Wikipedia Celebrates 20 Years: A Journey Through 40 Million Articles in 300 Languages

Celebrating Two Decades of Wikipedia

On January 15th, the world’s foremost virtual encyclopedia, Wikipedia, celebrated its 20th anniversary. It’s hard to imagine how we managed without it. Let’s delve into the most popular articles from last year and explore the origins of this monumental project.

The Founding Fathers

Today, Wikipedia’s website ranks as the fifth most visited site globally, boasting over 40 million articles. It is owned by the non-profit organization Wikimedia Foundation, which has 37 regional offices worldwide.

The journey began in January 2001 when Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger launched the project. Initially, Wikipedia served as a supplementary platform for draft articles and ideas for the free encyclopedia Nupedia, written exclusively by experts. However, Wikipedia quickly surpassed Nupedia, evolving into a massive international project with numerous additional features.

In 2013, Jimmy Wales received the Niels Bohr Gold Medal. Wikipedia was praised as a symbol of the interactive era we live in, embodying a dream as ancient as human intellect and the collections of the Library of Alexandria.

Multifunctionality: Edit and Create

Wikipedia’s multifunctionality is a significant advantage. Users can access information in their native language. As of May 2018, Wikipedia existed in 301 languages, with 493 more in the incubator.

The standout feature is the ability for anyone to edit and create pages. However, this openness also invites criticism due to the potential for false and unverified information. Despite this, scientific research shows that acts of vandalism are usually quickly rectified.

Wikipedia’s Most Unusual Articles

Wikipedia hosts countless useful articles, but it also features some truly bizarre ones. Here are five of the most unusual:

Equator of White Sausages

This whimsical term refers to the cultural boundary between Old Bavaria and the rest of Germany, defined by the spread of Munich white sausages, a key symbol of Bavarian culture.
Island of Misunderstanding

Located in the Sea of Okhotsk, this island was initially overlooked by a geographical expedition in the late 1910s due to its resemblance to the mainland coast. Although the error was corrected, the amusing name remained.
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuaakitanatahu

This is the name of a hill in New Zealand, often shortened to Taumata for simplicity. It translates to The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as land-eater, played his flute to his loved one. This 83-letter toponym is recognized as the world’s longest one-word place name.
Ban on Dying

Surprisingly, some places have legal prohibitions on dying. For instance, in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, terminally ill patients are transported to other parts of Norway. This law aims to prevent deaths in the town, and families of the deceased can face fines if the law is violated.
Cat Piano

This fictional musical instrument, conceived in the 17th century, envisioned using live cats instead of strings. The cats’ tails would be stretched under the keys, causing them to meow in pain when pressed. This bizarre concept was never realized and is considered a form of animal cruelty.

For more information, you can visit the Wikipedia website.

Looking Ahead

Twenty years is a relatively short time, but Wikipedia has already provided us with an immense amount of knowledge. We extend our gratitude to Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger for their brilliant idea and look forward to more strange and useful articles from Wikipedia in the future.