interesting and/or fun wikipedia articles

[benjipwns]

LITERALLY IN VEGAS

https://libcom.org/blog/putting-it-all-red-michael-laski-story-14072018

Shortly after the essay, in the spring on 1968 Comrade Laski was publicly expelled from the CPML. They also published a list of charges against the former General Secretary. And yes the losing party funds at Vegas Casinos is on that list. But bizarrely the way the CPML frames the issue with that little adventure as "subjectivism"

A further example of Mr. Laski’s subjectivism was his taking of almost all of the Party’s funds and gambling with them while traveling through Nevada – avowedly for the purpose of raising funds for the Party – losing, every penny in the effort. To compound this crime, he never admitted his actions until a year after the event, and even then he mentioned only one instance of gambling, and the Party had evidence of his gambling in Nevada on at least two other occasions.

That's in section four " SUBJECTIVE APPROACH TO POLITICAL QUESTIONS" the final section in the list of reasons Laski was shown the door. Also in that section is probably the origin of the gun fight story I'd heard. It list several times when Laski threatened other party members with loaded fire arms and fired into the air at meetings that weren't going his way.

When Mr. Laski did not get his way in political discussions, he did such uncomradely acts as throwing objects at comrades, wrecking pieces of equipment owned by the Party (smashing a typewriter and a telephone, on different occasions, and throwing gasoline on an offset press), threatening a member of the Central Committee with a loaded shotgun on one occasion, and with a loaded pistol on another occasion, firing pistols into the air at Secretariat meetings, and acting on a small scale like a putchist, although, more pathetically, he was like a frustrated child.

And that isn't quite the end of the story though both Laski and the CPML would fade away a few years later. Laski didn't take this very well and set up a split also called Communist Party of the U.S.A. (Marxist-Leninist) and at least some members followed him.

nice

[curly]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Kyoungjong

[benjipwns]

It's actually thought to be somewhat common during early industrial warfare before the national professionalization of armies, like the 18th Century wars, for that to occur as many soldiers were pressed into service, as the armies moved about you could find yourself pressed into fighting for Austria, Prussia, Russia, France, etc. all over the same areas since you'd desert as the army moved away.

[benjipwns]

More importantly, the end of that Wikipedia page had a link to this: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/debbie-hanlon-ad-campaign-1.4710338

Hanlon's ad, posted to Instagram on June 16, features Kyoungjong's picture, story and, at the bottom, suggests Hanlon is a real estate agent who "fights" for her clients.

"I get a phone call from some woman screaming at me on the phone saying I'm a racist pig," she said.

"Me! Like I'm so shocked, I started to cry."

In addition to phone calls, there's also been backlash online with people questioning Hanlon's judgment and calling her names.

"This is so disrespectful," read one comment on Hanlon's now-deleted Instagram post.

"This is some real #whitenonsense," reads another. "What the bananas were you thinking?!"

Hanlon, who has written a children's book entitled I'm No Bully and performs as Miss Debbie, a character against bullying, calls the criticism bullying.

"Go on and read those comments that people are talking about me, personally," she said. "This is a personal attack."

According to Hanlon, the ad was created by a marketing professional four years ago as part of a larger campaign, Keeping it Real Estate.

...

"So all of a sudden, somebody has a problem with it? No. This is online bullying at its finest. And I'm the victim."

Meanwhile, Hanlon plans to pursue charges against people she feels have attacked her, adding she's already taken first steps with police.

"This is an online bullying issue and I've never experienced it before, and I don't know what kids would do," she said, adding that after this experience, she can sympathize with youth being bullied online.

"Sure, no wonder some of the poor darlings want to take their lives, because this weekend was a really, really, really hard weekend for me."

spoiler (click to show/hide)

In the controversy around this latest ad, some of Hanlon's other ads have also caught people's attention.

One is of a deceased Puerto Rican taxi driver, Victor Perez Cardona, who had requested he be propped up in his cab at his wake.

Hanlon's ad shows a picture from the service and tells people to phone her if they need a ride related to her business.

[close]

[Kara]

benji-kun linking Libcom... welcome to the resistance, genosse.

[Tasty]

United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins

[Tasty]

AI effect

"A lot of cutting edge AI has filtered into general applications, often without being called AI because once something becomes useful enough and common enough it's not labelled AI anymore."
- Nick Bostrom

[benjipwns]

United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins

in rem cases are seriously one of my favorite things in U.S. legal quirks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_1958_Plymouth_Sedan_v._Pennsylvania
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/62_Cases_of_Jam_v._United_States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantity_of_Books_v._Kansas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Article_Consisting_of_50,000_Cardboard_Boxes_More_or_Less,_Each_Containing_One_Pair_of_Clacker_Balls
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Thirty-seven_Photographs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._50_Acres_of_Land

there's no wiki page but there was also R.M.S. Titanic, Inc. v. The Wrecked and Abandoned Vessel, its engines, tackle apparel, appurtenances, cargo, etc., located within one (1) nautical mile of a point located at 41° 43′ 32″ North Latitude and 49° 56′ 49″ West Longitude, believed to be the R.M.S. Titanic

edit, hell, just go to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_rem_jurisdiction#Examples

United States v One Solid Gold Object In The Form Of A Rooster

[Kara]

United States v. One Book Called Ulysses is my personal favorite.

[benjipwns]

the book won! albeit with the worse legal reading

[Kara]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deceased_Wife%27s_Sister%27s_Marriage_Act_1907

Pound for pound () there isn't a dumber polity than England.

[Tasty]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_Room_coffee_pot

[archnemesis]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_Room_coffee_pot

Hah, I had a coworker who created a coffee camera once. I had no idea it was a historic thing.

[Tasty]

The New Tetris

[benjipwns]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Experiment

In 1955, astronomer and UFO researcher Morris K. Jessup, the author of the just published book The Case for the UFO, about unidentified flying objects and the exotic means of propulsion they might use, received two letters from a Carlos Miguel Allende[5] (who also identified himself as "Carl M. Allen" in another correspondence) who claimed to have witnessed a secret World War II experiment at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. In this experiment, Allende claimed the destroyer escort USS Eldridge was rendered invisible, teleported to New York, teleported to another dimension where it encountered aliens, and teleported through time, resulting in the deaths of several sailors, some of whom were fused with the ship's hull.

Jessup tried to publish more books on the subject of UFOs, but was unsuccessful. Losing his publisher and experiencing a succession of downturns in his personal life led him to commit suicide in Florida on April 30, 1959.

The conjecture then claims that the equipment was not properly re-calibrated, but that in spite of this, the experiment was repeated on October 28, 1943. This time, Eldridge not only became invisible, but it disappeared from the area in a flash of blue light and teleported to Norfolk, Virginia, over 200 miles (320 km) away. It is claimed that Eldridge sat for some time in view of men aboard the ship SS Andrew Furuseth, whereupon Eldridge vanished and then reappeared in Philadelphia at the site it had originally occupied. It was also said that the warship went approximately ten minutes back in time.

[CatsCatsCats]

Saw one of these in my yard today and needed to know what it was

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakefly

[Tasty]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Vital_articles

I have a lot to read up on...

[TVC15]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_health_of_Jesus

[benjipwns]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Atkinson_Pryor

During his term, Pryor got into a fierce argument with John F. Potter, a representative from Wisconsin, and challenged him to a duel.[18] Having the choice of weapons according to duel protocol, Potter chose bowie knives. Pryor backed out, saying that the knife was not a "civilized weapon."[18] The incident was widely publicized in the Northern press, which portrayed Pryor's refusal to duel as a coup for the North — and as a cowardly humiliation of a Southern "fire eater".[19]

Pryor almost became the first casualty of the Civil War - while visiting Fort Sumter as an emissary, he assumed a bottle of potassium iodide in the hospital was medicinal whiskey and drank it; his mistake was realized in time for Union doctors to pump his stomach and save his life.

[benjipwns]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view/Noticeboard

I have continually asked for reliable sources that verify the “constant advocacy for NAMBLA” and pedophilia. There seems to be a massive conspiracy except one lone, but respected LGBTQ journalist. Perhaps that should be also shoehorned into the lead? One of the world’s best known pioneering gay rights advocates whose had dozens of obituaries, articles, interviews, books, and documentaries about him all fail to mention this despite Wikipedia even advertising it, possibly for years. Perhaps because they saw was is plainly evident, a lack of evidence despite NAMBLA themselves posting every scrap of pro-pedophile material they can. I look forward to more people looking into this.

Accusations of "WP:TROLLING" is a very serious personal attack, especially since clearly that is not at all what's going on. What makes it worse is that your characterization of MMA's statement (FR's version:"Something completely wrong: that Prussia - 18th century Prussia - was part of Poland") is just false. I don't see anything about 18th century Prussia in there. Perhaps you're unaware that "Prussia" generally refers to a region rather than a political entity? If so, that's understandable, but in no way does it excuse your attacks on another editor and the accusations of "trolling"

Oh please. "Power games"--your article is a terrible piece of fluff. I am an admin, and I am telling you that nothing that contains language like "Chin’s dream of a medical degree was hampered by one reality..." will get into Wikipedia, where we write neutral material that's verified by reliable, secondary sources. If you would start by taking out the "musically inclined" and the squirt gun, we might get somewhere.

GreenMeansG, please link to or quote the Wikipedia policy that supports your statement "WP:DUE applies to facts". WP:BLPPRIMARY states, "Do not use trial transcripts and other court records, or other public documents, to support assertions about a living person. Do not use public records that include personal details, such as date of birth, home value, traffic citations, vehicle registrations, and home or business addresses." WP:BLPPRIMARY is obviously aimed at protecting a living person against doxing (publishing of private identifying/location information about a living person). The questions of Nblund are not related to doxing Gabbard. Nothing I wrote about Gabbard in the article section "campaign finance reform" relates to doxing. Therefore WP:BLPPRIMARY does not apply to the questions of Nblund or the disputed content.
After I explained to Nblund, that WP:DUE's scope covers opinions but not facts, he replied that "WP:DUE applies to views or aspects of an issue", thereby he implied that aspects were facts. Therefore I explained here why aspects are not facts but partial views and therefore also opinions.
Your remark "the high-handed hair splitting over the meaning of the word aspect is silly" is uncivil. You should strike-through that remark.

DrifAssault has added an extraordinary amount of criticism to the 5-Minute Crafts article, mostly using original research, self-published sources (including Wikia (RSP entry) and other YouTube (RSP entry) channels), and selective quoting of news articles. The addition of the chart at Special:Diff/913019435 is a bit over-the-top.

I've started a discussion on the talk page at Talk:5-Minute Crafts § Original research to no effect. It would be nice to see some additional opinions on the content of this article.

There's a dispute over at Talk:Dave Rubin over whether or not the category "classical liberal" can be applied to his article. Several sources describe him as applying this categorization to himself, but few reliable sources actually use the term to describe him in their own voice (he's commonly described as a libertarian). Outside input would be appreciated. (discussion here)

The problem is that there are two meanings of classical liberal. There's the academic meaning, and there's the informal meaning as used by the cult of Peterson, which is synonymous with misogynist asshat. Rubin is the latter kind. We shouldn't collude in the intentional appropriation of labels to obscure obnoxious views.

[Propagandhim]

 

[Transhuman]

Man the amount of effort that goes into maintaining Wikipedia is staggering. I don't envy anyone who helps edit and maintain it, but they're all heroes.

[Joe Molotov]

If you would start by taking out the "musically inclined" and the squirt gun, we might get somewhere.

Never!

[Tasty]

https://byuu.net/video/color-emulation

[benjipwns]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsinkable_Sam

Unsinkable Sam (also known as Oskar or Oscar) is the nickname of a real cat, reportedly in service as a ship's cat during World War II both in the Kriegsmarine and the Royal Navy, surviving the sinking of three ships in total.

[Joe Molotov]

Oskar or Oscar is a weird name for a cat.

[benjipwns]

In September 2016, Willamette Week received a resignation email from Belden, saying that he had "accepted a position out of the country."

[Joe Molotov]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butt_(unit)

The butt was a measure of liquid volume equalling two hogsheads.

“I got a butt load of wine.”

“How much is that?”

“Two hogsheads.”

[benjipwns]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_R._Davis

On December 19, 1854, while trekking on a miner's trail along the North Fork of the American River, Dr. Bolivar Sparks, James McDonald, and Captain Jonathan Davis were bushwhacked by an international band of bandits. The bandits, a Frenchman, two Americans, two Britons, four Mexicans, and four Australians, had robbed and killed four American miners on the previous day and six Chinese miners on the day before that. Several of the bandits were members of the Sydney Ducks gang.[3] McDonald was killed instantly and Dr. Sparks was fatally wounded; however, Captain Davis, an Army veteran, pulled out both of his pistols and killed seven of the bandits in short order. Out of bullets, Captain Davis, an expert fencer, pulled out his Bowie knife and killed four more of his attackers. The surviving bandits fled for their lives. The shootout was witnessed by a group of miners, who buried the bodies of the dead.

then he went on to form the band Korn

[Joe Molotov]

I loved him as Gimli in LOTR.

[Tasty]

https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/xwe38a/90s-hollywood-photography-randall-slavin

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Alyson Hannigan at the end

[close]

[Joe Molotov]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Karkoc

Andriy Karkos, the son of the Minnesota Michael Karkoc who spells his last name differently from his father, stated that his father was never a Nazi and accused the Associated Press of defaming his father.[5] Karkos described his father as a "lifelong Republican", who donated $3,850 to the Republican National Committee in 2013 and 2014

Sounds like a slam dunk case, tbqh.

[Tasty]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Karkoc

Andriy Karkos, the son of the Minnesota Michael Karkoc who spells his last name differently from his father, stated that his father was never a Nazi and accused the Associated Press of defaming his father.[5] Karkos described his father as a "lifelong Republican", who donated $3,850 to the Republican National Committee in 2013 and 2014

Sounds like a slam dunk case, tbqh.

This will clearly be a movie within the next five years.

[Joe Molotov]

I actually found this guy while going down the wiki rabbit hole after reading about the (maybe) Nazi from Netflix’s new documentary miniseries, The Devil Next Door.

[benjipwns]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Guidestones

In June 1979, a man using the pseudonym Robert C. Christian approached the Elberton Granite Finishing Company on behalf of "a small group of loyal Americans", and commissioned the structure. Christian explained that the stones would function as a compass, calendar and clock, and should be capable of withstanding catastrophic events. Joe Fendley of Elberton Granite assumed that Christian was "a nut" and attempted to discourage him by giving a quote several times higher than any project the company had taken, explaining that the guidestones would require additional tools and consultants. Christian accepted the quote.[2] When arranging payment, Christian explained that he represented a group which had been planning the guidestones for 20 years, and which intended to remain anonymous.[2]

Christian delivered a scale model of the guidestones and ten pages of specifications.

A message consisting of a set of ten guidelines or principles is engraved on the Georgia Guidestones[8] in eight different languages, one language on each face of the four large upright stones. Moving clockwise around the structure from due north, these languages are: English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Traditional Chinese, and Russian.

    Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
    Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity.
    Unite humanity with a living new language.
    Rule passion — faith — tradition — and all things with tempered reason.
    Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
    Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
    Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
    Balance personal rights with social duties.
    Prize truth — beauty — love — seeking harmony with the infinite.
    Be not a cancer on the earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature.

A few feet to the west of the monument, an additional granite ledger has been set level with the ground. This tablet identifies the structure and the languages used on it, lists various facts about the size, weight, and astronomical features of the stones, the date it was installed, and the sponsors of the project. It also speaks of a time capsule buried under the tablet, but spaces on the stone reserved for filling in the dates on which the capsule was buried and is to be opened have not been inscribed, so it is uncertain if the time capsule was put in place.

The complete text of the explanatory tablet is detailed below. The tablet is somewhat inconsistent with respect to punctuation, and misspells the word "pseudonym". The original spelling, punctuation, and line breaks in the text have been preserved in the transcription which follows (letter case is not).

[Tasty]

https://legendsoflocalization.com/games-with-famous-bad-translations-into-japanese/

Hell yeah

[Rufus]

Mr. Mandelin's site is a treasure trove.

[Great Rumbler]

This is hell! Yeah!

[Tasty]

https://petapixel.com/2019/11/13/this-algorithm-can-remove-the-water-from-underwater-photos-and-the-results-are-incredible/

[benjipwns]

One of my favorite Wikipedia things. The list pages.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lists_of_lists

[Joe Molotov]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slut

Although the ultimate origin of the word slut is unknown, it first appeared in Middle English in 1402 as slutte (AHD), with the meaning "a dirty, untidy, or slovenly woman".[9] Even earlier, Geoffrey Chaucer used the word sluttish (c. 1387) to describe a slovenly man; however, later uses appear almost exclusively associated with women.[9] The modern sense of "a sexually promiscuous woman" dates to at least 1450.

Another early meaning was "kitchen maid or drudge" (c. 1450), a meaning retained as late as the 18th century, when hard knots of dough found in bread were referred to as "slut's pennies".[9] A notable example of this use is Samuel Pepys's diary description of his servant girl as "an admirable slut" who "pleases us mightily, doing more service than both the others and deserves wages better"

The attack on the character of the person is perhaps best brought together by the highly suggestive and related compound word, slut's-hole, meaning a place or receptacle for rubbish;[17] the associated quote provides a sense of this original meaning:

Saturday Review (London), 1862: "There are a good many slut-holes in London to rake out."

[Joe Molotov]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo:_White_Knuckle_Scorin%27

[Tasty]

[Tasty]

https://hackaday.com/2019/12/16/nintendo-switch-doubles-as-network-switch/

[Tasty]

https://onezero.medium.com/the-forgotten-pixel-art-masterpieces-of-the-playstation-1-era-8b453dfe00bf

[Tasty]

https://medium.muz.li/optical-effects-9fca82b4cd9a

[Transhuman]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_health_of_Jesus

He went around washing the feet of whores and telling people not to be jerks

Seems sane to me

[chronovore]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casu_marzu

 

[Tasty]

https://gbatemp.net/threads/reverse-engineering-disassembling-a-wii-gamecube-game.476668/

and

https://jamchamb.github.io/2018/06/09/animal-crossing-developer-mode.html

[TVC15]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexamenos_graffito

Possibly the first known image of Jesus is graffiti of him with a donkey head. It’s on a building that Caligula owned, although it was put there some time after his reign.

[Great Rumbler]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexamenos_graffito

Possibly the first known image of Jesus is graffiti of him with a donkey head. It’s on a building that Caligula owned, although it was put there some time after his reign.

2nd century AD MS Paint:

[TVC15]

The dude looks like Trump with the big hair and tiny hands, and he’s symbolically crucifying the Democrats or something. Somebody should’ve caught this prophecy sooner. It was so important they put it in pictures so Americans could understand it.

[Joe Molotov]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Rent_War

Attorneys included Ambrose L. Jordan, as leading counsel for the defense, and John Van Buren, the state attorney general, who personally conducted the prosecution. At the first trial, the jury came to no conclusion and Parker declared a mistrial.[6] During a re-trial in September 1845, the two attorneys started a fistfight in open court. Both were sentenced by the presiding judge, John W. Edmonds, to "solitary confinement in the county jail for 24 hours."

John Van Buren was Martin Van Buren's failson.

[benjipwns]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_P%C3%A9tomane

While serving in the army, he told his fellow soldiers about his special ability, and repeated it for their amusement, sucking up water from a pan into his rectum and then projecting it up to several yards. He found that he could suck in air as well. A baker, Pujol would sometimes entertain his customers by imitating musical instruments and claim to be playing them behind the counter. Pujol decided to try the stage, and debuted in Marseilles in 1887. When his act was well received, he moved to Paris, where he appeared at the Moulin Rouge in 1892.[3]

Some of the highlights of his stage act involved sound effects of cannon fire and thunderstorms, as well as playing "'O Sole Mio" and "La Marseillaise" on an ocarina through a rubber tube in his anus

It is a common misconception that Joseph Pujol actually passed intestinal gas as part of his stage performance. Rather, Pujol was able to "inhale" or move air into his rectum and then control the release of that air with his anal sphincter muscles.

[Great Rumbler]

Sure, he was alright, be he couldn't hold a candle to Roland the Farter, flatulist to the king.

[benjipwns]

FACT CHECK:

He could also blow out a candle from several yards away.[1] His audience included Edward, Prince of Wales; King Leopold II of the Belgians;

[Great Rumbler]

Yeah, well, Roland the Farter got a FREE HOUSE because of how good he could fart.

[OnlyRegret]

Extended exercise bouts can stimulate formation of new blood vessels.
These can snake around existing vessels and function as redundants that come in handy if flow is narrowed by say atherosclerosis. Effectively improving infarction outcomes in cases too.

Neat, do your cardio boys.

[Joe Molotov]

Allo, Allo

[BisMarckie]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_Ling

Jin Ling cigarettes are only sold illegally and the brand is the first to be designed explicitly for smuggling

The Russian mob created a brand for illegal cigarettes.