There are over five million articles in the English Wikipedia. These are the ones that Wikipedians have identified as being a bit unusual. These articles are verifiable, valuable contributions to the encyclopedia, but are a bit odd, whimsical, or something you would not expect to find in Encyclopædia Britannica. We should take special care to meet the highest standards of an encyclopedia with these articles lest they make Wikipedia appear idiosyncratic. If you wish to add articles to this list, the article in question should preferably meet one or more of these criteria:
- The article is something you would not expect to find in a standard encyclopedia.
- The subject is an unusual combination of concepts, such as cosmic latte, death from laughter, etc.
- The subject is an anomalyâ€"something that defies common sense, common expectations or common knowledge, such as Bir Tawil, Märket, Phineas Gage, List of snow events in Florida, etc.
- The subject is well-documented for unexpected notoriety or an unplanned cult following at extreme levels, such as Ampelmännchen or All your base are belong to us.
- The subject is a notorious hoax, such as Sokal affair or Mary Toft.
- The subject might be found amusing, though serious.
- The article is a list or collection of articles or subjects meeting the criteria above.
This definition is not precise; some articles may still be considered unusual even if they do not fit these guidelines.
To keep the list of interest to readers, each entry on this list should be an article on its own (not merely a section in a less unusual article) and of decent quality, in large meeting Wikipedia's manual of style. For unusual contributions that are of greater levity, see Wikipedia:Silly Things. A star () indicates a featured article. A plus () indicates a good article.
Places and infrastructure
Americas
Africa
Antarctica
Asia and Oceania
Europe
Geography
- See also
- Wikipedia:Unusual place names
History
Mathematics and numbers
Dates and timekeeping
Language
Weird names
Science
Physics
Earth sciences
Chemistry and material science
Space and astronomy
Medicine and health
Individual patients and staff
Nervous system and behaviour
Animals
Chickens
Mammals
Individual animals
Names in biology
- See also
- List of organisms named after famous people
- List of U.S. state dinosaurs (does not include any of the List of U.S. state fossils)
- List of historical pigs
Plants
- See also
- List of famous trees
Technology, inventions and products
Hygiene and sanitation
Clothing and accessories
Transport
Computing
Popular culture, entertainment and the arts
Art
Comics and animation
Literature
Music
Film
Television
Video games
Internet memes and online culture
See also List of Internet memes.
Festivals
- See also
- List of Hitchcock cameo appearances
- List of films that most frequently use the word "fuck"
- List of films considered the worst
- List of television series canceled after one episode
- List of television series canceled before airing an episode
Food
Beverages
Restaurants
Sports
Animals in sports
Athletes
Sport teams and associations
Games and strategy contests
Folklore
Cryptozoology and animal folklore
Society, economy and law
Politics and government
Business and economics
Law, law enforcement and crime
Punishments
- See also
- List of fictional U.S. Presidents
- List of unnamed fictional United States Presidents
- List of frivolous political parties
- List of nicknames used by George W. Bush
- List of political catch phrases
- List of scandals with "-gate" suffix
Religion and spirituality
- See also
- List of sexually active popes
- List of Buddha claimants
- List of messiah claimants
- List of names for the Biblical nameless
- List of people who have claimed to be Jesus
- List of people who have been considered deities
Military
Weapons and military equipment
- See also
- List of military disasters
- List of wars extended by diplomatic irregularity
Death
- See also
- List of premature obituaries
- List of unusual deaths
Questions
Wikipedia is not afraid to tackle the tough questions:
Unusual featured pictures
Wikipedia:Featured Pictures contains some unusual images.
See also
- Most popular "Did you know?" items
- Category:Adages
- Category:Conspiracy theories
- Category:Famous body parts
- Category:Flatulence
- Category:Hoaxes
- Category:Internet memes
- Category:Ironic and humorous awards
- Category:Profanity
External links
- Funcyclopedia
- Regan, Jim (February 11, 2005). "Remarkable Wikipedia has "unusual" corners". CSMonitor.com. Halifax, Nova Scotia: USA Today. Archived from the original on February 11, 2005. Retrieved 28 March 2011.Â
- Miller, Andrew (January 25, 2011). "The Least Essential Wikipedia Pages". Something Awful. Retrieved 28 March 2011.Â
- Frater, Jamie (March 21, 2011). "10 Interesting And Unusual Wikipedia Articles". Jamie Frater. Retrieved 28 March 2011.Â
- Lih, Andrew (Mayâ€"June 2006). "Wikipedia Unusual Articles". andrewlih.com. Retrieved 28 March 2011.Â
- "Interesting and unusual Wikipedia articles". The Straight Dope. June 2009. Archived from the original on 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.Â
- Archive of A Random Collection of Unusual Articles on Wikipedia game on The Nethernet