the buzz log
What’s the Buzz: Creatures, Mysteries, and a Rumor
… Creature from the deep. As Gawker put it, it's been "our monsteriest season yet." Our obsession with beasts real and imagined continues today. A "giant squid" was found off the waters of Antarctica and recently dissected at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Curious lookie loos quickly sent searches for the 30-foot creature up 14,816%.
…The Talented Mr. Rockefeller. A mystery of a different nature cloaks Clark Rockefeller (+319%). The Rockefeller family says he is no more a Rockefeller than we are. But that didn't stop the German con man from passing as a member of the legendary family. People.com describes him as "the controversial figure at the center of a number of criminal investigations—including, most recently, the alleged abduction of his own 7-year-old daughter."
…Alive and kicking. The Internet is a dangerous place for celebrities, where rumors of stars' deaths are often wildly exaggerated. Dolly Parton is the latest to fall prey to the deathwatch. Searches on "dolly parton" (+ 288.32) and "dolly parton dies posts" (+254%) peaked on the false claims.
Filed under: Recaps
What's the Buzz: A Cold Front Is Coming
...Big chill. According to the latest edition of the Farmers' Almanac (+738%) it's going to be a colder than usual winter. The publication, which since 1818 has forecast long-range weather predictions, says to expect "below-average temperatures for most of the U.S.," according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Bundle up and hunker down.
...Museum blockbuster. One way to warm up is to take in the Frida Kahlo (+468%) show in San Francisco. But you better hurry—it closes on Sunday. If you can't make the show, you can check out the 2002 movie about the artist, Frida (+537%), starring Salma Hayek.
...Let the political games begin. The summer Olympics have ended, but there's still reason to park it in front of your TV: the Democratic National Convention (+85%). Members of "Team D" who are going for the gold include Michelle Obama, (+1532%), Al Gore, and Ted Kennedy, Searches for the "democratic national convention schedule" are up 156% as convention prepare for wrestling matches between Hillary and Barack, cheering and flag-waving competitions, and spin control contests. Where's Michael Phelps when you need him?
Filed under: Recaps
Five Things We Learned This Weekend
We're sure many people consider the weekend a time of relaxation and recreation. But just because it's Saturday or Sunday doesn't mean we turn off our brains here at the Buzz. Behold the top five things we learned this weekend.
Vice presidential candidates aren't always boring
Political pundits and pledged delegates finally exhaled this weekend when
Democratic candidate Barack Obama released
the identity of his chosen running mate. Countless people got
the news about Joseph Biden, the six-term senior senator from Delaware, on their iPhones and BlackBerrys in the early
morning hours—or more likely caught wind of a leak the night before. The flood of
analysis on the pairing of Biden and Obama began posthaste. Meanwhile,
interested folks have already begun searching for the senator's
biography and sending queries about his family
into the Buzz charts.
Big-fish tales take a bite out of the buzz
Weekends are for fishing. Apparently more than a few anglers
got excited about the announcement of a new species of fish this week. Related
to the gargantuan Atlantic species of goliath
grouper, the similarly human-size species found in the eastern Pacific
was officially declared
a creature unto itself. Readers enjoyed learning about this massive fish,
which dines on crabs and octopuses, sending the goliath grouper to the crest of
the Buzz search charts.
You can see three planets for the price of one
Continuing to prove that science can be fun, experts let us
in on a unique occurrence in our summer skies. Turn your eyes to the western
horizon at sunset, and gaze at the brilliant light of three
planets over the next week. Look for Venus' silvery spark just after
sunset, when you might also be lucky enough to get a look at Mercury and
Saturn. Take binoculars.
Four-eared cats are actually kind of cute
The natural world has its oddities, but giant fish and the
intermittent harmony of planets seem relatively tame when you consider the case
of the cat with four ears. You might be inclined to recoil, but just look
at that face. Ted and Valerie Rock of Illinois did and couldn't help but adopt the
little fuzz ball. When the Rocks' son posted a picture of the aptly named Yoda
online, the whole wide
world seemed to take a four-eared
cat into its heart.
What the world needs now is the Cheetah Girls
Fidelity to felines of all forms equaled movie madness this
weekend. "The Cheetah Girls One World," the third and just-released
movie from the tweener
sensations premiered on the Disney Channel this weekend and went
totally Bollywood. If you missed any other part of the Cheetah
Girls empire, you must not have the key demographic in your household, but
plenty do. Online searches for the Cheetah
Girls project rose into the stratosphere (+1,750 percent) and pushed the
Buzz world off its axis.
Filed under: Recaps
The Buzz Week in Review
The Olympics are dominating the Buzz, but there's more to life than balance beams, diving boards, and Michael Phelps. This past week, a woman sued Apple, rumors surged that Rihanna may be going broke, and a disturbingly large new species of fish was discovered (which, in case you were wondering, is of no relation to Mr. Phelps).
Don't get mad ... get litigious
Many of us have dreamed about taking our cell phone manufacturer to court for all the dropped calls and outrageous fees. Only a few, like Jessica Alena Smith, follow through on the fantasy. The Alabama native has sued Apple, claiming the company's advertisements for the new iPhone ("twice as fast, half the price") are misleading. Lookups on "iphone 3g speed" and "iphone 3g lawsuit" scorched the Search box for triple digit gains. Meanwhile, several related articles on the lawsuit were buzzed up, including this one on the iPhone's recent software update. It is designed to make the gadget faster. Apparently, Ms. Smith was unimpressed.
Things are tough all over...
Singing sensation Rihanna may be going through some financial difficulties. The 20-year-old R&B star's Buzz soared after rumors broke that she's only worth around $20,000. Whether true or false, several articles reported that the singer has since fired her business manager. If it's any consolation to Rihanna, she's still incredibly popular in Buzz. Not only were articles on the financial rumors buzzed early and often, but her search profile is among Yahoo!'s top 250 overall terms.
The Hogzilla of the Sea!
With billions of people on the planet, you'd think humanity would have discovered just about all there is to discover by now. Nope. This past week, a massive new fish was found to be an entirely new species after genetic testing. Aptly called the "goliath grouper," the creature grows to around six feet in length and weighs around 1,000 pounds. You can read all about the formidable fish at LiveScience.
Also buzzing this week...
• Janet Jackson launched her own lingerie line, called "The Pleasure Principle." The intimate apparel inspired dozens of buzzes on this article from TrendHunter. Coincidently, the extremely popular article features plenty of pictures of scantily clad models.
•We weren't going to mention Michael Phelps, but this one is just too good to pass up. According to Us Weekly, Olympic legend Mark Spitz has an idea whether or not he would have been able to beat Mr. Phelps in a race. Quoteth Spitz: "It'd be a tie."
Filed under: Apple Computer, Recaps, Rihanna
What's the Buzz:Theories, Shoes, and Royals
...9/11 Mystery: Solved. The case of the collapsed World Trade Center 7 has finally been put to rest. According to Popular Mechanics, some conspiracy theorists posited there was no way a 47-floor building could be felled solely by fire from falling debris of the adjacent towers. But federal officials, after studying the questions for three years, have concluded that it is the only building ever to suffer complete structural destruction from fire alone. Searches on "9-11 conspiracy theories" and "conspiracy theories" (+106%) surged on the news.
...Shoe-in. Searches for the high-priced, high-heeled "christian louboutin shoes" (+453%) spiked after Olympic gold medal-winner Rebecca Adlington revealed her real score: a pair of black Christian Louboutin pumps from her mum. "They have killer heels," she told the Daily Mail. Forget the dolphin kick: Maybe the promise of the sexy kicks gave the nineteen-year-old swimmer the real leg up.
...Not so super-rich. She may be queen, but Queen Elizabeth II (+231%) is not as rich as she used to be. The Forbes list of "The World's Richest Royals" publicly outed Her Majesty as having an embarrassing financial problem, slipping down one slot to rest at number 12. We know, that global credit crisis can be a royal pain.
Filed under: Recaps
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kara Dioguardi | Breakout! |
| 2 | Brooke Mueller | Breakout! |
| 3 | Genie Francis | Breakout! |
| 4 | Goliath Grouper Fish | Breakout! |
| 5 | Hari Puttar | Breakout! |
| 6 | Tropical Storm Gustav | Breakout! |
| 7 | Mia Hamm | 33250% |
| 8 | Ellen Barkin | 26799% |
| 9 | Luciana Barroso | 20830% |
| 10 | Giant Squid | 16720% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amanda Peet | +542 | 549 |
| 2 | Dancing With The Stars | +304 | 327 |
| 3 | 2008 Olympics | -377 | 323 |
| 4 | Ellen Barkin | +273 | 274 |
| 5 | Luciana Barroso | +245 | 246 |
| 6 | Mia Hamm | +229 | 229 |
| 7 | Hi-5 | -17 | 219 |
| 8 | Jessica Biel | +160 | 198 |
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.