Yahoo! aggregates the billions of searches performed across Yahoo! properties to give the pulse on what people are thinking and talking about. Searches represent the people, an instant poll every moment of the day, looking into the fleeting moods and entrenched attitudes of Internet users across the world.

This week news of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s lovechild, a big Oprah farewell and Memorial Day travel are sparking searches on Yahoo!

The Scandal: Arnold, Maria & Mildred
Searches for the alleged mother of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mystery child, Mildred Baena, are spiking off the charts this week on Yahoo!. 61% of searches are by females and top states searching are California, Texas and Ohio. People are most interested in seeing her pictures (spiking off the charts), her son’s photo, and her bio. Interestingly, people are wondering “where is mildred baena from?”.

Maria > Arnold. It seems that people are more concerned for Maria Shriver, as she has 329% more searches than her estranged husband.

Oprah Sets the Web on Fire
Searches for Oprah are up 56% this week on Yahoo! as The Oprah Winfrey Show comes to a close. The TV talk show host, media producer and billionaire is not only a catalyst for change, but also a catalyst for online buzz.

The Oprah Effect. With 25 years of addressing hard-hitting issues under her belt, Oprah has earned an amazing amount of credibility with the public. Anytime Oprah gives her stamp of approval, people take note. Searches on Yahoo! for “Oprah” peaked in 2010 when her ‘Favorite Things’ episode aired in late November.

It’s striking how even basic foods have gotten boosts from Oprah and her go-to health and fitness experts, Bob Greene and Dr. Oz.  Searches for “steel cut oatmeal” spiked 5,400% on Yahoo! the day Oprah and Dr. Oz sang its praises.

For millions of Oprah viewers, Ms. Winfrey’s recommendations are trustworthy, especially when it comes to clothes.  When Oprah staged a bra and jeans intervention to educate women around the world about bra fitting and bra sizes, searches on Yahoo! that day for recommended brands, “freya bras” spiked 49,000%, as well as searches for “felina bras” which spiked 2,036%. Oprah also put her stamp of approval on Citizens of Humanity Jeans, Joe’s Jeans, Theory Jeans, and AG Jeans, and of course, searches for them spiked off the charts as a result.

Health. When Dr. Oz visited Oprah and showed an audience member how to use a neti pot, search went up 12,325% for “neti pot” and up 42,480% for “buy neti pot” on Yahoo! that day as some store shelves were cleared out of the product.

Memorial Day Travel
Memorial Day weekend, the official kick-off to the summer travel season is just around the corner and Yahoo! Travel (http://travel.yahoo.com) is revealing consumers’ top searched trips and tips for summer fun.

According to Yahoo! Travel, Top Searched Destinations are:

• Mexico
• Bahamas
• Jamaica
• Hawaii
• London
• Caribbean
• France
• Las Vegas
• North Carolina
• New Orleans

Increasingly Empty Pockets? With much of the country experiencing record high prices at the pump, consumers are preparing for a long summer of increasing gas prices and seeking advice online about how to avoid taking a hit to their wallets. Recent searches on Yahoo! include best auto-alternatives for family trips and weekend getaways for summer from “Amtrak discounts” (spiking 107%), “bus tickets” (spiking 271%) and “Greyhound bus schedule tickets” (spiking more than 8,426%).

Looking for a cheap, weekend getaway destination? Whether interested in escaping to the beach (searches for “beach chairs” are up 220%), on a rustic camping trip (Yogi Bear Campgrounds up 309%) or in celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War (“historic travel” up more than 500%), there is something for every traveler this summer, but it is clear from online searches that it must be cheap. General thriftiness is a reoccurring theme this year as searches for “cheap travel” are spiking more than 314%, “cheap holidays” up 269% and “low air fares” spiking 366% this week on Yahoo! Travel.

According to Yahoo! Travel , Top Searched Beach Destinations include:

• Nag’s Head (searches are up 585%)
• Nantucket (searches are up 520%)
• Florida Keys (searches are up 49%)
• North Carolina Beaches (searches are up 40%)
• Mackinac Island (searches are up 20%)

-The Search Trends Team, for questions please contact the team at searchtrendsteam@yahoo-inc.com