👀 Plumbing the depths of the world's biggest encyclopaedia

#262 | The weirdest of the Wiki

Hello!

Today's thing is an exhibition of oddity and a huge time sink.

We all know Wikipedia, yes? That mammoth reference resource for literally everything you could ever need, run and edited by a stringent team of volunteers? In fact, it's the largest and most-read reference work in all of history. Don't doubt me; I found that info on their Wikipedia page, so obviously, it's true.

Most of us use Wikipedia much like we would a hardbound encyclopaedia in ye olde days - to look something up. To reference specific pieces of information. And often, when we've found what we need, we look no further. But if you have some time to spare (or you're aggressively procrastinating), you've probably gone a few steps down the Wiki rabbit hole - clicked on a random link within an article you're reading, then another, and another, until finally, you've ended up on a page you'd never think exists, one that you've never even thought of looking up.

Many, many such pages, easter eggs and tidbits exist on Wikipedia - and most people will never, ever see them. That's where today's Thing comes in.

@depthsofwikipedia is an Instagram account dedicated solely to unearthing the weird, wonderful, and unexpected things you'd find on Wikipedia. Like so:

Started by college student Annie Rauwerda as a fun pandemic project, the account now has over a million followers, sister Twitter and TikTok accounts, and even a live show! 

So...yeah, if you're looking to add to your life a daily dose of strange or a small chuckle while doom-scrolling, you now know where to go. 

Happy exploring,

Pai

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