More people believe in Santa Claus than in the horrors of Y2K, judging by this week's Lycos 50. Y2K stands at #10, its highest Lycos 50 rank ever, but Kris Kringle goes one spot better at #9.
There's more: Santa-friendly holiday Christmas bumps Pokemon out of the top spot for the first time in five weeks. (It takes a 2000-year juggernaut like Christmas to muscle Pokemon down to #2.) For the record, Christmas got about 10% more searches than Pokemon this week. Another December holiday, Hanukkah, debuts at #37.
Other key notes from this week's Lycos 50:
NAKED SOCCER SELLS: It's been a big year for exposure in women's sports, what with Brandi Chastain shucking her shirt at the Women's World Cup and the Ohio State women's rugby team going topless at the Lincoln Memorial. This week the Australian Women's Soccer squad takes their turn. The Matildas debut at #41 after releasing a controversial nude calendar featuring 12 of their players.
OOPS! Bad news for NASA: interest was intense in its second flubbed mission to Mars. NASA searches are at #12 and Mars rests at #7.
OLD-TIMERS DROP: Three old-timers fade from the Lycos 50 this week. Star Wars, Nascar, and Limp Bizkit all have been on our list since our start in September. Nascar's season is officially over, while Star Wars and Limp Bizkit simply seem to have run out of steam.
MORE BIZKIT: For three months Limp Bizkit was neck-and-neck with alterna-band Korn; as recently as October 26 Limp Bizkit (#29) was leading Korn (#32). But while Korn is riding high (#22) with the release of its new album Issues, Limp Bizkit has dropped out of the Lycos 50 altogether.
NEW THIS WEEK: Mars and the Polar Lander, the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle, Hanukkah, the Australian women's soccer team, electronic game Resident Evil.
RETURNING AFTER A SHORT ABSENCE: Still-hot sport wrestling, tax collectors the IRS, oddball pinup Jenny McCarthy, immortal bard William Shakespeare, and late gangsta rapper Tupac Shakur.
DROPOUTS: Thanksgiving dropped like a turkey carcass, as did hostess-with-the-mostess Martha Stewart. Who Wants to Be A Millionaire is on hiatus until January. The NCAA and world professional soccer championships ended. The Blair Witch Project and Heather Graham both lost their video-inspired popularity. Carmen Electra fell flat, as did Limp Bizkit.
BIGGEST RISE: NASA rises 36 spots on heavy Mars interest. Santa Claus slides up 17 spots to #9, aided by the arrival of Sinterklass Day (December 6) in Europe. Barbie is up 14 places to #24.
BIGGEST DROP: Thanksgiving falls from #3 all the way off the list. Mariah Carey (#29), Sable (#41) and Metallica (#43) all slip 8 places.
AND FINALLY: Boxoffice success doesn't seem to equal online success. Toy Story 2 finished #1 at the box office for the second time in a row this week, collecting nearly three times as much cash as the James Bond flick The World Is Not Enough. Yet the Toy Story gang failed to crack the Lycos 50 again this week, while Bond sits at a comfortable #17.
