Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/January 14 to 20, 2018

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (January 14 to 20, 2018)

Prepared with commentary by Stormy clouds

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Netflix got me wrapped around its finger

This week's report is considerably more diverse, for better or worse. As ever, television has a dominant effect on the reading habits of Wikipedia's users, with Netflix maintaining its chokehold, securing eyes both on its own site and over here. The return of a pair of crime dramas also provided some intrigue for the readers of the wiki. The leading article, however, is that of Dolores O'Riordan, the lead singer of the Cranberries, who died tragically at a young age during the week. As ever, we can thank Reddit and Google for a couple of entries on the Report, and sports gasp also managed to make its way in, encroaching on the fiefdom of period drama fanatics. With the apparent addiction to television that is suffered by many a reader on Wikipedia, it is little wonder that we spend our time like zombies, clicking through tangentially related links. Long may it last, I say.

For the week of January 14 to 20, 2018, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:

Rank	Article	Views	Notes
1	Dolores O'Riordan	2,536,032	Beginning with musical tragedy, we have the death of the lead singer of The Cranberries (#4). This decade has had a remarkably high rate of attrition for talented musicians, and the death of my fellow countrywoman hit harder than most. From brave political statements to an oft-used ballad about rêves, the singer left a mark in her short life. Anyway, this is too upsetting to set the tone for the Report as a whole, so I shan't linger.
2	Martin Luther King Jr.	1,130,743	The national holiday to celebrate the champion of civil rights fell this week stateside, as it does every year. Intrigue surrounding the pastor was likely piqued by the fact that many media outlets drew parallels between a holiday designed to mark the life and death of the man who vanquished segregation, and a man (#23) who embodies the vile vitriol and racist rhetoric that King marched against. What a wonderful world we live in, where progress moves backward. sigh.
3	Gianni Versace	1,051,793	The legendary fashion designer is, perhaps not surprisingly, the subject of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, the second season of American Crime Story. While the enterprise has not received the approval of Versace's family members, it seems to have riveted the readers of Wikipedia. If it can emulate the quality of its predecessor, we may perhaps truly understand why exactly the assassin (#5) decided to leave the icon on the floor.
4	The Cranberries	1,018,955	The band lost their lead singer, Dolores O'Riordan (#1), following her untimely demise in London. This prompted an outpouring of wiki-emotion and interest in the group, propelling them to the top 5 for the week.
5	Andrew Cunanan	869,460	The assassin of #3, Cunanan is also investigated thoroughly in the second season of American Crime Story, which seems to have propelled vast interest in his article. A notorious serial killer, Cunanan committed suicide following a lengthy and infamous manhunt. Unfortunately, should doubt persist about his guilt, we are in trouble. We cannot check if the glove fits, as he was cremated following his death.
6	Queen Victoria	782,363	Another article which attracts constant attention from Anglophiles, Victoria is a staple of the report. She has seen her interest increase greatly as a result of the PBS and ITV series which bears her name, where she is portrayed by Jenna Coleman (pictured). Many consider it to be a poor man's crown, but it can't be denied that Wikipedia's users are captivated by period drama focused on British queens.
7	Deaths in 2018	765,887	Led by the demise of O'Riordan (#1), and a pioneering footballing legend, there was a lot of traffic at the list of the dead this week. Let's hope we are not in for another celebrity apocalypse.
8	Elizabeth II	735,840	Once again, Elizabeth Regina makes her way onto the Report by virtue of The Crown. Having written extensively about the series due to the high presence of second screeners, I finally decided to indulge in the series and binge watched it in its entirety. On the whole, I found it to be very entertaining, and yes, found myself journeying to the pages of the characters in the period drama - am I part of the problem?
9	Schöningen Spears	641,099	Another week, another Reddit entry sparking intense interest on Wikipedia. While I don't frequent r/TIL myself, I, as a commentator, do have to thank the moderators for introducing variety into the report. This one relates to wooden spears, which, through dendrochronology, have been dated as being over 300,000 years old. They were found very well preserved in a German mine. My question about this fascinating piece of trivia, naturally, given the fact that spears are potent weapons, is this - who had the bigger spear? On a side note, any of the TIL mods should journey over and help diversify DYK, as you clearly have the knack for it.
10	Case Keenum	612,896	I have never understood why Minnesota of all places adopted the Vikings as their sporting idols. I mean, Miami Dolphins, I get. 49ers, sure. But why the Vikings? Because it is cold in Minneapolis? Because you enjoy historical anachronisms? Demographics indicate that it should be the Saxons. It truly puzzles me, as someone who stems from a Viking town. Nonetheless, Keenum's story this year has been remarkable, progressing from third-choice QB to a Super Bowl contender. The air will be let out of the balloon, though, when the Norse legions get wiped out by a ragtag volunteer army and their venerated general - or not.
11	Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon	611,806	Margaret, similarly to her regal sister (#8), is on the Report for another consecutive week as a result of The Crown, where she is portrayed exceptionally by Vanessa Kirby. Unlucky in love, the primary thrust of the show relates to her dalliances with Pete Townsend, the man she could not marry, and Antony Armstrong-Jones, the man she shouldn't have married.
12	The End of the F*ing World	568,071	Contrary to the grandiose billing, this show, which has proved itself to be the latest streaming success on Netflix, is not a Netflix original, having been originally produced and aired over at Channel 4. It would not be the first time for the British channel to lose a property to the streaming empire, but they are fiscally toothless against the giant. I guess, like star Alex Lawther, they just ought to shut up and dance.
13	Sears Catalog Home	531,214	Reddit are the culprits for this curious entry, after some intrepid investigators discovered that you could once get Sears to send you a mail-order house (self-assembly required). Sounds like a terrifically Swedish idea to me. I wonder how grandiose I could get with this scheme - if I purchase a skyscraper, would they send one? Difficult to know, but I could probably get one from the Willis Group if necessary.
14	Facebook	515,867	The social media behemoth is a constant source of views on the encyclopedia, as readers like to use the most productive time-suck on the information superhighway to learn about the least. However, sources of views this week likely relates to changes made by the monolith to its news feed feature. It has been theorised that this is a move to eliminate fake news, and appease China.
15	Tonya Harding	497,949	Never mind Versace, this is a crime story worthy of American Crime Story. The figure skater is portrayed by Margot Robbie in the biopic, I, Tonya, which has attracted awards buzz. Harding hindered the prosecution of people responsible for a brutal attack on her rival, Nancy Kerrigan. Kerrigan's knee was broken by a police baton, and the resultant controversy exposed the seedy, bloody underbelly of a sport renowned for its beauty and elegance.
16	Black Mirror	496,237	Normally, when one is telling a friend about a TV series that they like and encouraging them to binge-watch, there are very few caveats. However, in his twisted brilliance, Charlie Brooker has crafted an anomaly. While the show is captivating and engrossing beyond measure, it also features grotesque acts of bestiality in its first episode. Ergo, sending a friend to watch this will truly test the tensile strength of your relationship, and it is quite possible that this piece of TV will sour your relationship irreversibly ... which is possibly the point.
17	Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh	482,321	Our final entry stemming from The Crown this week, the Duke of Edinburgh is being researched thoroughly by fans of Netflix's lavish drama. The new season, for better or worse, presents plenty of material for readers to research, between his exotic and (allegedly) extra-marital adventures in opening the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne, his relationship to, and friendship with, Stephen Ward and the death of his Nazi sister Cecilie in a plane crash. The show may have played fast and loose with its depictions of "historical events" this season, but I digress.
18	Winston Churchill	474,831	The intimidating British bulldog has made his way into the Report due to the release of Darkest Hour, a biopic depicting how, despite lacking the best words, he used speech and rhetoric in his stoic defence of the Home Nations against the Nazis. Granted, this task was made easier by the fact that they lacked their most potent weapons - amphibians and patio flames. Nonetheless, the PM is portrayed excellently by Gary Oldman in the film, which, if historical precedent is anything to go by, he would have hated.
19	Bitcoin	465,125	At a certain point, an author gets tired. Sick of explaining the inner workings of cryptocurrency to blockheads, and of making snide tulip jokes. Sometimes, the author just hits the wall and burst. Therefore, I would like to devote this space to an oft-forgotten and suffering section of society - the master race. Due to crypto-mining activities, GPU's have doubled in price, and now cash-strapped gamers have to settle for slightly inferior graphics. It is time we intervene. For only the cost of multiple hundred cups of coffee, you can help a member of the master race near you get 4k textures at ultra, rather than high, when they next play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (because all other games are inferior). Without your help, poor gamers like PraiseBeLordGaben will have to slum with the peasants. Please help this legit cause on Kickstarter, and end the 1440p epidemic today.
20	Katy Jurado	455,392	The Mexican actress was the subject of a Google Doodle this week, prompting those who peruse the internet to journey to the encyclopedia and learn about her impressive corpus of work, including an appearance in the excellent High Noon. Talent transcends time, and it is nice to see Google sent people to the article.
21	List of Black Mirror episodes	454,287	"On the Leeds-side streets you slip down, provincial towns you jog 'round, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ." There have now been 19 episodes in this technophobic Twilight Zone that Charlie Brooker has woven. While fans like myself can recount them off the top of our heads, this is a tally seemingly too large for some, leading them to visit the encyclopedia to check the list. While beginning in a depressing tone, much like Morrissey's hips, they have gradually gotten lighter (in my view) from "White Bear" onwards. Nonetheless, the reliance on the internet to check the episodes is worrying. What next, will they need Coach to count to four for them?
22	The Greatest Showman	444,627	The musical, recounting the foundations of Logan Valjean's marvelous singing Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus started out looking like a dud at the box office. However, by virtue of its demographics, it has held extremely well, and recouped its production costs in full, and is evidently a hit with Wikipedians as well, judging by the continued interest in the picture.
23	Donald Trump	438,297	The consistently controversial commander-in-chief had a particularly busy week, even by his own frantic and frenzied standards. After insulting approximately half of the world, he proceeded to trigger a cessation of government services by refusing to relent on his desire for a wall. So, because the monument to Mexican sins will not be funded, the US has decided to stop the whole government lark altogether. Not that it matters, because seemingly nothing does, but one has to wonder why anyone would live in that shithole.
24	Murder of Travis Alexander	422,335	Another entry courtesy of television, the death of Alexander is recounted in the programme Jodi Arias: An American Murder Mystery. While not a Netflix production, this series seems to have stirred the investigative juices, with many an encyclopedia reader visiting the article to see the truth behind the case and the details of Alexander's murder. It is difficult to pinpoint why this is so engaging for editors, but between this entry and Versace (#3), it is evident that there is demand for the morbid.
25	Aziz Ansari	422,082	Another scandalous story breaking from the #MeToo campaign broke during the week ... or did it? The story, published anonymously on the website Babe.net (not an RS, if you are wondering), alleged that the comedian, who is riotously funny in Master of None, sexually assaulted a woman on a date. However, delving into the allegation showed some severe discrepancies, leading many commentators to rubbish the claim and brand the article a piece of revenge porn. The internet, as ever, remains divided on this issue.

Exclusions

This list excludes the Wikipedia main page, non-article pages (such as redlinks), and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Since mobile view data became available to the Report in October 2014, we exclude articles that have almost no mobile views (5–6% or less) or almost all mobile views (94–95% or more) because they are very likely to be automated views based on our experience and research of the issue. Please feel free to discuss any removal on the talk page if you wish.

Note: If you came here from the Signpost article, please take any discussion of exclusions to this article's talk page.