Amusing Wikipedia Stuff [split topic]

[dissolute ocelot]

At the very end of a lengthy description of the format of Bullseye:

"It was never made clear if the two winning contestants had to share the Star Prize or if they got one each."

What? 2 speedboats? Racing each other up the Manchester Ship Canal?

I think ITV rules limited shows to a maximum of a car or similar as a prize. (How much does a speedboat cost?)

[JesusAndYourBush]

What? 2 speedboats? Racing each other up the Manchester Ship Canal?

2 speedboats parked outside a block of flats in Birmingham.

[Inspector Norse]

The picture

[kalowski]

It's the last line in this bit about John Entwistle I like

Entwistle's playing technique incorporated fingerstyle, plectrum, tapping, and the use of harmonics. He changed his style between songs and even during songs to alter the sound he produced. His fingering technique involved plucking strings very forcefully to produce a trebly, twangy sound. He changed his thumb position from pick-up to the E string and occasionally even positioned his thumb near the pick-up. His plectrum technique involved holding the plectrum between his thumb and forefinger, with the rest of his fingers outstretched for balance.

[Ferris]

What a maverick!!

[biniput]

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo_Serious

Pead was born on 27 July 1953 in Cardiff, City of Lake Macquarie in the Hunter Region, New South Wales, Australia. He attended Glendale East Public School and Cardiff High School, then worked as a tyre fitter to pay for his tuition at the National Art School in Sydney, but was expelled

[dissolute ocelot]

^ Fuck, Yahoo Serious was 35 when Young Einstein came out? Should have called it middle-aged Einstein. (Einstein was 26 when he published his classic papers on special relativity and the photoelectric effect.)

[PlanktonSideburns]

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

Not heard someone described as such before

[popcorn]

The accompanying music video for "Angels" was directed by Vaughan Arnell, and filmed at Saunton Sands. Filmed largely from the air, Williams walks around a beach, stares at the sky, kicks a football and rides a motorbike with a woman while a helicopter flies around them.

[Ferris]

Saw a terrific entry for this but have entirely forgotten what it was. So there you go.

[Tikwid]

Loving the amount of detail in the article for all 1 minute 54 seconds of Shut Down by the Beach Boys, clearly added by someone with a car hyperfixation who knew this was their time to shine:

The song details a drag race between a Super-Stock 413 cu. in.-powered 1962 Dodge Dart and a fuel-injected 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray and is derived from a longer poem by Christian. The song is sung from the perspective of the driver of the Sting Ray who brags that he will "shut down" the 413. (In hot rod racing slang, to "shut down" someone means to beat that person in a race.) While the implication is that the Sting Ray will win the race, the song ends before the end of the race with the 413 still in the lead, with the Sting Ray closing the gap. Although the race is often interpreted as having an inconclusive outcome, the lyrics in the outro refrain do state, "Shut it off, shut it off/Buddy now I shut you down", clearly indicating that the narrator, in his Corvette Sting Ray, has in fact won the race, as he tells the Dodge 413's driver to "shut off" the car's engine and accept the fact that he has just been "shut down". It must be said, however, that many classic car enthusiasts and experienced muscle car drag racers have suggested over the years that in actuality, all things being equal (i.e. drivers of equal skill), an early 1960s SS Dodge Dart (most likely the 1962 Max Wedge variant) with its 413 cu. in. engine with twin 4-barrel carburetors ("dual quads") and ram-air induction, producing 410–420 horsepower, 460–470 torque, would have most likely easily beaten a 1963 Chevy Corvette Sting Ray with its fuel injected 327 cu. in. engine producing roughly 350–360 horsepower, 352 torque. Also, the narrator even says that his "slicks" (tires) are starting to spin (lose traction) near the start of the race, and that the Dodge is "really digging in" with good traction, further suggesting that it is highly unlikely that the Sting Ray would have been able to catch up and overtake the superior powered and tractional Dodge Dart 413 in a ¼ mile drag race, even if the narrator did power shift and ride the clutch enough to burn the pressure plates.

Cash Box described it as "powerful" and having "top rock-a-teen sounds."[5]

[popcorn]

From the Donkey Kong Country article:

Nintendo provided Rare with research material regarding apes, barrels, and caves to help.

Miyamoto's cruel experiments on apes in caves...

[Ambient Sheep]

Seems there has been a seventeen-year-long hoax perpetrated that has just been discovered: a Bobby Davro gameshow that never existed.

It's going to be deleted soon, by the looks of it, so catch it while you can.  Apparently it will then hold the record for the longest-running hoax on Wikipedia.

Current page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heat_Is_On_(TV_series)

The Heat Is On (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Find sources: "The Heat Is On" TV series – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR

The Heat Is On is a BBC talent show that was a regular fixture on the Saturday night schedule between 1990 and 1994. The show was hosted by comedian/impressionist Bobby Davro.

Here's one of the older revisions:
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Heat_Is_On_(TV_series)&oldid=329734889

The Heat Is On (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Heat Is On is a BBC talent show that was a regular fixture on the Saturday night schedule between 1990 and 1994. The show was originally hosted by comedian/impressionist Bobby Davro, with his catchphrase of "They're in heat, so vote with your feet!" sweeping the nation. Davro left the show in 1993 after a Sunday tabloid published an expose on his cocaine-fuelled prostitute orgies.[citation needed] Despite this setback though the programme continued to be a ratings winner and the show was nominated in six categories at the Baftas ceremony later that year.

After continuing with a succession of guest presenters (including Jill Dando, Lenny Henry and a then 12 year-old Jamie Oliver) the show was eventually cancelled in late 1994, after an unfortunate incident during filming for that year's Christmas special.[citation needed]

Producers of the show have included former presenter Chris Kelly.

Notably, a six year old Dylan Mills (aka Dizzee Rascal) appeared as a performer on the show. His five minute act included an array of circus skills.

Discovered via this Tweet from Steve Williams:
https://twitter.com/SkillageSteve/status/1548390855735619584

[Ambient Sheep]

Hah, according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/The_Heat_Is_On_(TV_series) even his own agent's webpage lists it... having taken it from the original hoax listing!

[famethrowa]

Seems there has been a seventeen-year-long hoax perpetrated that has just been discovered: a Bobby Davro gameshow that never existed.

It's going to be deleted soon, by the looks of it, so catch it while you can.  Apparently it will then hold the record for the longest-running hoax on Wikipedia.

Current page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heat_Is_On_(TV_series)

That's awesome. Obviously have to find the fine line between ridiculous and plausible... there's probably still a few good hoaxes out there that haven't been rumbled yet.

[The Lurker]

Steve Williams, you grass

No but seriously, that is outstanding

[dissolute ocelot]

Self-anointing in animals, page about how animals rub themselves with vile substances, including hedgehogs using toad skin, tobacco, soap and faecal matter. Includes the best photo on Wikipedia:

[kalowski]

Self-anointing in animals, page about how animals rub themselves with vile substances, including hedgehogs using toad skin, tobacco, soap and faecal matter.

Male goats self-anoint with their urine. This is done by extending the penis, bending the haunches and extending the head backwards causing the urine to hit the mouth, throat, face and beard. This type of urination is possibly an indicator of rank and physical condition.

I do the same.

[PlanktonSideburns]

Last bits a bit judgmental

[Darles Chickens]

Seems there has been a seventeen-year-long hoax perpetrated that has just been discovered: a Bobby Davro gameshow that never existed.

It's going to be deleted soon, by the looks of it, so catch it while you can.  Apparently it will then hold the record for the longest-running hoax on Wikipedia.

That's great!  I love how it's self-perpetuating via this old article from The Scotsman which is then linked as a source in the Wikipedia article.

[popcorn]

That's great!  I love how it's self-perpetuating via this old article from The Scotsman which is then linked as a source in the Wikipedia article.

CITOGENESIS !!!!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_reporting#Circular_reporting_on_Wikipedia

[Ferris]

From the article on X-ray Specs:

Some versions of the advertisement featured an illustration of a young man using the X-Ray Specs to examine the bones in his hand while a voluptuous woman stood in the background, as though awaiting her turn to be "X-rayed". These claims, however, were untrue.

...

Part of the novelty value lies in provoking the object of the wearer's attentions. These subjects may believe that the device does allow the wearer to compromise their modesty, so are liable to respond with a variety of amusing reactions.

It was a different time.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_specs

[dissolute ocelot]

From the article on X-ray Specs:

It was a different time.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_specs

I like the "Similar useful devices" section. Particularly the word "useful".

[The Lurker]

Nicky Clarke OBE (born 17 June 1958) is an English hair stylist and media personality known for owning notable hair.

[Buttered Ghost]

Richard Lamar "Ricky" Hawk^[3] (born January 22, 1998), better known as Silentó (/ˈsaɪləntoʊ/) or Prince Silentó, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and alleged murderer.^[4]

Just casually wondered what the 'watch me whip' guy is up to now and those last two words absolutely took me out.

[Bad Ambassador]

7 Up Gold was marketed for a short time in 1988 as a spice-flavored beverage

No more 7 Up for you, Muad'Dib!

[buttgammon]

This tosser is today's featured article.

[Inspector Norse]

On Chelsea reserve goalie Marcus Bettinelli:

In his free time, Bettinelli enjoys golf, video games, and Netflix.

[dissolute ocelot]

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

[The Lurker]

From Towers of London's page, the citation needed bit is just cruel

The band have divided the opinions of the British music press since their emergence in early 2004, gaining positive reviews from some music news media[citation needed] and extremely negative reviews from others.[1]