by Vera H-C Chan 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.

by Molly McCall Unfortunately for those who really, really want to believe, the wait must continue. Two researchers presented evidence today of a large, shaggy )and dead( creature they claim is Bigfoot . The two men say they found the mysterious beast in the north Georgia woods and stashed it in a freezer. Though the bold duo had claimed they would present DNA evidence, photographs, and video to prove they did indeed nab the big guy,

by Vera H-C Chan With summer on the home stretch, the releases increase in frenzy with more midweek premieres and a full, eclectic slate for the weekend. Here's how the buzziest new releases stack up... 1. " Tropic Thunder " )R(. The Ben Stiller riff on war movies opened relatively small )$6.5 mil(, but E! points out that some audiences didn't learn of the midweek premiere until )ironically( the boycotts . Hope that the comic trio of Stiller, Jack Black , and Robert Downey,

by Molly McCall Are there three words more dreaded and charged in the history of childhood summers than " back to school "? Just as the hot, glorious months begin to seem like they could stretch on forever, those three blunt sounds bring it all crashing to a close. This year, the trio of words is scaring the grown-ups, as well. In articles climbing the Buzz charts,

by Claudine Zap ... Campaign hits heat up. From the Swift Boat veteran who brought you "Unfit for Command," the book he co-wrote to damn John Kerry in 2004, comes Jerome Corsi's next questionable opus, "Obama Nation." )Not that we're conspiracy theorists, but say it out loud and it sure sounds like "abomination."( ... Getting their )political( fix. Political junkies were out early searching for " obama nation book " )+227%(, along with " obama nation " )+122%(.

by Vera H-C Chan With less than 100 days until the presidential elections, coverage has shifted from horse race monitoring to all-out war . Political observers have been focusing on key " battleground states ." Figuring out just where those battles are may require a specially wired GPS attuned to indecisive voters. About.com identifies Nevada, Michigan, Colorado, Ohio and Virginia as political military grounds. The primary epicenters, Iowa , Florida , and Ohio ,

by Claudine Zap 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,

by Andrea Sandke So there you are, settled down in front of your television, checking out the latest Olympics broadcast. And then you notice something, some detail. It gets you to wondering. And the Buzz Log knows from experience that when viewers get to wondering, they also start to search.

by Molly McCall The bride wore white. The groom wore a brown plastic mask with yellow googly eyes. And the officiant looked wrinkly and green. It was a "Star Wars" wedding , and everyone was united in the forceâ€"and the outfits. In July, a Portland-area couple joined in matrimony in a full-on George Lucas-themed affair. This wasn't the first time that people sympathetic to the ways of the Jedi walked the aisle together.

by Claudine Zap ...Gamers, grab your avatars. " BlizzCon " )+626%( is coming. The gaming convention website was so besieged by the vid crowd wishing to e-purchase tickets for the October spectacle in Anaheim that web sales had to go temporarily offline today, according to Eurogamer . . . . If you're having trouble with tickets, you could always sneak in under cover of an " invisibility cloak " ) +6,858%(. Time Magazine , in a story buzzing up,

by Molly McCall As the conflict between Russia and the Republic of Georgia continues to unfold, increasing numbers of searchers have turned to the Web for background on what's happening. On Friday, citizens from around the world sent " georgia russia " )+3,805%( and " south ossetia " )+1,984%( surging into the top movers. Since then, lookups seeking more information continue to pour in. Below,

by Claudine Zap If you're having English flashbacks )symptoms include: driving on the wrong side of the road, drinking tea, and scheming over the landed gentry across the way(, you're not alone. Last month, searches on the original chick lit novel, " Pride and Prejudice ," surged 17%. The story of the independent-thinking but poor heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, and the handsome but aloof Mr. Darcy,

Tough call: Kwame Kilpatrick , the disgraced mayor of Detroit, who is charged with eight felonies, is surging in search 5,878% after he spent the night in jail for violating his bond by traveling to Canada without alerting the court first. The two-term mayor's naughty text messages on a city-provided pager were released publicly in January. He's been on a short electronic leash )figuratively speaking( ever since. Do or don't? Katie Holmes ,

It was a verbal dispute between an airline passenger and a flight attendant. It was a " tantrum " that escalated into racist abuse. Either way, the situation landed a Continental Airlines employee and the co-pastor of one of the country's most prominent megachurches in courtâ€"and in Buzzâ€"this week. In 2005, Victoria Osteen and her husband, Joel , boarded a plane for Colorado. Once in the cabin, Mrs. Osteen discovered a mysterious, quarter-sized stain on her seat.

How do you counter-program against the Olympics? Open two days early, for one thing, as "Pineapple Express" and "Bottle Shock" did. Two films in wide release and a smattering of limited releases will vie for audiences. In the interests of friendly competition, how about seeing which castmate in each film represents the biggest draw? Play along and see which stars reap the Search popularity in movies opening this week... Castmate Buzz Face-Off 1. " Pineapple Express " )R(.

If life is about the quest for meaning, than the purpose of Search must be to help accelerate the hunt. Every week we see a wide variety of lookups for the meaning of objects, customs, sayings, and, of course, life. We've broken down our findings into two sub-lists. The first covers concrete, answerable stuff like " what is the meaning of a lotus flower " )answer - estranged love( and " what is the meaning of the name shiloh " )"gift for him"(.

The Olympics are nearly here, and the world's premier couch athletes are ready. They've toned their thumbs, stretched their legs, and plumped the cushions on the sofa. All that remains is to establish the exact viewing schedule for total Games success. And so it begins. Over the past week, TV viewers have pushed " 2008 olympics tv schedule " up nearly 1,740% in Search. They've tossed variations on that themeâ€"" 2008 olympic tv schedule " )+1,193%(,

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,

Turmoil in Africa... your turn . A military coup up-ended the first elected president of Mauritania , and led to an online scramble for rebellion details, the country's location , and a timeline of the nation's growth. The junta marched with supporters and promised free elections , while the the daughter of ousted leader Sidi Cheikh Ould Abdallahi called for U.N. intervention. .... Meanwhile, a blood trail leads to Laurence Fishburne as a possible new " CSI " boss.

The Middle Kingdom is about to throw open its gates to the outside world, but many still have questions about the nation's policies. What do ordinary citizens think? The BBC radio program, " World Have Your Say ," features a few Chinese countrymen )and countrywomen, for that matter( who take on questions from around the globe . In this engagng format, they give their input about the one-child policy,