Googling By Numbers

It’s pretty much impossible to blog about anything other than Brittany Murphy’s death today.

It’s not so much a hot Google search trend as an impossible-to-talk-about-anything-else freight train that has surpassed water cooler gossip and taken centre stage on every single news bulletin.

But when web searchers of the world are not trying to find out what caused her death, they are, strangely enough, trying to find out if her death is a hoax.

Yes, today’s number one search spot goes to….drum roll…. Brittany Murphy’s death hoax.

If it wasn’t bad enough that this young (I would say talented but I haven’t got proof) woman died of a heart attack, people actually are suspicious enough to suss out whether or not it’s all just one big  joke.

Well here’s the scoop: IT’S NOT!

She really is dead and it’s a shame.

But still. You’ve got to hand it to the human race.

We might  jump to drug-related conclusions but we’re also optimistic enough to hope Murphy’s still alive.

In fact, celebrity death hoaxes are a common occurrence in the internet world.

Lil’ Wayne can’t shake the Grim Reaper despite still being very much alive.  And there is are entire blogs dedicated to the hope that Michael Jackson is still shamoaning on this earth.

Yes there really are Michael Jackson Death Hoax Investigators out there fruitlessly picking apart every bit of Jackson news, trying to find proof that he’s not dead.

And good on them I say.

When we view celebrities as part of our family, we’re always going to take their deaths hard. Like losing a beloved aunt…

With no proof (we never do see those bodies), we can pretty much hold on to the belief for decades. Just ask those of us who are convinced Elvis is hiding on an island with Tupac.