Conversation Starters...or Dividers

The Christmas music may already be playing, but Thanksgiving elbows its way in with an air of gratitude and family warmth.

Ah, but now that the presidential elections are over and some people are feeling too economically fragile to shop, what's left to do? Yes, there's always football (playing flag or watching the boob tube)...but what's left to talk about over the stuffed turkey and quivering dish of ambrosia?

Lucky for you, eternal battles are always waged in Search—you know, could Mortal Kombat character Baraka beat Batman, or is the high-definition field rate of 1080p really that much better than 1080i video quality.

In other words, 'versus' comparisons continue in high gear this past week. People are checking out the face-offs in sports, music, technology and games. "Zune vs. ipod" (+44%) smacks of holiday gift-giving implications, while "affect vs. effect" (+31%) signifies age-old language struggles. (FYI, think of the "a" in affect as action verb, while effect is usually employed a noun. Hope this helps a little.)

And nothing induces a rousing discussion better than taking sides in a match-up, no? So, peruse the categories below to choose your conversational gambit. (Sure, some of these contests—like the UFC fight—are already resolved...but one can always throw in what-ifs and next-times.)

If you have your own 'versus' scenario you want entertained, throw it in the comments below and see what comes up. Just remember to play nice.

Fastest Moving "Versus" Searches

Sports

1. Alabama vs. Auburn, football (off the charts)
2. Mexico vs. Honduras, soccer (+604%)
3. Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma, football (+471%)
4. Manny Pacquiao vs. De La Hoya, boxing (+35%)
5. Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture video, mixed martial arts (+471%)

Tech

1. 1080i vs. 1080p (+206%)
2. Blackberry Storm vs. iPhone (+123%)
3. Plasma vs. LCD (+73%)
4. Zune vs. iPod (+44%)
5. PS3 vs. XBox 360 (+26%)

Gaming

1. Bleach vs. Naruto Game (+295%)
2. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (+73%)
3. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 (+17%)
4. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 (+13%)
5. Marvel vs. Capcom (+2%)

Entertainment

1. Naruto vs. Orochimaru, anime, (off the charts)
2. Undertaker vs. Big Show , WWE entertainers (off the charts)
3. Ti vs. T.I.P., music (+237%)
4. Freddy vs. Jason 2, movies (+74%)
5. Alien vs. Predator 2, movies (+22%)