9 ridiculous Wikipedia lists to waste away the work day – Memeburn

By Julia Breakey on 9 March, 2017 Share

For the last six years of my life, I have had teachers, lecturers and tutors drill into my brain: Wikipedia is not an acceptable source.

And for six whole years I have steered clear of the tomes of knowledge Wikipedia offers me.

No longer.

Wikipedia has a knack for distracting me from the anxieties of daily life, and there is no better distraction than its carefully curated lists.

So, for your consideration, here are the nine best lists on Wikipedia right now.

This list mostly looks at albums and songs that critics have declared the worst ever written. On it youll find classics like Justin BiebersBabyand Black Eyed PeasMy Humps.And while critics are definitely wrong about 4 Non BlondesWhats Up, the rest of the list is pretty spot on, and the critiques are hilarious.

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The lyrics, most notably F**king magnets, how do they work? And I dont wanna talk to a scientist / Yall motherf**kers lying, and getting me pissed have been noted as the worst lyrics of all time

Image: brewbooks via Flickr (CC 2.0, resized)

Wikipedia is spilling hottea withthis list, outing all popes who havetaken their rogers out for an unholy swim. And if you think its just wives and women the dear popes of yore were into, think again. A few popes have been embroiled in scandals of the homosexual nature, and its all on Wikipedia for you to see.

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thought to have diedof indigestion from eating a melon, though detractors insisted he died while engaging in sodomy with a page

Former US President George W. Bush was notorious for his difficulty withthe English language,but one thing he seemed to be very good at was doling out nicknames. Whether it was nicknamingAssistant Secretary of Commerce for International Trade and Promotion Altoid Boy or the Prime Minister of Italy Shoes, Bush really had a knack for not taking the most important job in the world seriously.

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Pootie-Poot, Ostrich Legs Vladimir Putin, Presidentand Prime Minister of Russia

Yip, thats right. There are people who sat down and recorded absolutely nothing and got noted for it. Follow your dreams, kids!

Pieces listed here include works from John Lennon and Yoko Ono, The All-American Rejects and Korn. Whod have thought those three acts would be listed in one sentence together?

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The band was going through all the motions: the swart, longish-haired leader led away; the brasses, the saxophones, the clarinets made a great show of fingering and blowing, but the only sound from the stage was a rhythmic swish-swish from the trap-drummer, a froggy slap-slap from the bull-fiddler, a soft plunk-plunk from the pianist.

Image: Ergsap via Flickr (CC 2.0, resized)

You may think you know stuff I know I did but this list will have you feeling like Jon Snow in no time. How sure are you that Adam and Eves forbidden fruit was an apple? Orthat evolution explains the origin of life? Or that humans only have five senses?If you answered anything stronger than relatively sure, you world is about to change forever.

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The term Immaculate Conception was not coined to refer to the virgin birth of Jesus,nor does it reference a supposed belief in the virgin birth of Mary, his mother. Instead, it denotes a Roman Catholic belief that Mary was not in a state of original sin from the moment of her own conception.

Talkabout being a good boy! Some of these animals have done tremendous things with their lives, despite being born into a society that told them they couldnt. And, sure, maybe the degrees arelegallyfraudulent, but these badassanimals prefer not to let semantics get them down.

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Ben Goldacre, a UK-based physician and science journalist, wrote in 2004 that his cat, Henrietta, had obtained a diploma in nutrition from the American Association of Nutritional Consultants; Goldacre had been investigating allegations about the qualifications claimed by Gillian McKeith.Goldacre said, its a particular honour since dear, sweet, little Hettie died about a year ago.

If a dead cat can reach its dreams, so too can the rest of us.

While erroneous reporting of famous deaths are more common in the internet age (how often have Betty White and Rowan Atkinson died?), there are some great stories on this list predating the world wide web of lies.

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On 2 October 1571, a pallbearer dropped his coffin on the way to the funeral, waking him up. His resurrection is still celebrated each year in Braughing, Hertfordshire.

Stiglers Law refers to scientific discoveries named after people who didnt discover them. Alison Bechdel didnt invent the Bechdel test, Indians discovered the Fibonacci sequence before him and not even Sir Isaac Newton discovered his first two laws. Who can we even trust anymore?

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Stiglers Law, attributed by Stephen Stigler himself to Robert K. Merton

Exactly what it says on the tin. All links here take you to another list. Endless procrastination abounds. Youre welcome.

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lists about skepticism

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9 ridiculous Wikipedia lists to waste away the work day - Memeburn

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