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Ten facts you didn't know about Wikipedia

In this photo illustration a Wikipedia logo seen displayed on a smartphone screen with a computer keyword in the background in Athens, Greece on December 12, 2021. (Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Wikipedia is among the most popular websites on Earth (Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

This article is part of Yahoo's 'On This Day' series

The free-to-edit encyclopedia Wikipedia is among the most popular websites on Earth, consistently ranked in the top 15 websites by Alexa.

The encyclopedia, which was launched on this day in 2001, is mind-boggling in scale, with an average of 590 new articles added every day.

Wikipedia averages 1.9 edits per second, and has grown in the past 21 years to be an invaluable resource used across the world (except in China, where it has been banned since 2019).

Here are 10 facts you probably didn’t know about Wikipedia.

There’s an official theme song

There’s an official theme song (sort of) called Hotel Wikipedia, to the tune of Hotel California, with lyrics such as, ‘’Welcome to the Hotel Wikipedia/Such a lovely place/So much empty space.’

Its maker panicked that the idea was ‘too obvious’

Jimmy Wales, founder of online encyclopedia Wikipedia poses for a portrait in London on January 13, 2021. - Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook did a
Jimmy Wales, founder of online encyclopedia Wikipedia poses (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Jimmy Wales had previously worked in open-source, free software, and thought the idea would work for an encyclopedia. He said, ‘ I was in a real kind of panic because I thought this is such an obvious idea that other people will do it.’

There’s a Wikipedia Monument in Poland

(GERMANY OUT) The Wikipedia Memorial (Pomnik Wikipedii) in the western Polish border town of Slubice. The sculpture comes from Mihran Hakobyan and was unveiled at the Plac Frankfurcki (Frankfurt Square) on October 22, 2014 (Photo by JOKER / Karl-Heinz Hick/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
The Wikipedia Memorial (Pomnik Wikipedii) in the western Polish border town of Slubice (Photo by JOKER / Karl-Heinz Hick/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

The Wikipedia Monument is located in Slubice and was designed by Armenian sculptor Mihran Hakobyan.

It’s almost as accurate as a real encyclopedia

A major study in science journal Nature found that Encyclopedia Britannica averaged three minor mistakes every entry in science articles, compared to four in Wikipedia.

Founder Jimmy Wales first launched a browser known as the ‘Playboy of the internet’

Before laucnching Wikipedia, founder Jimmy Wales launched Bomis, a browser and web directory which some described as the ‘Playboy of the internet’ as users devoted a lot of time to collecting images of attractive women.

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There’s a ‘No Angry Mastodons’ policy

Wikipedia often has jokey titles for serious policies, such as, ‘No Angry Mastodons’, which refers to measures to stop editors working while angry.

Someone edited Wikipedia from space

Astronaut Paulo Nespoli recorded audio for use on his Wikipedia page from the International Space Station in 2017.

Jimmy Wales says he doesn’t regret not making a profit

Unlike Google or Facebook, Wikipedia does not make money: but Wales says he is not bothered by missing out on the vast wealth of other Silicon Valley founders. He said, ‘I don’t regret it at all. My life is very interesting. I’m not a very money motivated person.’

Jimmy Wales was caught editing his own Wiki page

MILAN, ITALY - MAY 25: American Internet entrepreneur and founders of Wikipedia  Jimmy Wales attends the Wired Next Fest 2019 at the Giardini Indro Montanelli on May 25, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Rosdiana Ciaravolo/Getty Images)
American Internet entrepreneur and founders of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales (Photo by Rosdiana Ciaravolo/Getty Images)

Jimmy Wales was caught editing his own Wikipedia biography, to remove mentions of Larry Sanger, who also worked on Wikipedia, and to references to ‘soft porn’ on Bomis.

Every January 15, fans celebrate Wikipedia Day

Every year, Wiki editors and fans celebrate the site’s ‘birthday’ on January 15.

Watch: Wikipedia editors vote against classifying NFTs as art