Daily Cup O Google

Your day according to Google: When Eminem really dies, will anyone believe it? Whether due to wishful thinking or an OCD need to double check the rapper’s mortality status by hitting the F5 key every eight minutes, the rumor of Slim Shady’s demise is bounding around the Internet yet again today. The funny thing is, there is no new rumor of his death, just a reference to one from this summer that’s causing all the Google traffic — Eminem is mentioned in passing by bloggers refuting another death rumor, this one pertaining to actor Will Smith, who is also alive and well.

Had either of them actually died, it could well have been due to the boredom of trolling the hot topics on Google Trends on a slow Tuesday. Sobering news about a massacre of journalists and broadcasters in the Philippines ranked a ho-hum 21 slot, while gossip about Chef Academy contestant Emmanuel Delcour's past as porn star actor Jean Valjean dominated the first and third slots.

Google image searches went nuts for Michelle Obama; for a few hours, the first image returned was an offensive one which has prompted Google to take out ad space on its own network to apologize for it. "Sometimes our search results can be offensive. We agree," the ad said.

Redneck bozo Jon Gosselin might finally be out of the news for a few hours (please, dear Lord, just give us a few hours) with the grand finale of Jon and Kate Plus 8 last night; Miss America Katie Stam will show up in a parade; and Target and Walmart are competing for hits as surfers search for Black Friday deals.

Finally, one of the joys of mining Google Trends is discovering the strangely popular non sequiturs of the Internet, those searches that don't seem tied to anything but which should enter our collective lexicon because they're fun to say and/or contemplate.

Here's two to get your Tuesday off to a good start: "Piggle" and "Hobo STD Font."

About this column: Like a horoscope, but applicable to anyone with an Internet connection, Daily Cup O'Google tells you at a glance what conversations will dominate your day and shape the next 24 hours, based entirely upon the barometer of the most frequently Googled search terms as of 8 a.m. EST.

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