the buzz log

Earlier this week, Senator Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The news led to an outpouring of searches on the man, his history, and his famous family.

Lookups on just about possible variant of Senator Kennedy's name spiked, including everything from the very proper "senator edward m. kennedy" to the more casual "teddy kennedy." Interest in "senator kennedy biography" and "ted kennedy history," jumped as well.

While the majority of searches on Senator Kennedy revolved around his current condition, we noticed a significant number of queries on Mary Jo Kopechne, the young woman who died in a car crash in Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts with Kennedy behind the wheel. A huge scandal ensued and even now, almost 40 years later, folks clearly haven't forgotten.

Along those same lines, lookups on the "kennedy curse" posted enormous gains. Related queries on some of Senator Kennedy's fallen family members also spiked. President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and JFK Jr. posted large gains as did Rosemary Kennedy, Senator Kennedy's older sister who was lobotomized as a young woman.

Still, despite all the past tragedies that came to people's minds, the majority of interest revolved around Ted Kennedy and his latest challenge. Folks eager to understand more about the senator's health looked up "malignant brain tumor," "malignant vs. benign," and "Massachusetts General Hospital," where the senator was diagnosed.