the buzz log
What's in the Water (Cube)?
Forget the fountain of youth. People want to know what's with Beijing National Aquatics Centre, better known (and searched on) as "water cube beijing" (+962%). In other words, what kind of alchemy is happening at the Cube to produce world record-breaking gold medalists?
The controversial influence of the Speedo LZR Racer suit has long been known, although the New York Times has looked over that outfit again as an explanation for faster swim times. Slate waded into the theory that the pool's responsible, and does find that the design—from its depth, width, gutters, and lane dividers—all helps to reduce resistance.
Radar Online dismisses those points as horse droppings. The magazine interviewed pool designer John Bilmon, who thinks the wins are due to the contagious nature of competition... that and the fact that the site's just darned purty.
He may have a point. Xinhua News Agency, the official Chinese government media, reports rave reviews about "awesome" pool temperature, a bright atmosphere, and water as "smooth as honey." Before the records started falling like dominos, American swimmer Garrett Weber-Gale called the Cube the "coolest thing I've ever seen in my life."
Better aesthetics leading to better performance is an ancient idea. After all, the environmental design psychology known as feng shui originated in China, and literally means "wind water." Now if only the designers could do kiddy-pool versions for the rest of us.
Filed under: Sports, Architecture, China, Swimming, Design, Olympics
What's the Buzz for August 13, 2008: Be Like Mike
Michael Phelps, the star member of the USA Swimming team, now has more gold medals than anyone and is clearly half man/half fish. So how does the dude with the golden touch do it? Like, what does he eat?
... The man, the myth, the menu. Web searches for "michael phelps breakfast" spiked 339%, along with "michael phelps diet" (+314%).
... We like to watch. The Olympian is also claiming a lot of our viewing hours. If we're not watching him, we're waiting to watch him: "michael phelps schedule" surged 149% as many have figured out by now that to get to swimming you have to wade through boxing, crew, fencing, and the like.
... If you can't beat him, date him. The curious want to know about the golden boy's attachments. Searches for "michael phelps girlfriend" revved up 184%. Well, it's the Olympics. Dare to dream.
... Eyes on the prize. We're keeping a look out for Phelps teammate and competitor Ryan Lochte. He's caught the attention of e-fans with searches for "ryan lochte girlfriend" (+137%). Watch your back, Phelps.
... He shoots, he scores. Michael Phelps isn't the only one to make history. India took aim at the record books with its first individual gold medal ever. Searches for "india's olympic history abhinav bindra" rose 147% on news of Abhinav Bindra's gold for air rifle.
You've Swum a Long Way, Baby
The popularity of women's sports is growing. We'd like to think it's because the public has become more open-minded. Alas, we suspect the real reason is humankind's increased appetite for well-toned hotties.
One of the hottest female athletes, both in appearance and in Search, is Amanda Beard. The Olympic swimmer is a favorite of the fellas, drawing 90% of her searches from guys. And she caters to her fanbase admirably, having appeared in "FHM" and "Sports Illustrated"'s swimsuit issue.
But those pictorials were just warm up laps. Ms. Beard's buzz has finally hit its stride thanks to her shedding her swimsuit for "Playboy." Queries on the gold medal winner are up 678% this month and show no sign of fading down the stretch.
Does Beard's posing in the altogether help or hurt women's sports? Will it make it harder for other female athletes to be taken seriously, or is any publicity good publicity? What do you think?
Gone Swimmin'
Temperatures are soaring across the nation, but there's one sure way to keep your cool: Put on your trunks or bikini, head over to the deep end of the pool, and dive in. Searches on "swimming pools" flooded the Buzz this weekend, up 28% as folks sought relief from a scorching summer.
"Doughboy pools," "above ground swimming pools," and "fiberglass swimming pools" performed swimmingly in Search, while a handful of misers tried to skimp by looking for "cheap above ground swimming pools." Families with flotillas of floatie-armed kids blew up queries on inflatable pools (+54%) and pool toys (+73). And those lucky enough to already own a pool tried to prevent it from becoming a cesspool by shoping for pool supplies (+33%).
And apparently, a number of you don't mind baring it all while you take a dip—we saw a 6% bump in searches on "skinny dipping." Just don't forget the sunscreen.
Filed under: Swimming, Swimming Pools
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lin Chi Ling | Breakout! |
| 2 | Gloria Diaz | Breakout! |
| 3 | Freida Pinto | 27459% |
| 4 | Gloria Estefan | 9975% |
| 5 | Gloria Velez | 6463% |
| 6 | Gloria Trevi | 3878% |
| 7 | Faith Hill | 2081% |
| 8 | 60 Minutes | 1114% |
| 9 | Alexis Denisof | 994% |
| 10 | Lee Ann Womack | 987% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NFL | +464 | 575 |
| 2 | Britney Spears | +194 | 316 |
| 3 | Hi-5 | -11 | 244 |
| 4 | Black Friday | +23 | 212 |
| 5 | Freida Pinto | +198 | 199 |
| 6 | UFC | -24 | 194 |
| 7 | Club Penguin | -30 | 161 |
| 8 | Gloria Estefan | +149 | 150 |
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.