Linux Mint in Number 1 Spot?

So I was messing around this afternoon on Distrowatch (my favorite Linux website) and I noticed their Page Ranking section on the far right side of the page.  And something odd caught me eye.  The fact that Ubuntu was no longer in the very top #1 spot anymore.  What?!  Could it be that another distribution has made the jump to pop up the list a little ways?  Even over the Ubuntu giant?

Seems it's true.  As of this writing Linux Mint was now in the top seed.  This is pretty crazy, especially since Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu (at least one version of it is, the other is Debian based).  So my next thought is, why?  Did Canonical ripple the waters enough with the exclusion of the traditional desktop when they chose Unity as the default desktop environment?  Is Ubuntu outgrowing it's own community?  Who knows.

A screencap I took to convince my
eyes it's real!

I have my own reasons for why Ubuntu 11.10 isn't necessarily my first pick anymore when it comes to Linux Distributions.  However, regardless of my personal opinions there is a reason Ubuntu is one of the most used Linux Distro's in the world.  It's good, slick, and most everything works right out of the box.  I truly believe that some user's got fed up with Canonical's direction and decided to go looking elsewhere for their Linux fix.  Either way, this exposure is no doubt a big deal for Mint.  Especially with version 12 just right around the corner.

Kudos Linux Mint!

If you want to check it out for yourself, visit:
http://www.distrowatch.com
http://linuxmint.com/