The cyclone that hit Myanmar also had the word junta high on the list for a few days. (We look at the origins and relatives of junta this month). The military junta's reluctance to allow foreign aid brought mention of xenophobia in the press, which, along with xenophobic, also had a strong showing in May. The weather problems in the U.S. had many looking up tornado as well.

The word appeasement became a part of the political season's vocabulary with President Bush's use of the word during a speech in Israel. Finally, it is our best guess that the news of Senator Edward Kennedy's brain tumor caused the increased number of look-ups of malignant.