The Public Interest – 8/31/06

by David Spark on August 31, 2006

Here’s a game I play on the “Will and Willie” show every couple of weeks. All the questions are based on the popularity of the public’s search behavior online. Take the quiz and then scroll down to see the answers.

1. Pornography has always been a popular subject to look up on Wikipedia, the user-generated online encyclopedia. But for the past week which one of these subjects has been more popular than pornography?

(A) Iran
(B) Pamela Anderson
(C) Pluto

[Source: Wikipedia]

2. Ending last week, August 21st, which story’s search query got the greatest upsurge in search?

(A) JonBenét Ramsey
(B) Snakes on a Plane
(C) Dell battery recall

[Source: Google Zeitgeist]

3. For this week, which story about a “break” caused the greatest upsurge in search for that celebrity?

(A) Barbara Bach, Ringo Starr’s wife and former Bond girl, was hospitalized for a broken leg after being kicked by a horse.
(B) Matthew Broderick breaks his collarbone after falling off a horse in Ireland.
(C) Julia Louis-Dreyfus “breaks” the Seinfeld curse and wins an Emmy for her new show.

[Source: Yahoo! Buzz Index]

4. (Part A) Over the past three years, on average, who has been the most searched Beatle?

(A) John Lennon
(B) George Harrison
(C) Paul McCartney
(D) Ringo Starr

4. (Part B) In the world of search, who’s more popular, Elvis or The Beatles?

[Source: Google Trends]

5. We’ve just got a few more days of summer. And students are squeezing in as much sex as they can. But that doesn’t always work out the way they intend it. As a result, a contraceptive was a top search mover this past week, what was it?

[Source: Yahoo! Buzz Index]
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Answers
1. (C) Pluto
Searches on Yahoo spiked more than 2000% for the demoted planet.
2. (A) JonBenét Ramsey
3. (B) Matthew Broderick
4. (Part A) (A) John Lennon, (Part B), The Beatles
5. Morning After Pill or Plan B

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