the buzz log

Every spring, the Search box is overrun by diverse folks united in their need for an answer to a very important question: Who invented the Easter Bunny? This year is no exception. Lookups on that and other related questions are blowing up like a microwaved Peep.

Over the past week, searches for "easter bunny origin" and "history of the easter bunny" posted huge gains. Those surges are sure to continue through Sunday as confused children take to the Web to learn the truth about the giant rabbit who, for some reason, lays multicolored eggs.

So, what's the story behind the Easter Bunny? The Buzz is full of blogs trying to explain the mad hopper's history. Mental Floss writes that while the Easter Bunny does seem to come out of left field, there may be some logic to its existence. Hundreds of years ago, "many pagan cultures held spring festivals." One such festival was devoted to "Eostre, the goddess of dawn," and this Eostre was "linked to the hare and the egg, both symbols of fertility." See where this is going?

Despite its mysterious history, the Easter Bunny still draws quite a crowd on the Web. Queries on "easter bunny drawings," "easter bunny jokes," and "easter bunny cake" all jumped over the past several days.

We also noticed lookups for "evil easter bunny," a comical video from several years ago. It proves that while the bunny may be nice on Easter day, the other 364 days of the year, he's kind of a jerk. Anyone opposed to extreme bunny-on-man violence is advised to look away.