A scandal in Gotham

The timing couldn't have been worse ... or more awkward. Just as "The Dark Knight" was taking in a mountain of cash at the box office, its star Christian Bale was being arrested for allegedly assaulting his mother and sister. Folks could hardly believe the news, but that didn't stop the interest.

Lookups on "christian bale" roared to a 550% gain, but the related searches are what really told the story. Queries for "christian bale assault," "batman arrested," and "christian bale family" each soared from none into the thousands. Bale has vehemently denied the incident, and countless blogs are updating the story by the nanosecond.