By Tim Swift, The Baltimore Sun
Happy Pi Day! Restaurants everywhere are inappropriately celebrating the math holiday with deliciousness. Meanwhile there's a new pope in town and his name is Francis. Google's beloved RSS reader, Google Reader, is being phased out in July. And Jeff Gordon's new hidden camera prank video has online hoards grabbing their pitchforks and screaming FAKE! Welcome to your online trends report for Thursday, March 14, 2014.
Trending on: National Twitter
Why: Pope Francis, barely 12 hours after his election, quietly left the Vatican early on Thursday to pray for guidance as he looks to usher a Roman Catholic Church mired in intrigue and scandal into a new age of simplicity and humility. Francis, the Argentinian cardinal who has become the first pope born outside Europe in 1,300 years, went to Rome's 5th-century Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore; there he prayed before a famed icon of Mary, the mother of Jesus, which is known as the Salus Populi Romani, or Protectress of the Roman People. [ Chicago Tribune ]
— GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP/Getty Images, Mar. 13, 2013
Trending on: National Twitter, Google Trends
Why: Google announced that it's killing off Google Reader effective July 1, 2013. Reader was Google's web-based program that let people subscribe to news feeds from their favorite sites. That¿s a shame, because Reader was pretty great. While RSS has maybe seen its heyday come and go, Google Reader was notable not only for its features, but for the active community it fostered for which Reader wasn't just another tool. Sure it was revolutionary in terms of function, but moreover it was beloved. [ Wired ]
— Justin Sullivan / Getty Images, Feb. 19, 2013
Trending on: Google Trends, National Twitter
Why: Happy Pi Day! Pi, as we're sure you all know, is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, which is 3.14 in decimal form. It's actually more like 3.1415926, and can be calculated to many, many more digits because it's an irrational number. But we'll stick with 3.14 because it corresponds with March 14, which brings us back to Pi Day. Sure, you could celebrate today with a compass and calculator in hand, but we'd rather do so with a spatula and apron. Today, we're making pies for Pi day. [ US News and World Report ]
— Bill Hogan / Chicago Tribune, Feb. 13, 2013
Trending on: Google Trends
Why: Yesterday Pepsi released an ad featuring Jeff Gordon terrifying a used car salesman by taking him on a vomit inducing test drive. Like any of these videos, it's a fun watch... if a little fake. But it's actually way faker than we initially thought: Jeff Gordon did not drive the car and every single person in the video was an actor. [ Jalopnik ] — YouTube, Mar. 14, 2013
Trending on: Google Trends
Why: Tamar Braxton is not only pregnant, she's "almost there," the reality-TV star and singer revealed Wednesday on "Good Morning America." Appearing with her sisters and "Braxton Family Values" costars Toni, Trina, Traci and Towanda, plus mom Evelyn, Tamar showed off her growing baby bump -- and her smashing Alexander McQueen dress choice with Jimmy Choo heels. She also showed off the very same via Instagram. [ Los Angeles Times ] — D Dipasupil / Getty Images for BET, Feb. 14, 2013
Trending on: Google Trends
Why: Wes Welker is saying goodbye to Tom Brady and hello to Peyton Manning. The Broncos agreed with Welker on a two-year contract worth $12 million, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. The deal also includes $150,000 in incentives in each year if he catches 90 passes. [ ESPN ] — Elsa / Getty Images, Mar. 13, 2013
Trending on: Google Trends,
Why: Less than 11 hours after Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell announced a Kickstarter campaign, fans have raised the $2 million necessary to finance a Veronica Mars movie. It's officially on! ¿My mind is blown. I¿ve been fantasizing about this and had to tell myself, `Stop it, Rob, you're being silly. You're setting yourself up for disappointment," the Mars creator tells EW. "And now today has exceeded the wildest pipe dream I let myself entertain. Holy cow. We better make a good movie. These amazing fans have stepped up. We better deliver." [ Entertainment Weekly ]
— PATRICK ECCLESINE / THE CW, Nov. 6, 2006
*Average of the past seven days
— PETR JOSEK / REUTERS, Feb. 25, 2013