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?

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 terms 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…

Webkinz are a new breed of virtual pets, and if you've never heard of them, you're either childless or your kids haven't started begging for one.

Armed with a Webkinz stuffed animal, children can use the toy's special ID to join a Web-based community. The Webkinz online community encourages tots to learn how to care for their "pets," have fun with other kids, and, of course, keep buying more stuff. Experts of all ages believe Webkinz and other Internet-connected toys will be the rage this year.

Currently "webkinz" ranks in our top 100 searches, a lofty spot for a fuzzy toy. The savvy side of the phenomenon is how the toys often change and go out of circulation. Queries like "new webkinz" (+371%) are almost guaranteed to appear in Search, as are the various accoutrements of a fully equipped Webkinz-maniac: "secret codes" (+359%), "charms," and "lip gloss," of all things.

Buzz for "webkinz.com"—the website where all the virtual pet magic happens—has experienced a nearly tenfold increase over the last year.

With this kind of trajectory, we have little doubt that the Webkinz craze will grow well into the holiday spending season.

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...

She has the title role in "Ugly Betty," but searches on America Ferrera prove she's no eyesore.

Just the other day, queries surged on "america ferrera pics," "america ferrera photos," and "sexy america ferrera." Further proving that the star of "Betty" is earning a rep as a hottie, fans sought images of the curvaceous cutie in her swimsuit. Oh la la!

Much of the online interest is due to "Betty"'s season premiere. Lookups on "ugly betty" are up 53% over the past seven days and "ugly betty spoilers" are also on the rise. But not all the publicity is positive. Ms. Ferrera lost a lot of weight in the off-season and some fans are wondering if she was pressured to slim down.

Regardless, we're still fans. So, three cheers for America—the hottest "ugly" chick in Hollywood.

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!

Anything to do with Florida politics these days carries a whiff of notoriety, if not an electric shock. Now with a Florida Senate democratic leader calling Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina "terrorist rogue states," we may have ourselves the makings of an uncivil matter.

The ruckus is over the Sunshine State's decision to move its primaries before February 5, flouting Democratic National Committee's rules. Those aforementioned rogue states have urged candidates to bypass Florida in their campaigning.

Florida's not the only rebel: Michigan is insisting upon a Jan. 15 date. The possibility of two states being exiled from the electoral process, however, has prompted just a handful of interest in "2008 primary election dates" and "democratic primary."

Curiosity propelled us to check who would be the real loser in all this—that is, the candidate. While Nevada and New Hampshire are undecided in terms of their Democratic presidential queries, here's how the contenders stack up in each bickering state's searches.

In the past, folks relied on sports writers to give them the scoop on their favorite teams and athletes. That's still largely true. However, blogs written by players, fans, and franchise owners have become an increasingly popular way of keeping score.

The trend can certainly be seen in Search. Barry Bonds broke the news that he wouldn't return to the San Francisco Giants on his blog. Seemingly juiced searches for "barry bonds blog" promptly soared to a 436% gain.

Lookups on soxtalk.com are even more impressive. The Chicago White Sox discussion forum is currently among our top 50 overall searches after a baffling 1,183% surge this week. Fans of the South Side squad don't have much to chear about this year, but that ain't stopping the searches.

Finally, no roundup of sports blogs would be complete without a nod to Dallas Mavericks owner and current "Dancing with the Stars" contestant, Mark Cuban. The rambunctious billionare saw queries on his blog spike dramatically after rumors surfaced that he may buy the Chicago Cubs. No word on whether Cuban would play Nowitzki at shortstop or third.

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.

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?