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Born on 15 January 2001, Wikipedia has forever changed the ways we consume knowledge as nothing was out of reach anymore. It made it possible to solve trivia if you had access to wifi, it made us consume thousands of random facts, names, dates and places we won’t ever need, it helped us to make a fierce impression on a first date, and served as a holy grail of all of our high school Powerpoint presentations.

Still today, it’s our go-to source for learning stuff we don’t even bother to double-check, and it’s the place you stumble across a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to the life of your random-ass neighbor.

But something as big and influential as our beloved digital encyclopedia has to have something so much more going on we don’t see. Luckily, thanks to the ‘Depths of Wikipedia’ Instagram page, we now are able to dive deep beneath that iceberg and see all the weird and wonderful things published on there. “Wikipedia is Weird!” states the page’s slogan, but trust me, it gets way weirder than that. Get your snorkels ready, we’re about to dive deep!

#2

In Protest, A Guy Made A 10 Hour Film Of Paint Drying Just To Force The Film Classification Committee To Watch It

In Protest, A Guy Made A 10 Hour Film Of Paint Drying Just To Force The Film Classification Committee To Watch It

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Gandalf the Pink
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I partially work with quality control of films. Not for censorship but still, I have to focus on every frame of a film for its length, this.....meditative......film I'd be the one to watch all ten hours.

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#3

Revenge Bedtime Procrastination

Revenge Bedtime Procrastination

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To find out more about the creator of this weird and wonderful corner of the internet, Bored Panda reached out to Annie Rauwerda, a 21-year-old neuroscience student at the University of Michigan. Annie told us that there was no lightbulb-over-the-head epiphany when deciding to create “Depths Of Wikipedia.”

“It was early quarantine (the stage when everyone was attempting new projects) and I was working on a page of my friend's quaranzine. I wanted to piece together Wikipedia excerpts into some virtual art.”

#4

And They Were Roommates

And They Were Roommates

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#5

We're All Guilty Of That

We're All Guilty Of That

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Samantha PandaNotBored
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh god yes. Books 🙈 . I even have bought books that read to me piling up .

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The author said she ended up having a ton of fun collecting Wikipedia screenshots and she was shocked that there was no Instagram dedicated to it. “I spent many quarantine evenings hunting for weird Wikipedia articles. Now, I get a lot of great submissions!”

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Annie believes her fascination with all things internet is because she “didn't have many screen time limits during my teenage years and as a result became very entrenched in the internet,” she said and added: “I love collaborative sites like Reddit and Wikipedia—they have so many hidden gems!”

#7

Planned Procrastination— When The Only Time You Can Find Motivation For A Task Is When You’re Under A Tight Deadline. student Syndrome Has Similarities To Parkinson’s Law, The Old Adage That The Work Expands To Fill The Time Allotted (Save It Til The Last Minute And The Job Will Only Take A Minute)

Planned Procrastination— When The Only Time You Can Find Motivation For A Task Is When You’re Under A Tight Deadline.
student Syndrome Has Similarities To Parkinson’s Law, The Old Adage That The Work Expands To Fill The Time Allotted (Save It Til The Last Minute And The Job Will Only Take A Minute)

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#8

Rigged, I Knew Josh Would Win

Rigged, I Knew Josh Would Win

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#9

Relates To The Concept Of Automaticity: The Ability To Do Things Without Occupying The Mind With Low-Level Details

Relates To The Concept Of Automaticity: The Ability To Do Things Without Occupying The Mind With Low-Level Details

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Lauren Caswell
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It freaks me out when I do this. I'm sure I was probably driving properly, but I don't know! I'm just at my destination

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When asked what was the weirdest thing she has come across on Wikipedia, Annie said that there are so many good ones. “Some that come to mind are Tourist guy, List of films that most frequently use the word 'f**k,' Roadkill cuisine, and Timeline of the far future.”

And when it comes to using Wikipedia in her daily life, the creator assured us she definitely uses it. “Protecting open-access information is so vital. You should definitely start editing if you don't already,” Annie said and added that “it's such a rewarding and impactful hobby, and we need more people with diverse perspectives in editing.”

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#11

Obsessed With The Complexity Of The Chart On The Third Slide

Obsessed With The Complexity Of The Chart On The Third Slide

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Konpat
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can be done in German as well: "Wenn Fliegen hinter Fliegen fliegen, fliegen Fliegen Fliegen nach." (When flies fly behind flies, flies fly after flies)

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#12

This Is The Deepest Stuff I’ve Heard In A While

This Is The Deepest Stuff I’ve Heard In A While

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Aside from “Depths of Wikipedia,” Annie runs two more cool projects, “Depths Of Amazon” and “Depths Of Craigslist.” “My best friend Hajin and I teamed up to foray into more 'depths.' Wikipedia will always be closest to my heart, but it's been fun to look at other weird corners of the internet.” Hajin and Annie also recently started the Depths of Wikipedia podcast, which you can listen to right here.

#14

Just Gals Being Pals

Just Gals Being Pals

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ChinmayGhule
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Financial independence is extremely important for any person. It is difficult to live as a human without that.

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#15

Just Like Crabs In A Bucket Block The Escape Attempts Of Other Crabs, People In A Group May Attempt To Sabotage The The Most Talented Group Member Out Of Envy And Spite

Just Like Crabs In A Bucket Block The Escape Attempts Of Other Crabs, People In A Group May Attempt To Sabotage The The Most Talented Group Member Out Of Envy And Spite

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N G
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Referenced in Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett. It's also covered by the attitude "they think they're better than they are" - note, this doesn't mean "they think they're better than ME", but rather "we come from the same background, how DARE they think they're better than me". Stops people improving their lot in life by sheer peer pressure. And a lot of it (as mentioned in the novel) is *inside our own heads*

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#16

Dilbert Principle

Dilbert Principle

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Dave P
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dilbert, especially the old ones, are too accurate for how the business world works.

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#17

When Incompetent People Can’t Understand Their Relative Incompetence

When Incompetent People Can’t Understand Their Relative Incompetence

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#18

This Could Be Us

This Could Be Us

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#19

When A Thing/Concept/Word You Just Learned About Suddenly Seems To Crop Up Everywhere

When A Thing/Concept/Word You Just Learned About Suddenly Seems To Crop Up Everywhere

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Pantea
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When you buy a new car and suddenly that model with the same colour is everywhere :)

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#20

In 2003, A High Schooler Named Mike Rowe Had His Website Cease-And-Desisted By Microsoft. Eventually, After Media Attention, The Tech Giant Gave Him A Settlement Including A Trip To Microsoft Tech Fest And An Xbox

In 2003, A High Schooler Named Mike Rowe Had His Website Cease-And-Desisted By Microsoft. Eventually, After Media Attention, The Tech Giant Gave Him A Settlement Including A Trip To Microsoft Tech Fest And An Xbox

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Tiny Dog
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember this! They sent him a low-ball offer of $10 at first, and when he made a counter-offer, they sued him for trying to hold the domain name hostage and extort money from them. He finally got a large settlement, which he used to fund his University education and then donated the rest to a children's charity.

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Robert Bailey
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, I guess announcing that Mike Rowe was soft didn't help with the ladies.

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Sammi Danni
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I actually looked this up, because this is my home town hhahahahhaha

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Easily Excitable Panda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There's an American vocational-education activist whose site is "Mike Rowe Works." At some point Microsoft must have just given up.

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Ali H M Salehuddin
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yup, Michaelsoft Binbows. A now defunct computer shop in Japan. Here's the story of one guy who tracked it down https://youtu.be/yDzAAjzbV5g

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Marcellus the Third
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Somewhat similar to the guy who registered Touran as a trademark (it being a very common Turkish surname, he had vague ideas of business possibilities). Then Volkswagen built a car, decided on the name "Touran" for no clear reason (yes there's "Tour" in there somewhere), and in the end came to a deal involving two or three free cars for Mr. Touran and a factory visit or so.

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Persp Gold
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What an arrogant settlement. You can learn more about us, how would that suit you little one?

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#23

The Popemobile

The Popemobile

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Niall Mac Iomera
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The centuries of child abuse and exploitation of vulnerable people is totally cool though apparently.

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#24

Young And Rebellious

Young And Rebellious

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ChinmayGhule
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You specially get this after reading a lot web novels, light novels, manga and watching anime. Then you start believing that your right eye is special and there's a dragon sealed in your right arm. Most of this is just a way of entertaining yourself, a form of play-fantasy.

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#25

Very Important Chart!!!in The Streets, In The Sheets, Etc.

Very Important Chart!!!in The Streets, In The Sheets, Etc.

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Roman Hans
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’ve been staring at this for twelve minutes and still have no idea how “in the streets, in the sheets” fits in.

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#26

Explained By Multiple Theories— Alcohol, Increased Familiarity (Mere Exposure Effect), And Having Fewer And Fewer Options (Commodity Effect)

Explained By Multiple Theories— Alcohol, Increased Familiarity (Mere Exposure Effect), And Having Fewer And Fewer Options (Commodity Effect)

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#27

Do Not Knit Your So A Sweater Without Making Them Sign A “Pre-Knitual Agreement!”

Do Not Knit Your So A Sweater Without Making Them Sign A “Pre-Knitual Agreement!”

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Jonathan
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've been thinking about learning to knit. Do you think 8 years is a long enough relationship to eventually gift my other half a knitted sweater (probably be looking at 10 years by the point it's made!)

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#28

Are You In Your Prime? Single? This Is For You!!!

Are You In Your Prime? Single? This Is For You!!!

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#29

RIP Pluto 1930-2006

RIP Pluto 1930-2006

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Konpat
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I so disagree and I will continue to consider Pluto a planet out of spite!

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#30

Dudes Rock

Dudes Rock

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Konpat
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The text below says "dear god, help me survive this deadly love."

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Note: this post originally had 90 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.