Play "The Wikipedia Game" - From Elvis to Queen Elizabeth II!

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The discussion revolves around a game played using Wikipedia, where participants start with a random article and navigate through internal links to reach another specified article. The aim is to find the shortest path between two articles, earning points for efficiency and accuracy. The game encourages creativity and humor, with players sharing their routes and challenging each other with new article pairs. Key points include the importance of using only internal links found within the body of articles, and the honor system for reporting paths. Participants also discuss strategies, share amusing connections, and express curiosity about the maximum number of links needed to connect distant articles. The conversation highlights the engaging nature of the game and its potential for entertainment during boredom.
  • #31
How about:

Start: TV guide
End: Energy

Done in 5 or less. Probably too easy.
 
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  • #32
scott_alexsk said:
How about Queen Elizabeth II to dislocations (materials science)?

I found a very short path.

Queen Elizabeth II -> United States -> Material Science -> Dislocation
 
  • #33
this reminds me of networking & that "6-degress-of-separation" saying. if someone wants to get a message to another person it would have to go through no more than 6 people, no matter how far apart they are. that's the saying anyway; in practice it's probably a bit different, especially today with the internet, etc (the world is a lot smaller than it used to be). i wonder what the maximum number of wikipedia pages someone would need to go through get to any other wikipedia page? someone would have to be pretty bored to try to figure that out imho lol.
 
  • #34
mattmns said:
How about:

Start: TV guide
End: Energy

Done in 5 or less. Probably too easy.

TV guide -> Television -> Electrical energy -> Energy

Start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kool_aid
End: Treaty of Paris (1783)
If you get this, good job!EDIT: I found a good way to get Neuron from Differentiable manifold
Differentiable manifold -> Physics -> Electricity -> Neuron

EDIT2: I also found a way to cheat...
http://tools.wikimedia.de/sixdeg/

EDIT3: Lol, that website has the same method of getting to Neuron as I had, MUAHAHA!
 
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  • #35
moose said:
Start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kool_aid
End: Treaty of Paris (1783)
Kool Aid -> America (The Book) -> Politics of the United States -> American Revolution -> American Revolutionary War -> Treaty of Paris (1783)

Now:

Start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basket-weaving"
End: Felix Hausdorff
 
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  • #36
Kool-aid -> Chicago -> United Sates -> American Revolutionary War -> Treaty of Paris(1783)

Good job, eh?
 
  • #37
morphism said:
Start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basket-weaving"
End: Felix Hausdorff
basket weaving --> middle east --> africa-eurasia --> central europe --> germany --> mathematics --> topology --> felix hausdorff

that wikipedia helper thing isn't very helpful so far. i got there in 8 steps & then i tried the thing to see if there was a faster way & it said "no route found after 10 degrees." but for the return route (hausdorff->weaving) it found 5 steps:
Felix hausdorff --> Felix Hausdorff --> 1868 --> Oakland, California --> Ohlone --> basket weaving
 
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  • #38
fourier jr said:
basket weaving --> middle east --> africa-eurasia --> central europe --> germany --> mathematics --> topology --> felix hausdorff

that wikipedia helper thing isn't very helpful so far. i got there in 7 steps & then i tried the thing to see if there was a faster way & it said "no route found after 10 degrees." but for the return route (hausdorff->weaving) it found 5 steps:
Felix hausdorff --> Felix Hausdorff --> 1868 --> Oakland, California --> Ohlone --> basket weaving

When I tried it, it said
Basket weaving
2005
1942
Felix Hausdorff
 
  • #40
World Golf Hall of Fame-Presidential Medal of Freedom
Done in 5.
 
  • #41
I got from "kevin bacon" to "rectum" in EXACTLY 6 degrees. :biggrin:

kevin bacon->1->2->3->4->5->6->rectum



Answer: kevin bacon>NY>cattle>milk>mammary gland>organ>rectum
 
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  • #42
World Golf Hall of Fame -> United States -> President of United States -> John F. Kennedy -> Presidential Medal of Freedom.
 
  • #43
moe darklight said:
I got from "kevin bacon" to "rectum" in EXACTLY 6 degrees. :biggrin:

kevin bacon->1->2->3->4->5->6->rectum

:smile:

max
 
  • #44
Here is an interesting one:

Start: Xena
End: Paula Abdul

3 clicks and none can include a year.
 
  • #45
Got it in four, but not three:

Xena-->The Simpsons-->Fox-->American Idol--->Paula Abdul
 
  • #46
moose said:
When I tried it, it said
Basket weaving
2005
1942
Felix Hausdorff

aha that thing is case-sensitive, that's why it didn't work for me
 
  • #47
G01 said:
Shoe(redirected from Shoe shop)-->Athletic Shoe--->Tennis--->Tennis(disambiguation)--->Table Tennis

Would this be 4 or 5 steps?
Shoe Shop --> canvas --> gesso --> masonite --> Table tennis
 
  • #48
moose said:
EDIT2: I also found a way to cheat...
http://tools.wikimedia.de/sixdeg/

that thing is pretty handy. i can't seem to find two pages more than 5 pages apart, even
Martha_Stewart --> Edwin_Hewitt
for example is only 5 degrees of separation. That's the max from what I've tried.
& Martha_Stewart --> Doggy_style is only 3 degrees of separation! I would have thought that would be more than 5 for sure lol
C*-algebra --> Slurpee is 5 degrees
Giovanni_Pierluigi_da_Palestrina --> black_metal is 3 degrees
UFC --> Iron_Chef is 4 degrees
Sonny_Barger --> Mother_Teresa is 4 degrees
Sonny_Barger --> Noam_Chomsky is 4 also
Artin-Wedderburn_theorem --> Britney_Spears is 5 degrees
Joel_Robuchon --> McDonald's is 4 degrees
:smile:
 
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  • #49
Hmm, I think that thing may be out of date.

Look at: http://tools.wikimedia.de/sixdeg/index.jsp?from=Kalle&to=Rawhide

Kalle to Rawhide.

The connections don't actually work (in at least two of the articles)
 
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  • #50
moose said:
EDIT2: I also found a way to cheat...
http://tools.wikimedia.de/sixdeg/

HEH! At least we're not the only people that have wasted time on this!
 
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  • #51
hey guys this is a sweet website

http://thewikipediagame.com

they've got a forum over there too but it doesn't have any members yet. My friend just wanted me to ask you guys to maybe start it up? post some "wikipaths" there.

Thanks:approve:
 
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  • #52
There's an even better version of the game http://www.wikipediamaze.com"
 
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  • #53
britney spears -> e = mc^2

"britney spears" to "pop icon"
"pop icon" to "Albert einstein"
"Albert einstein" to "mass-energy equivalence"

then you can go to the disambiguation from there if necessary.
 
  • #54
No matter where I go, I always end up at Kevin Bacon.
 
  • #55
I played a variation of this with Kevin Bacon. Ultimately, it became a game of getting to the Apollo space program since you could get from Apollo to Kevin Bacon in two clicks and EVERYTHING connects to the Apollo space program.

Black Widow Spider -> Mud dauber -> altimeter -> spacecraft -> Apollo spacecraft -> Apollo 13 -> Kevin Bacon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_black_widow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud_dauber
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altimeter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacecraft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_ spacecraft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Bacon Protostar -> Solar Wind -> de Laval nozzle -> Robert Goddard -> Apollo 11 -> Jack Swigert -> Kevin Bacon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protostar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_wind
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Laval_nozzle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Goddard_(scientist )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Swigert
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Bacon
 
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