Announcement
August 16, 2006

Popular Culture, Politics Jostle For Space On The Weekly Google Zeitgeist

Google Announces Top 15 Gainers for the Week Ending August 14

Pop culture, politics, celebrity dramas and geopolitical concerns all surfaced for Google users searching for information last week. The summer predictables - new movies and stars (Step Up, Channing Tatum) appeared with frequency, as did celebrity meltdowns (Heather Mills, Maurice Clarett, kinkajou, Shanna Moakler, Travis Barker), which in turn lined up with political analysis (Segolene Royal, Lieberman) and unfolding current events (Ahmadinejad, TSA). Even science (meteor shower, Mythbusters) came in for scrutiny. And all of them rose rapidly as queries on Google.com as the world continued to unfold, and people sought to learn who was who, and what was what.

For breaking news and obscure information alike, people around the world search on Google. Below is a summary of the Google Zeitgeist results for the top 15 gainers on Google.com when comparing search queries that have risen by a significant percentage for the week of August 7-14.

For more information, visit the Google Zeitgeist at http://www.google.com/zeitgeist.

Google.com Gainers

1. segolene royal - French paparazzi captured the Socialist presidential hopeful in a bikini; photos ran in the August 12 issue of French celebrity magazine Closer, stirring debate around the country's usually sober political coverage
2. tsa - Transportation Security Administration, the U.S. Homeland Security agency charged with airline checkpoints for passengers, is working overtime since last week's discovery of a new bomb plot at London's Heathrow Airport
3. shanna moakler - news of her impending divorce from former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker surfaced on Aug. 8; the pair proceeded to diss each other through postings on MySpace (see #10)
4. lieberman - Senator from Connecticut who lost his primary race on Aug. 8 to Ned Lamont pledges to fight on until November election as an Independent instead of a Democrat
5. ahmadinejad - the Iranian President is in the news for a variety of provocative remarks, including a much-discussed Aug. 12 interview with Mike Wallace on CBS' "60 Minutes"
6. kinkajou - one of these fruit-eating mammals, named Baby Luv, belongs to Paris Hilton - and it bit her on Aug. 12 (she was treated and released)
7. meteor shower - every August the earth moves into the path of a meteor shower band that burn up in our atmosphere and offer viewers with the right conditions a spectacular light display - the Perseid show peaked on Aug. 11 in the desert southwest
8. maurice clarett - former Ohio State football star Clarett was arrested Aug. 9 for carrying a concealed weapon; appeared in court for a judge-ordered mental health evaluation on Aug. 13
9. heather mills - claims and count-claims are flying between Mills and her estranged and soon to be ex-husband Sir Paul McCartney; on Aug. 8 reports emerged that she was allegedly locked out of their house
10. travis barker - tattooed drummer was the one to file for divorce from Shanna Moakler after less than 2 years of marriage
11. channing tatum - young actor enjoying positive notice for his star turn in "Step Up" (see #12)
12. step up - the low-budget teen dancing flick came in second only to "Talladega Nights" in weekend box office receipts for Aug. 11
13. windows update - various slowdowns and problems plagued the weekend (Aug. 11-12) release of patches for Microsoft's operating system
14. mike douglas - affable daytime talk show host (1961-82) died at age 81 on Aug. 11
15. mythbusters - Discovery Channel's popular science show explored the hugely popular Mentos-and-Diet Coke-geyser-creation phenom on Aug. 8