the buzz log
Guilty Pleasures for Free or Cheap...Hold the Guilt
Today, a couple national chains offer more deals, with some altruistic twists. April 21 noon to 8 p.m. is the annual free cone day at Ben & Jerry's, purveyor of cheeky concoctions like Chubby Hubby, Jamaican Me Crazy and Karamel Sutra. (Naturally, we're intrigued by the Coffee, Coffee, BuzzBuzzBuzz.) Some locations will be doubling up with a good purpose, such as a blood drive, selling $1 waffle cones for a kids' club, or partnering with an advocacy center to bring attention to Child Awareness Month.
If dairy's not your treat, two quarters will score you an iced coffee at Dunkin' Donuts. That extra buzz will also help Homes For Our Troops, which gets a nickel for every cup sold.
Given the Search surge for both joints, expect long lines from people primed for their treats. Now if only fitness centers joined in and offered treadmill runs free up to 300 calories burned, it could really be a feel-good day.
Make Mine a Decaf Single With No Cleavage
Hooters, beware.
From the state that revolutionized the coffee experience, the idea of mixing caffeinated beverages and barely dressed femmes seemed like a natural evolution (albeit a workplace injury waiting to happen from all that steam). Enter Espresso Gone Wild, a drive-through coffee stand where the servers wear lingerie, and pasties twice weekly.
But not in Belfair, Washington, thank you, a "gateway community" that's the "final fueling and supply stop" before the Olympic National Park. Some residents were steamed at the sight of baristas in a state of near deshabille, so council members have cracked down and demanded that the java jerks dress up. The move unleashed a libertarian outcry online... well, okay, searches for "espresso gone wild" frothed up 352%.
The coffee stand's not the first in the state to institute a minimal uniform: The Kitsap Sun credits the "pink leather hot pants" at Natte Latte. Despite the setback, Espresso Gone Wild will likely stick to its its pasties at its first drive-through location ... although no photos please. The flash might deflate the foam.
Filed under: Food and Drink, Work, Jobs, Coffee, Women
A Crisis of Grande Proportions?
The news that Starbucks will be closing 600 locations across the U.S. caused a legion of coffee drinkers to look up from their venti soy lattes and hit the Web. Since the notification went out, thousands of jittery patrons have driven queries for "starbucks closing," "starbucks closures," and "starbucks locations" up the Search charts.
Local papers immediately sprang into action, flooding the Buzz with articles informing readers of which Starbucks in their vicinity are due to be sacrificed. The roster ran the gamut from Alabama's Opelika Auburn News (the state is losing 12 stores) to the Washington Post (9 in the D.C. region).
The Waynesboro News Virginian went so far as to reassure readers, "Starbucks in region to stay open." Whew. New York Magazine, though, saw no reason to soothe rattled nerves. The weekly's web site proclaimed: "Starbucks Shortage in Midtown!" It's like a Frappuccino famine.
New York may be losing a number of the ubiquitous coffee outlets, but it's not the hardest hit. That misfortune falls to the great state of California. Between San Diego, San Francisco, and all the towns in between, the Golden State will suffer the loss of 88 locations. Breathe deeply. It's going to be OK.
Starbucks Closings Cause Concern
Coffee lovers, the end is nigh! In a move that's sure to make caffeine junkies stoop to new levels of desperation and depravity, Starbucks will close every one of their stores for three hours this afternoon for "training purposes."
Queries on the company surged 26% and related searches on "starbucks closings" and "starbucks hours" posted venti sized gains. Clearly, the groggy and addicted are wondering where they'll score their afternoon fix. A look at the geographical breakdown indicates that folks on the East Coast are particularly worried: Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore are among the most concerned cities.
Fortunately, it's not all gloom and doom for those cursed with the coffee vice. The good sports at Dunkin Donuts have announced a special 99 cent promotion while their rival closes its doors from 5:30 to 8:30 (local time). Expect searches on "where the hell is my nearest dunkin donuts" to soar at around 5:31.
Filed under: Coffee
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| 8 | Gretchen Rossi | 2702% |
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| 10 | Lee Harvey Oswald | 1907% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danica Patrick | +194 | 207 |
| 2 | Fort Hood | +185 | 185 |
| 3 | Angelina Jolie | +114 | 164 |
| 4 | Rihanna | +39 | 157 |
| 5 | New York Yankees | +54 | 154 |
| 6 | Alicia Keys | +139 | 153 |
| 7 | +1 | 153 | |
| 8 | NFL | +6 | 138 |
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.
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