actually falls slightly, when compared to other topics, because of the rise of election and baseball-related searches... Elizabeth Hurley (#43) makes the Lycos 50 thanks to her new movie Bedazzled? The new movie version of Charlie's Angels came very close to making the Lycos 50 after TV commercials debuted this week? School-related topics Greek mythology and the periodic table of the elements return to the chart after one week off.
NEW THIS WEEK: Playstation 2, Howard Stern, the periodic table of the elements, the presidential debates, the New York Mets and New York Yankees, Greek mythology, Elizabeth Hurley, the Firestone tire recall, William Shakespeare.
DROPOUTS: Columbus Day, voter registration, Nascar, wrestler Chyna, Digimon, Diablo II, Alyssa Milano, South Park, Anna Nicole Smith, Cindy Margolis.
BIGGEST RISE: Election 2000, up 35 places to #4.
BIGGEST DROP: Madonna, down 11 places to #35.
CAMPAIGN WATCH: In our weekly comparison of campaign 2000 searches, Al Gore queries increase their lead over George W. Bush to 53% to 47%. That's a 2 point gain for Gore. In a three-way race with Ralph Nader queries, Gore has 48%, with 42% for Bush and 10% for Nader.
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