the buzz log
Hurricane Ike Digs up a Mystery Ship
Hurricane Ike scraped its way across the southern United States, leaving a wake of destruction in its path. But on a beach in Alabama, the storm unearthed unexpected treasure in the form of a mysterious shipwreck.
According to news reports, the nautical ruins, which had previously been buried under sand at Fort Morgan, reveal a "badly burned" ship that is 150 feet long and built of heavy timbers. Some local citizens have wondered whether the wreckage could be the long-sought Ivanhoe, a steamship designed to evade Union blockades during the Civil War.
Not likely, says the Naval Times, adding that the vessel is probably "some type of rum runner" from the Prohibition-era. That still sounds pretty cool to us—and to searchers, too. Queries for "hurricane ike mystery ship" are climbing the Search charts, while articles on the anonymous vessel have floated upwards in Buzz.
Filed under: Disasters, Hurricanes
May 2008 Buzz: Top Searches
Tragedy struck this May after a cyclone devastated Myanmar and an earthquake killed thousands in China. In the political realm, primaries continued to dominate online searches, but the diagnosis of Senator Ted Kennedy's brain tumor made the statesman one of the most queried Democrats of the month. These stories and many others reverberated through Search.
Unnatural Disasters
The number of casualties is still unknown in Myanmar, but the cyclone itself and the junta's role spurred readers to dig deeper into the story. The evolving story in China, on the other hand, sparked similar map lookups but also had readers monitoring the aftershocks, the country's endangered dams and bridges, relief funds, the country's one-child policy, and Sharon Stone's regretful comments.
Two Degrees of "Idol"
Date an Idol, revive a flagging career. Among the television finales firing up searches, "American Idol" climbed past Miley Cyrus and the IRS to make the top 20 searches. David Cook won (as early Buzz Log numbers projected), and took his newfound cred to ask out season 2 competitor and TV Guide Network talk show host Kimberly Caldwell, setting off a domino search explosion for the peroxide blonde.
Scant weeks after Mariah Carey's "Idol" mentorship, the singer hitched with Nick Cannon and provoked for look-ups for her nuptials, age, bio, wedding pictures, and her rock.
Track Records
The fabled tradition of the Kentucky Derby took a grisly turn when downed horse Eight Belles had to be put down. The winner of that race, Big Brown, however turned the conversation to a Triple Crown contention when he won the Preakness 2008.
As women like Danica Patrick and Gina Carano make Search headway, NCAA softball has also seen a 12% increase in searches compared to this same time last year.
Other newsmakers among the fastest moving searches in May…
- …The Samsung Glyde, another attempt to slay the iPhone, gets techies looking but scores a "meh" from the critics.
- …Is honoring Mom becoming perfunctory? Searches for "mother's day" have dropped 20% since last year. Unless the online "Grand Theft Auto IV" hysteria was really just gift shopping for mom...
- … "Iron Man" still holds the lead in 2008 box office receipts and searches, and gave its Robert Downey, Jr. redemption and perhaps closer to his onscreen persona's wealth... at least, if he did his royalties right.
Filed under: Sports, Disasters, Movies, Monthly Wrapup, Recaps, Wrap Up
Cyclones, Myanmar, and Other Search Questions
As international relief agencies press to bring more aid into Myanmar, searchers have hit the Web for background on the cyclone-ravaged country.
Demand for "myanmar" has lifted queries 2,454% over the past week, while lookups of the country's former name, "burma," have picked up 1,401%. Surging terms like "myanmar map," "myanmar news," and "burma news" reveal an intense interest in the country's location and how it's responding to the disaster that struck nearly a week ago.
Here are some of the other fastest-moving search questions about the catastrophe...
• "What is a cyclone?"—According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a cyclone is "a violent tropical storm." This "atmospheric system" is "usually accompanied by stormy, often destructive weather."
• "What is the difference between a cyclone and a hurricane?"—Not much. "Hurricane" (and "typhoon") is a "regionally specific" name for a tropical cyclone. How these ferocious outbreaks are labeled depends simply on where each forms. Read more in this FAQ from NOAA.
• "Where is Burma?" and "Where is Myanmar?"—Myanmar is located in Southeast Asia, on the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. It borders India, China, Laos, and Thailand.
As to confusion over the nation's two names, here's American Heritage again: Burma's "civilian government was overthrown by a military coup in 1962 and again in 1988. The country was officially renamed Myanmar in 1989." Many sources, such as the CIA Factbok or Wikipedia, continue to refer to the land as "Burma."
•Finally, spiking demand for "junta," "military junta," and "myanmar junta" suggests curiosity about the term. Here's how Merriam-Webster defines "junta": "a group of persons controlling a government especially after a revolutionary seizure of power."
Tuesday's Buzz You Missed
The news has hit hard this week, and it's only Tuesday. During this time of hardship and indecision, the Buzz sought perspective, and even the upside.
A Disastrous Past
Compiling a list of the top 15 calamities may seem callous at first. Yet creating such a list can help us grasp the magnitude of a tragedy, and can also provide an opportunity to evaluate past disaster responses to help deal with a current crisis. As Myanmar faces the aftermath of the cyclone and the world mobilizes to help, LiveScience.com looks back at the natural catastrophes that have occurred throughout history.
A Political Future
The notion has been introduced before, but a Time blog thought it bore repeating: The drawn-out presidential contest between the Democratic rivals is actually good for democracy as a whole. An Indiana party chairman pointed to increased voter registrations and the fundraising infusions into the electoral process. A quick search finds similar stories happening in state after state: Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania. And a recent AP survey confirmed the new-voter registration numbers have bubbled up significantly on a national level.
An Equine Presence
Two years ago, readers monitored the injury and eventual death of racehorse Barbaro. His death then spurred searches for his condition, laminitis. With the recent case of Eight Belles' broken ankles, a question is raised: How could those seemingly minor conditions prove so fatal to such a robust creature? Another LiveScience.com report explains the connection between a horse's step and its circulation, and how immobility compromises that vital bodily function.
Other stories spiking in Buzz ...
- The 2008 MTV Movie Awards didn't deviate from its tradition of crowd-pleasing irreverence, as it announced films like "Superbad" and "Juno" in its running for Best Movie. Us Magazine took care to point out that Angelina Jolie had been nominated for Best Villain. The complete list of noms can be found here.
- Countries throughout the world have been raising their adoption-policy thresholds. Vietnam recently barred U.S. citizens from their process, and now Guatemala has temporarily banned Americans from their process. Guatemala is the second-largest source of overseas adoptions by Americans.
- A drug sting operation ensnared 75 San Diego State University students and 21 others. Some of the activity seems to have involved the frat Theta Chi. The haul included 2 kilos of cocaine, 350 Ecstasy pills, guns, and an unfortunate quote from the fraternity's national executive director, who said of the San Diego chapter, "They had improved their recruitment. They were trying to raise money for a new house."
Filed under: Disasters, Politics, Recaps, Daily Recap
Satellites Capture Wildfire Buzz
As the fires in California raged across the southern part of the state, searchers from across the country turned to the Web for satellite imagery of the devastation.
Demand for "satellite california" was so huge it exceeded all other searches in Buzz, landing the term at the top of Wednesday's movers. Meanwhile, a crush of lookups for "california fire satellite," "san diego fire satellite," "california wildfire satellite," and "fire satellite" flashed upwards.
Popular sources for remote images of Earth's surface also flared. Buzz for "nasa satellite" leapt 170%, and queries for "google satellite maps" and "google earth" surged. Hopefully, the pictures they're returning will soon show a landscape that's dry and smoke-free.
Filed under: Disasters, California
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford 400 | Breakout! |
| 2 | Indonesia Ferry | Breakout! |
| 3 | Jordan Chandler | 3481% |
| 4 | Evan Chandler | 2322% |
| 5 | American Music Awards | 1841% |
| 6 | John F. Kennedy | 1529% |
| 7 | Turkey Stuffing Recipes | 1361% |
| 8 | Liam Hemsworth | 1172% |
| 9 | Lou Dobbs | 1142% |
| 10 | Hendrick Motorsports | 888% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Friday | +340 | 1290 |
| 2 | NFL | +489 | 670 |
| 3 | Jennifer Lopez | +451 | 515 |
| 4 | New Moon | -67 | 250 |
| 5 | American Music Awards | +236 | 249 |
| 6 | UFC | -36 | 239 |
| 7 | Miley Cyrus | +66 | 169 |
| 8 | Hulu | -11 | 154 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
For more detailed information, visit our FAQ.