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Any self-respecting lover of freedom and democracy cringes at the thought of book burning. These bonfires are mostly a thing from the past, but books continue to be challenged every day.

As the American Library Association demonstrates every year during Banned Books Week (September 29 to October 6), requests for the removal of books from library shelves and school reading lists are common. The challenges are usually aimed at protecting children from complex and difficult subjects, yet the removal of one book from the shelf means someone else is deprived access.

Whatever the motivations of those who want John Steinbeck and Maya Angelou off the library shelves, we do know that the most challenged books and authors tend to the be the most searched on. Is this a case of the scandalized seeking more kindling for the fire? Or is it merely a testament to the persistence of ideas?

Top 20 Challenged Authors in Search

Last Thursday at 9pm, folks across the country tuned to NBC to see if Jim Halpert and Pam Beasley would finally surrender to their animal urges and go on a friggin’ date. SPOILER ALERT! They did. And in the aftermath of this monumental event, searches on their show, “The Office,” soared 264%.

In a world dominated by sorry sitcoms like “Two and a Half Men,” it’s refreshing to see “The Office” perform so well in Search. Buzz on the show is impressive, but the related searches are what sets it apart. Queries like “jim and pam office,” “dwight schrute bobblehead,” and “dundies statue” illustrate just how many fans wish they worked at Dunder-Mifflin.

But who exactly are these fans? We looked at the demographic data and found that, in term of Search, no one age group dominates. “The Office” is just as popular with kids 13-17 as it is with working stiffs. Congratulations NBC, you’ve hit the Buzz jackpot.

Remember, there are no stupid questions. That’s one good thing about your computer: it doesn’t laugh at you when you ask the most basic ones.

In the past week, searchers have asked: “what is yom kippur” (+790%), “what is autism” (+437%), as well as “what is science,” “what is a typhoon,” and “what is taurine.” From the most ethereal topics (”what is heaven like” and “what is love“) to health issues (”what is cancer” and “what is asthma“) to homework questions (”what is a polygon” and “what is a cell“)—folks have been crowding the search box with queries.

Get out your paper and your number 2 pencil and see if you know the answers to the top 10 “what is” searches…

In the secretive world of illicit file sharing, a site’s sudden absence inevitably causes a stir in Search. The most recent case of disappearing domains involves popular torrent tracker Demonoid. Searches on the site tripled this week after it vanished. Related queries on “demonoid shut down” and “what happened to demonoid” also cracked the Buzz.

Wired and Slashdot came forward with rumors that the Canadian Recording Industry Association was responsible for the site’s takedown. However, Idolator jumped in with a report that the downtime was due to a simple hardware failure.

Folks must have faith that Demonoid will be revived, ’cause searches on competitors didn’t take off. Queries on “torrent reactor,” “isohunt,” and “mininova” all dipped yesterday.

But that’s not to say torrents are losing steam in Search. Far from it. We checked this week’s data on popular torrents and found a mix of hot new shows, blockbuster movies, and big name musicians. Here are the top 20 torrent searches…

Searches on Sarah Larson leapt 185% after she accompanied George Clooney to the premiere of his new flick, “Michael Clayton.” Interest in Larson also surged after it was revealed she hurt her foot in the hunky actor’s much-publicized motorcycle accident. The buzz around the mystery women prompted us to break down the three types of searchers looking for Sarah…

—Some want to know: Who is she? Searchers got right to the point, looking up “who is sarah larson,” “sarah larson bio,” or “sarah larson wikipedia.” We looked at Wikipedia for more information on Clooney’s lady love, but she hasn’t risen to the level of meriting her own entry. Scandalous!

—Some want to know: Was she on “Fear Factor“? Searches on “sarah larson fear factor” and “sarah larson fear factor pictures” indicate that she was a contestant on the gross-out game show. The answer is…yes. We found this page on NBC, wherein the lovely Ms. Larson explains how difficult it was to ingest a scorpion martini. A People magazine article confirms she was a winner on “Factor” and that she also spent time as a cocktail waitress at the Palms Las Vegas. Sounds like quite a catch!

—Some want to know: Can we see more? Searches on “sarah larson pics” and “sarah larson photos” have taken off as intrepid searchers hunt down images of the fetching brunette. You can’t help but love this lady!

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s brief visit to New York City sparked a fiery amount of attention in Buzz. Searches for “ahmadinjead” blew upwards nearly 1,000% over the past week and “iran president” surged 2,317%. The Iranian’s blistering remarks at the United Nations boosted queries for “ahmadinejad un speech,” but most of the online notice focused on his gig at Columbia University.

Student protesters swarmed the college campus and packed the auditorium to hear Columbia President Lee Bollinger introduce (and slam) the Persian leader. Online, demand for “ahmadinejad columbia transcript,” “ahmadinejad columbia speech,” and “ahmadinejad at columbia” erupted.

The private school’s invitation to the firebrand politician brought it both scorn and praise. Buzz for “columbia university” soared. Many searchers hit the Web for more on “columbia iran” and “columbia university ahmadinejad.” That’s one association the school’s trustees surely don’t relish.

At the risk of killing the entire premise of a television game show, yes, fifth-graders are smarter than the average adult. With one month down and at least eight to go, students of all ages are in the thick of conjugations, science fair projects, and Lockean musings of the self.

But even the brightest prodigy needs homework help once in a while. The government has tips to help parents help their kids. Hotlines connect the computationally challenged with live math teachers. And, of course, the Buzz is around 24-7 to answer burning questions… such as these 10 hot topics which spiked in the past 30 days.

Notes on the above:

All in all, subjects of arts and sciences were equally covered. In current events, the civil rights controversy in Jena, Louisiana, especially resonated. Rio Grande (#7, elementary) straddles the line of geography and politics.

With all this learning, a little extracurricular distraction is always welcome. Stay tuned for our top non-educational queries from kids 17 and under, coming soon to a monitor near you…

Wholesome innocence was ripped a new one yesterday when rumors surfaced that former “Brady Bunch” star Maureen McCormick fooled around with co-star Eve Plumb while filming the famous sitcom.

After the ”news” hit, searches on Ms. McCormick shot up a whopping 486%. Related lookups on “maureen mccormick pics,” “maureen mccormick hot,” and “brady lesbians” surged as well.

At first we suspected the salacious bit of information was “leaked” in order to pump up interest in McCormick’s new book, a tell-all about her days as a teen idol. But that might be not the case. A rep from the publisher insists this is just a wild Internet rumor and the romance is pure fiction. Furthermore, it won’t be included in the book.

Fiction or not, the lesbian tryst boosted interest in McCormick, Plumb, and several terms better left to the imagination. One would think the “scandal” would inspire interest in the book as well, but searches on “Here’s the Story” are nearly non-existent.

Of course, that could change. The book doesn’t hit shelves until 2008—plenty of time for Marsha to drum up more buzz. But now that the dirtiest laundry has already been aired, will this lovely lady with hair of gold have any more stories to tell?

In the first national strike against General Motors in the age of the Internet, more than 70,000 members of the United Auto Workers walked out on their jobs yesterday—and sent buzz spiraling upwards.

Interest in “gm strike” surged 1,813%, landing in our top 10 movers for the day. Searches for “uaw” (+716%) and “general motors corporation” (+219%) also leapt. Even queries for the non-descript “strike” rose 160%.

Searchers show a particular interest in the dialogue (or lack of it) between the two sides. Queries for “gm uaw negotiations” (+302%), “uaw negotiations” (+296%), “uaw talks” (+180%), and “uaw contract” (+97%) all rallied.

Though GM assembly plants in 30 states lost workers to the picket line, online interest runs highest across the rust belt and to the south. Michigan, unsurprisingly, dominates the list. The Great Lakes state is responsible for more than half of the nation’s searches for “uaw strike.” 

As the protests and talks continue, we’ll keep an eye on whether the strike sustains its online following—or fades into background noise.

Look out, there’s some extra bark behind Halloween searches. Queries on “halloween costumes for dogs” jumped 151% over the past week as dog owners sought out the perfect costume for their pooch. Related queries on “dog halloween costumes” (+50%), “dog costumes” (+48%), and “small dog halloween costumes” (+26%) all wagged their tail in Search.

But canines aren’t the only pets being forced into costume fittings. Searches on “cat costumes” purred this week and scratched up a 51% increase. What will proud pets be dressed as this Halloween? We dug through the data for the top pet costume searches…

A few more costume notes…

—The DIY movement has taken hold with pet owners. Homemade costume searches took three out of the top 20 spots. And that’s not counting those who crochet for their pets…

—What exactly would you dress an extra large dog as? Any ideas?

—Star Wars costume popularity never fails to impress. Will there be a a Doggie Vader on your block this Halloween?