the buzz log

The world's greatest athletes may have tussled and triumphed in Beijing this week, but here at the Buzz, far more mysterious creatures held sway. A vampire dog galloped past, the body of a seven-foot hairy legend surfaced in a north Georgia woods, and an invisibility cloak cast its spell over readers. Read on for more of the week's buzziest tales...

A Chupa- what?
Early in the week, video footage emerged of a supposed Chupacabra, the mythological beast said to feast on the blood of farm animals and haunt parts of the U.S. and Latin America. Captured on tape by a Texas sheriff's deputy, the four-legged creature lopes ahead of the police vehicle, at one point turning its face to flash a long, bulbous snout.

Real? Who knows? Some investigators say the animal is possibly a coyote-fox mix; a biologist says it's a pit bull. Regardless, searches for "chupacabra texas" rose 13,424% over the past week, while the deputy's video clip ascended to the #1 spot in the week's top buzzing stories.

A Big- who?
Within days of the Chupacabra video, news broke that two men in northern Georgia had found the corpse of a Bigfoot—or so they claimed. Though the press conference to present the "evidence" wouldn't happen until the end of the week, the buzz around the revelation quickly reached a fevered pitch.

In just one day, more than 100 distinct searches related to the hairy monster besieged the Search box. In Buzz, a CNET article on the fervor topped the week's most popular science stories. Regrettably, the Friday press event left many questions unanswered.

An invisibility- huh?
Not to be outdone by vampire dogs or gigantic bipeds, researchers at UC Berkeley announced this week that they had crafted an artificial fabric that "can bend light around 3D objects." As NPR explains: "If they're able to expand the work to a wider range of wavelengths, the material could provide an unprecedented level of control over the way light moves, perhaps even making a "cloak of invisibility" possible."

The "perhaps" in that statement didn't stop anybody. Articles on the possibilities of superhero attire glided up the Buzz charts. In Search, lookups for "invisibility cloak" leapt, followed closely by the even more optimistic "invisibility cloaks." Why seek just one when you could have multiple copies?

Filed under: Cryptozoology, Week in Review

A future Hall of Famer leaves Boston for L.A. A one-time dream home slips into foreclosure. And an A-list star objects to airbrushing. These stories, and others, topped the charts in Buzz this week…

Will Manny still be Manny out West?
Superstar slugger Manny Ramirez and his team, the Boston Red Sox, have butted heads for years. Now, that contentious relationship has come to an end. In "a stunning three-team trade," the Massachusetts club sent the outfielder to the L.A. Dodgers this week. Whether Boston fans are relieved or devastated, we can't say. But the swap boosted Manny into the top sports news and searches for the past seven days.

An "Extreme Makeover" home defaults
In 2005, ABC's reality hit "Extreme Makeover" recruited more than 1,800 volunteers to help create a "sparkling, four-bedroom mini-mansion" for the Harper family in Georgia. It's not so sparkling anymore. The over-sized home now faces foreclosure. After the mortgage woes went public, buzz for "abc extreme makeover" rose 839%, while interest in "extreme makeover harper family" and "extreme makeover harper family house" surged off the charts.

Keira Knightley just says no
Airbrushing may be the standard operating procedure for Hollywood types, but British beauty Keira Knightley isn't having any of it. The luscious actress has refused to allow her image to be digitally altered in promotional pieces for her upcoming flick, "The Duchess." Buzz readers greeted the news with enthusiasm, making a TrendHunter post on the star's protest the week's top spiking entertainment story.

Also moving and shaking in Buzz this week...

• The earthquake that struck Southern California on Tuesday may have been moderate on the Richter scale, but it was epic in Buzz. It set off such giant search spikes as "california earthquake" (+8,624%) and "u.s. geological survey" (+2,599%) and rose to the top of the week's U.S. news.

• The sixth "Harry Potter" film doesn't hit theaters until November 21, but it's already stirring enthusiasm on the Web. The release of the trailer, and its first glimpse of Ralph Fiennes' 11-year-old nephew Hero Fiennes-Tiffin as a young Voldemort, sent fans scurrying to Buzz for more.

Filed under: Week in Review

As a country singer, a radio shock jock, and a basketball star each stirred up (or responded to) his own kind of skirmish this week, two women drew attention for their well-cut style. Getting in trouble, getting out of it, and looking good—welcome to the past seven days in Buzz.

Tim McGraw ain't looking for trouble
But he ain't shrinking from it, either. When a front-row audience member got rough during a Tim McGraw concert, the country crooner hauled the offending fan on stage and shoved him toward security guards. What did the southern singer belt out immediately after? "I ain't looking for trouble." Footage of the fracas, complete with a brief face-off between the fan and the star, blew to the top of Buzz.

Maria Sharapova goes for the formal look
Maria Sharapova may have lost Wimbledon, but she triumphed in the style stakes. Though buzz on the other players' fashionable outfits also spiked throughout the tennis championship, it was an article on the blonde Russian's bib-front shirt and low-cut, tuxedo-style shorts that scored with Buzz readers.

Color Don Imus unhappy
While chatting on air about Dallas Cowboys player Pacman Jones and his multiple arrests, Don Imus asked his co-host "what color" the athlete is. Upon hearing that Pacman is African-American, the shock jock replied, "Well, there you go, now we know." The radio provocateur explained himself the next day, but buzz on the comments continued to turn up the volume all week.

Also sparking buzz over the past seven days...

• Shaquille O'Neal took the stage at a New York nightclub to rap. In the process, he launched more than a few zingers aimed at his former teammate Kobe Bryant. Video footage of the freestyle slap-down instantly sparked searches and articles.

• Jackie Kennedy made fashion designer Oleg Cassini an international star. Could Michelle Obama do the same for Maria Pinto? A Wall Street Journal profile looks at the Chicago-based designer who is gaining renown for dressing Mrs. Obama in brightly colored shifts and classic lines.

Filed under: Recaps, Week in Review