# A stroll through Wikipedia **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [March 7, 2019, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660 "2019-03-07T00:17:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2019, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/261 "2019-10-27T04:33:01Z")
> **[Detective fiction](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detective_novel)** > > Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as speculative fiction and other genre fiction in the mid-nineteenth century and has remained extremely popular, particularly in novels. Some of the most famous heroes of detective fiction include C. Auguste Dupin, Sherlock Holmes, and Hercule Poirot. Juvenile stor So... > **[Sherlock Holmes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes)** > > Sherlock Holmes (/ˈʃɜːrlɒk ˈhoʊmz/) is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic, which he employs when investigating cases for a wide variety of clients, including Scotland Yard. > First appearing in print in 1887's A Study in Scarlet, the character's popularity became wi... > **[Beekeeping](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beekeeping)** > > Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus Apis are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as Melipona stingless bees are also kept. Beekeepers (or apiarists) keep bees to collect honey and other products of the hive: beeswax, propolis, bee pollen, and royal jelly. Pollination of crops, raising queens, and production of package bees for sale are other sources of beekeeping income. Bee hives are ... ---
**Author:** ![mjmlabs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mjmlabs/32/69_2.png) [@mjmlabs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmlabs)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/262 "2019-10-28T10:18:54Z")
[Beekeeping](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beekeeping) [Feral](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral) [Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_and_Free-Roaming_Horses_and_Burros_Act_of_1971) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/263 "2019-10-28T14:08:47Z")
> **[Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_and_Free-Roaming_Horses_and_Burros_Act_of_1971)** > > The Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (WFRHBA), is an Act of Congress (Pub. L. 92–195), signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon on December 18, 1971. The act covered the management, protection and study of "unbranded and unclaimed horses and burros on public lands in the United States." > By the 1900s, feral horse populations were in decline, and there was concern that the horses were destroying land and resources wanted by ranching and hunting interests. Pressure on fede... > **[Supreme Court of the United States](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States)** > > The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of U.S. Constitutional or federal law. It also has original jurisdiction over a narrow range of cases, specifically "all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party." The court holds the power of judici... > **[Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg)** > > Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg (/ˈbeɪdər ˈɡɪnzbɜːrɡ/ BAY-dər GHINZ-burg; née Bader; March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton to replace retiring justice Byron White, and at the time was generally viewed as a moderate consensus-builder. She eventually became part of the liberal wing of the Court as the Court shifte G... ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/264 "2019-10-29T03:36:37Z")
[Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg) [Ithaca, New York](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ithaca,_New_York) [Sundae](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundae) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/265 "2019-10-29T04:19:28Z")
> **[Sundae](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundae)** > > A sundae ( /ˈsʌndeɪ, ˈsʌndi/) is an ice cream dessert of American origin that typically consists of one or more scoops of ice cream topped with sauce or syrup and other toppings such as sprinkles, whipped cream, marshmallows, peanuts, maraschino cherries, or other fruits (e.g. bananas and pineapple in a banana split). > According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the origin of the term sundae is obscure. > Among the many stories about the invention of the sundae, a frequent theme is that the ice ... > **[Blue law](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_law)** > > Blue laws, also known as Sunday laws, Sunday trade laws and Sunday closing laws, are laws restricting or banning certain activities on specified days, usually Sundays in the western world. The laws were adopted originally for religious reasons, specifically to promote the observance of the Christian day of worship, but since then have come to serve secular purposes as well. > Blue laws commonly ban certain business and recreational activities on Sundays and impose restrictions on the retail sale... > **[Oliver Cromwell](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell)** > > Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 – 3 September 1658) was a politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, first as a senior commander in the Parliamentarian army and then as a politician. A leading advocate of the execution of Charles I in January 1649, which led to the establishment of The Protectorate, he ruled as Lord Protector from December 1653 until his death in Sep... ---
**Author:** ![mjmlabs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mjmlabs/32/69_2.png) [@mjmlabs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmlabs)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/266 "2019-10-29T15:03:07Z")
[Oliver Cromwell](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell) [_Oliver Cromwell_ (ship)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell_(ship)) [Connecticut River](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_River) ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/267 "2019-10-30T00:30:17Z")
> **[Connecticut River](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_River)** > > The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for 406 miles (653 km) through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island Sound. Its watershed encompasses 11,260 square miles (29,200 km2), covering parts of five U.S. states and one Canadian province, via 148 tributaries, 38 of which are major rivers. It produces 70% of Long Island Sound's fresh water, The C... > **[The Oxbow (Connecticut River)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oxbow_(Connecticut_River))** > > The Oxbow, also known as the Ox-Bow, is an extension of the Connecticut River, located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is well-known for its appearance in the 1836 painting The Oxbow by Thomas Cole. > Historically, the Oxbow was connected directly to the Connecticut river as a large U-shaped bend. In 1840, flood waters cut through the narrow section, separating the Oxbow from the main river and the current. In the early 1900s, the Oxbow was used extensively for logging operations, as a holding a... > **[Thomas Cole](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cole)** > > Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for his romantic landscape and history paintings. Influenced by European painters, but with a strong American sensibility, he was prolific throughout his career and worked primarily with oil on canvas. His paintings are typically allegoric and often depict small figures or structures set against Born ... ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/268 "2019-10-30T15:43:55Z")
> **[Thomas Cole](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cole)** > > Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for his romantic landscape and history paintings. Influenced by European painters, but with a strong American sensibility, he was prolific throughout his career and worked primarily with oil on canvas. His paintings are typically allegoric and often depict small figures or structures set against Born ... > **[Steubenville, Ohio](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steubenville,_Ohio)** > > Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from Fort Steuben, a 1786 fort that sat within the city's current limits and was named for Prussian military officer Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. It is a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area, which had a 2020 population of 116,903 reside Steubenv... > **[Edwin Stanton](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Stanton)** > > Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814 – December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize the massive military resources of the North and guide the Union to victory. However, he was criticized by many Union generals, who perceived him as overcautious and micromanaging. He also organized the manhunt for Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilk... ---
**Author:** ![mjmlabs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mjmlabs/32/69_2.png) [@mjmlabs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmlabs)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/269 "2019-11-01T15:54:12Z")
[Edwin Stanton](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Stanton) [Daniel Sickles](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Sickles) [Fanny White](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_White) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/270 "2019-11-02T04:12:47Z")
> **[Fanny White](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_White)** > > Jane Augusta Blankman (née Funk; March 22, 1823 – October 12, 1860), better known as Fanny White, was one of the most successful courtesans of ante-bellum New York City. Known for her beauty, wit, and business acumen, White accumulated a significant fortune over the course of her career, married a middle-class lawyer in her thirties, and died suddenly a year later. Rumors that White had been poisoned caused a public outcry, which forced an inquest into her death. > Jane Augusta Funk was born on ... > **[Baden-Baden](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-Baden)** > > Baden-Baden (German pronunciation: \[ˈbaːdn̩ ˈbaːdn̩\] (listen)) is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with France, and forty kilometres (twenty-five miles) north-east of Strasbourg, France. > In 2021, the town became part of the transnational UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name "Great Spa Towns of Europe", because of ... > **[Frida Kahlo](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo)** > > Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (Spanish pronunciation: \[ˈfɾiða ˈkalo\]; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, she employed a naïve folk art style to explore questions of identity, postcolonialism, gender, class, and race in Mexican society. Her paintings often had strong autobiographical elements and mixed realism with fantasy Bor... ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/271 "2019-11-02T05:37:06Z")
[Frida Kahlo](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo) [Polio](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polio) [Guinea worm disease](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_worm_disease) ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/272 "2019-11-02T06:16:38Z")
> **[Dracunculiasis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_worm_disease)** > > Dracunculiasis, also called Guinea-worm disease, is a parasitic infection by the Guinea worm, Dracunculus medinensis. A person becomes infected by drinking water containing water fleas infected with guinea worm larvae. The worms penetrate the digestive tract and escape into the body. Around a year later, the adult worm migrates to an exit site – usually a lower limb – and induces an intensely painful blister on the skin. The blister eventually bursts to form an intensely painful open wound, fro... > **[Ebers Papyrus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebers_Papyrus)** > > The Ebers Papyrus, also known as Papyrus Ebers, is an Egyptian medical papyrus of herbal knowledge dating to c. 1550 BCE (the late Second Intermediate Period or early New Kingdom). Among the oldest and most important medical papyri of Ancient Egypt, it was purchased at Luxor in the winter of 1873–1874 by the German Egyptologist Georg Ebers. It is currently kept at the Leipzig University Library in Germany. > The papyrus was written in Ancient Egypt in c. 1550 BCE, during the late Second Intermed... > **[Leipzig University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leipzig_University)** > > Leipzig University (German: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and his brother William II, Margrave of Meissen, and originally comprised the four scholastic faculties. Since its inception, the university has engaged in teaching and research for over 600 years without interruption... ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/273 "2019-11-02T18:51:55Z")
[Leipzig University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leipzig_University) [Beate Schücking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beate_Sch%C3%BCcking) [Permanent Court of International Justice (1920-1946)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_Court_of_International_Justice) ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/274 "2019-11-02T20:17:41Z")
[Permanent Court of International Justice (1920-1946)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_Court_of_International_Justice) [Pierre Dubois](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Dubois_(Scholastic)) [scholastic philosophy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholasticism) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2019, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/275 "2019-11-03T02:23:09Z")
> **[Scholasticism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholasticism)** > > Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translated scholastic Judeo-Islamic philosophies, and thereby "rediscovered" the collected works of Aristotle. Endeavoring to harmonize his metaphysics and its account of a prime mover with the Latin Catholic dogmatic trinitarian theology, these monastic schools beca... > **[Philology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philology)** > > Philology (from Ancient Greek φιλολογία (philología) 'love of word') is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as the study of literary texts as well as oral and written records, the establishment of their authenticity and their original form, and the determination of their meaning. A person who pursues thi In older... > **[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien)** > > John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE FRSL (/ˈruːl ˈtɒlkiːn/, ROOL TOL-keen;\[a\] 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. > From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and a Fellow of Pembroke College, both at the University of Oxford. He then moved within the same university to become the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature and Fello... ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/276 "2019-11-03T02:35:42Z")
> **[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien)** > > John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE FRSL (/ˈruːl ˈtɒlkiːn/, ROOL TOL-keen;\[a\] 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. > From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and a Fellow of Pembroke College, both at the University of Oxford. He then moved within the same university to become the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature and Fello... > **[Beowulf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf)** > > Beowulf (/ˈbeɪəwʊlf/; Old English: Bēowulf \[ˈbeːowuɫf\]) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating is for the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025. Scholars call the anonymous author the "Beowulf poet". > The story is set in paga Scho... > **[Mead hall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mead_hall)** > > Among the early Germanic peoples, a mead hall or feasting hall was a large building with a single room intended to receive guests and serve as a center of community social life. From the fifth century to the Early Middle Ages such a building was the residence of a lord or king and his retainers. These structures were also where lords could formally receive visitors and where the community would gather to socialize, allowing lords to oversee the social activity of their subjects. > The old name of ... ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2019, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/277 "2019-11-03T16:26:59Z")
[Mead hall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mead_hall) [North Sea](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea) [Lost city](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_city) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/278 "2019-11-04T20:34:44Z")
> **[Lost city](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_city)** > > A lost city is an urban settlement that fell into terminal decline and became extensively or completely uninhabited, with the consequence that the site's former significance was no longer known to the wider world. The locations of many lost cities have been forgotten, but some have been rediscovered and studied extensively by scientists. Recently abandoned cities or cities whose location was never in question might be referred to as ruins or ghost towns. The search for such lost cities by Europea... > **[Otrar](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otrar)** > > Otrar or Utrar (Kazakh: Отырар, Otyrar, \[wotəˈɾɑɾ\]; Old Turkic: 𐰚𐰭𐱃𐰺𐰢𐰣, romanized: Keŋü Tarman), also called Farab, is a Central Asian ghost town that was a city located along the Silk Road in Kazakhstan. Otrar was an important town in the history of Central Asia, situated on the borders of settled and agricultural civilizations. It was the center of a great oasis and political district, commanding a key point connecting Kazakhstan with China, Europe, Near and Middle East, Siberia and Ural. > The... > **[Timur](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timur)** > > Timur\[a\] (Chagatay: تيمور Temür, lit. 'Iron'; 9 April 1336 – 17–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī\[b\] (Chagatay: تيمور کورگن Temür Küregen), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeated commander, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest military leaders and tacticians in history, as well as one of the most brutal. Timur is also consider Born into ... ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/279 "2019-11-04T20:38:29Z")
> **[Timur](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timur)** > > Timur\[a\] (Chagatay: تيمور Temür, lit. 'Iron'; 9 April 1336 – 17–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī\[b\] (Chagatay: تيمور کورگن Temür Küregen), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeated commander, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest military leaders and tacticians in history, as well as one of the most brutal. Timur is also consider Born into ... > **[Estimates of historical world population](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population_estimates)** > > This article lists current estimates of the world population in history. In summary, estimates for the progression of world population since the Late Middle Ages are in the following ranges: > Estimates for pre-modern times are necessarily fraught with great uncertainties, and few of the published estimates have confidence intervals; in the absence of a straightforward means to assess the error of such estimates, a rough idea of expert consensus can be gained by comparing the values given in indep... > **[False precision](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_precision)** > > False precision (also called overprecision, fake precision, misplaced precision and spurious precision) occurs when numerical data are presented in a manner that implies better precision than is justified; since precision is a limit to accuracy (in the ISO definition of accuracy), this often leads to overconfidence in the accuracy, named precision bias. > Madsen Pirie defines the term "false precision" in a more general way: when exact numbers are used for notions that cannot be expressed in exact... ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stroll-through-wikipedia/830660/280 "2019-11-05T07:39:36Z")
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