# Funny Wikipedia vandalisms **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 25, 2008, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821 "2008-04-25T08:48:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/1 "2008-04-25T08:48:07Z")
[Fond du Lac, Wisconsin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fond_du_Lac%2C_Wisconsin) The entry begins: > [@](#): > > Fond du Lac is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest city in the world. I love it when stuff like this happens. What else have you seen on Wikipedia that’s made you laugh? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/2 "2008-04-25T11:09:46Z")
I don’t find vandalism of that kind funny. I just fixed one bit of vandalism there (reverting the population from about 42 million to about 42 thousand). ---
**Author:** ![hocow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hocow/32/4112_2.png) [@hocow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hocow)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/3 "2008-04-25T11:23:22Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] I don’t find vandalism of that kind funny. I just fixed one bit of vandalism there (reverting the population from about 42 million to about 42 thousand). [/QUOTE] It still says 42 million. When I saw that I went :dubious: . ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/4 "2008-04-25T12:04:57Z")
[QUOTE=hocow] It still says 42 million. When I saw that I went :dubious: . [/QUOTE] I’ve fixed that too – the population figure is in the article 3 times. I suspect there’s still some rubbish in the “Culture” and “Notable Residents” sections, which you’d need some local knowledge to fix. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/5 "2008-04-25T12:32:09Z")
I prefer “vandalism” which is technically true. Spot the subtle jibe at an unpopular politician in the opening paragraph of [this entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Costa). ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/6 "2008-04-25T12:41:20Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] I prefer “vandalism” which is technically true. Spot the subtle jibe at an unpopular politician in the opening paragraph of [this entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Costa). [/QUOTE] Yes – that’s fine by me, since in the world of NSW ALP politics, being a country member is high praise. But I use Wikipedia a lot at work, and it would slow me down a lot if I had to check for vandalism. Fortunately, the subject areas which I use most aren’t popular areas for the ignorant children who mess up Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/7 "2008-04-25T12:54:33Z")
That’s not vandalism, it’s culture. And since I’ve met him, I’d hardly forget. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/8 "2008-04-25T13:41:21Z")
I used it once to check some information on a town near me and it said something like “has the largest population of dwarves in the world.” I deleted that, but it may be back. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/9 "2008-04-25T13:49:31Z")
[I Have The Power](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Penny_Arcade_comic-20051216h.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/10 "2008-04-25T14:06:48Z")
I was looking at Henry VIII’s page one time and someone had given him a son with Katharine Parr. The fictitious son had his own page, too, with a title and a list of descendants. From the history it looks like Henry’s page gets vandalized a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/11 "2008-04-25T17:51:47Z")
I’ll confess I laughed at some of these [recurring themes in Mallard Fillmore](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mallard_Fillmore&diff=206792025&oldid=206791028) ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/12 "2008-04-25T18:15:42Z")
[QUOTE=Taber] I’ll confess I laughed at some of these [recurring themes in Mallard Fillmore](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mallard_Fillmore&diff=206792025&oldid=206791028) [/QUOTE] Well, reading the “talk” page on that link is enough to dispel whatever illusions I might have had that the articles in Wikipedia are all the result of knowledgeable, well-intentioned, cool-headed people, anyway. Fortunately, the overall quality of WP is still decent enough. RR ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/13 "2008-04-25T19:05:01Z")
Went to the Star Wars page the other day and the opening line was Star Farts is a movie… Checked out Bobby Robson, clicked on his picture, and got a huge picture of a penis. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/14 "2008-04-25T19:21:22Z")
There’s a perpetual war on the \*\*Recursion \*\*page. People keep adding links to See Also : **Recursion**. Other people keep removing it. > **[Talk:Recursion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Recursion#Humour_in_the_See_Also.3F)** > > I'd be interested in opening an RFC on the topic of putting a link to Recursion in the "See Also" section. While it is a small point, I think it reflects the much wider issue of "Can Wikipedia afford to occasionally be less than deadly serious?". I firmly believe it can, and I feel that a humorous touch like this actually creates a better encyclopedia. > Thoughts anyone? Manning (talk) 18:05, 25 June 2009 (UTC)Reply\[reply\] > I went and added a recursive joke link in the format of the other uses tem... ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/15 "2008-04-25T23:57:39Z")
Did anyone else see the Super Bowl penis? I looked up Super Bowl XLII on Wikipedia just before kickoff, and was surprised to see the page dominated by a color photograph of a small flaccid penis. The picture remained there for several minutes. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/16 "2008-04-26T01:54:59Z")
At one time, Wikipedia kept some of its funniest vandalisms in an archive called “Bad Jokes and Other Deleted Nonsense”. [This archive](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Yet_more_Best_of_BJAODN) of some of it contains my favorite Wikipedia vandalism of all time: the story of Strings McPickens, the heroic banjo player. And some interesting [Deleted Article titles](http://meta.uncyclomedia.org/wiki/UnSource:Wikipedia_BJAODN/Deleted_articles_with_freaky_titles). ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2008, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/17 "2008-04-26T05:10:08Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] There’s a perpetual war on the \*\*Recursion \*\*page. People keep adding links to See Also : **Recursion**. Other people keep removing it. > **[Talk:Recursion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Recursion)** > > I'd be interested in opening an RFC on the topic of putting a link to Recursion in the "See Also" section. While it is a small point, I think it reflects the much wider issue of "Can Wikipedia afford to occasionally be less than deadly serious?". I firmly believe it can, and I feel that a humorous touch like this actually creates a better encyclopedia. > Thoughts anyone? Manning (talk) 18:05, 25 June 2009 (UTC)\[reply\] > I went and added a recursive joke link in the format of the other uses templ... [/QUOTE] This is making me laugh and laugh and laugh. (See also: Laughing, by MsWhatsit.) ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2008, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/18 "2008-04-26T11:41:24Z")
[Denshaw](http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1046085_sheepthrower_website_rectified), a small village in northern England, reportedly suffered from a severe tapeworm outbreak, is filled with obese locals who indulge in sheep throwing, and has a high level of malnourishment due to sunlight being blocked by the hills for most of the day. > [@](#): > > Locals were said to be malnourished because the surrounding hills block out sunlight for most of the day. The village was said to have just four households and to have suffered ‘an Ascariasis epidemic in 1998’ - a tapeworm infection normally seen in the tropics but which still affects the ‘residents of Dumfries Drive’. > > The annual brass band contest was ridiculed with claims locals celebrate by ‘cow shooting, rock rolling and sheep hurling.’ > > The page - which was spotted by Saddleworth parish councillor Ken Hulme - has now been corrected. A note at the top says editing by new or unregistered users has been disabled ‘due to vandalism’. > > The prank has been the talk of the village, but landlady Jackie Hall, landlady of the Golden Fleece pub, believes most people will be glad to see things return to normal. The 400-year-old Golden Fleece pub was referred to as a ‘timid brothel’ on Wikipedia. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/19 "2008-04-26T16:01:23Z")
My absolute favorite discovery of wikipedia vandalism of all time: For whatever reason, I wanted to wiki Steve Martin. Here’s an approximation of what I got: [Steve Martin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douche) It took me a sec, but then I roared with laughter. Great redirect. It’s long fixed, but that one I enjoyed. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2008, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821/20 "2008-04-26T22:57:26Z")
[QUOTE=Can Handle the Truth] Did anyone else see the Super Bowl penis? I looked up Super Bowl XLII on Wikipedia just before kickoff, and was surprised to see the page dominated by a color photograph of a small flaccid penis. The picture remained there for several minutes. [/QUOTE] The topic line said “funny.” The Recursion article is much more like it! ETA: Oh, and so is the Atlantic Records vandalisms on Weird Al’s behalf. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-wikipedia-vandalisms/446821.md?page=2)