If it's December, this must be the holiday rush.
Christmas stands at #1 for the second straight week and Kris Kringle flies past Pam Anderson and the WWF to finish at #6. (Isn't it comforting to know that a plump old graybeard can top a Playboy pinup?) Football, boosted by bowl game queries, moves up to #18. And while Hanukkah has dropped from the list, the Islamic holy days of Ramadan have taken its place.
Other key points on this week's Lycos 50:
ELF BOWLING? If you haven't heard about elf bowling (#16), you must not have e-mail -- the comical (and gruesome) game has been making the rounds since Thanksgiving. To check it out, try game developer Nstorm.
POLAR HANGOVER: Santa's not the only polar phenomenon grabbing attention. The failed Mars Polar Lander mission continued to draw queries last week, putting both Mars and NASA high on our list.
Y2K BARBIE: Looks like plenty of Barbies will be landing under Christmas trees on December 24. Especially hot is the new Millennium Princess Barbie (with "sparkling green velvet dress, dazzling jewels, and richly detailed crown" says Mattel). The MPB accounted for 12% of all Barbie queries.
Y2K NO BARBIE: The year 2000 is finally grabbing the public's attention: Y2K moves up to #5 this week, sprinting back ahead of Santa.
MARTHA'S BACK: Love her or hate her, Martha Stewart has established herself as the world's leading hostess helper. She made a run before Thanksgiving and now she's back again at #30 -- whupping Shania Twain, James Bond and Vegas.
WHY BLAIR WITCH? What is with the Blair Witch Project? We expected a run on the movie's video release, but it's back at #42 a month later? Stocking-stuffer DVD sales, perhaps?
NEW THIS WEEK: elf bowling, Martha Stewart, the Blair Witch Project, golf, Carmen Electra, Jenny McCarthy, capital punishment.
DROPOUTS: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sailor Moon, Resident Evil, WTO meetings, Australian women's soccer team, Hanukkah, Anna Kournikova.
BIGGEST RISE: Barbie and Tupac Shakur (what a couple) both rise 10 notches; wrestling is up 11 spaces to #21.
BIGGEST DROP: Mars falls 12 spots to #19; James Bond drops 14 spaces to #31, and Bond babe Denise Richards falls 11 spots to #26.
AND FINALLY: So long, Sailor Moon. The animated princess drops out of sight this week after a 16-week run on the Lycos 50. Her departure leaves only 14 topics which have remained on the Lycos 50 for all four months of our existence.
