WASHINGTON (AFP) — Google's search engine was clogged with requests Thursday for information about "Joe the plumber," an obscure handyman from Ohio flushed into the limelight during the latest US presidential debate.
Searches for "Joe the plumber" ranked number seven early Thursday on Google's list of "Hot Trends," the most sought after information on the Internet, trailing such items as "Halloween candy" and "free ecards."
"Who is 'Joe the plumber'" was number one on the list of "hot searches" at AOL.com and it was all the buzz over at Yahoo Buzz, topping even curiosity about Madonna's impending divorce.
Enterprising Web surfers who skipped the search engines altogether and typed www.joetheplumber.com directly into their browser landed on the website of an Amarillo, Texas-based plumber who bills himself as the "Friendliest Plumber in Town."
He's not to be confused with the "Joe the plumber" whose fate was the focus so much of the discussion at Wednesday night's presidential debate between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.
He's Joe Wurzelbacher and he lives in Holland, Ohio.
You can Google it.
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