Niche Wikipedia

[MUSIC]

Brian Lehrer: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone. To end the show today, you might say we're going to go from the sublime to the ridiculous because we're going to end with a little trip into the deepest, darkest depths of Wikipedia. Have you heard of that Instagram account, Depths of Wikipedia? It's essentially a collection of screenshots from some of the website's most random niche pages. It's full of interesting facts that you would likely not come across otherwise.

It's run by Annie Rauwerda, a comedian and journalist, who's also known for starting up the Perpetual Stew in Brooklyn back in 2023 if you know that. Before we share some of our findings from the Depths of Wikipedia, this is one of those end-of-the-show call-in segments. Listeners, we're inviting you to call in and shout out your favorite, maybe little-known Wikipedia page. 212-433-WNYC.

It doesn't have to be little-known. It doesn't have to be niche, but niche is good, or even a highly trafficked Wikipedia page. Do you have a favorite Wikipedia page? 212-433-9692. Even if it's not niche one, did you learn something? Did you get a little-known nugget of knowledge or a humorous edit since anybody can edit Wikipedia or anything else? 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692.

We're casting our line here. We're casting the net. Who knows if anybody is out there who is into the Depths of Wikipedia or just has a favorite major or niche Wikipedia page or just something you learned from that Wiki encyclopedia that's worth repeating on the radio. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. Here are some things that our team learned on the Depths of Wikipedia recently since we got into poking around on this with this inspiration.

Did you know that there's another Donald Trump? We're all familiar with President Donald J. Trump, but there's also Donald L. Trump, an oncologist who's the executive director and CEO of the Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Falls Church, Virginia. According to his Wikipedia page, he didn't vote for Donald J. Trump in either 2016 or 2020. We're looking forward to an update on Wikipedia to see how he swung in 2024.

Imagine being one of those people who's also named Donald Trump at this particular point in time and going through life that way. Who has a niche fact that you learned on Wikipedia or a niche page that you have ever visited? 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. Then there's the US representative from North Carolina's 10th district, Patrick McHenry. You know that name? He's in the news checking his page now. It's pretty typical of most Wikipedia articles for American politicians.

According to Depths of Wikipedia, at one point, his page noted that he was bitten by a rabid fox while running through Capitol Hill in 2022. Apparently, he did not immediately publicize the event because he "did not want his Wikipedia page to say," and he got bitten by a rabid fox but ultimately couldn't avoid it. Have you heard of the liking gap? L-I-K-I-N-G, liking gap. The liking gap is, "The disparity between how much a person believes that another person likes them and that other person's actual opinion." Apparently, people are prone to think others like them a whole lot less than they actually do. Hopefully, that gives you a bit of confidence in your next interaction.

Listeners, there are a few examples. I have a few more. We'll see if we get phone calls from people who also have Depths of Wikipedia experiences. Shout out a niche page that you find on that people's encyclopedia or even a niche fact that you learned amusing, enlightening, depressing, encouraging, whatever. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. We'll take your Depths of Wikipedia calls and texts right after this.

[MUSIC]

Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. All right, let's hear what some of you are cruising on Wikipedia. Ishmael in Harlem, you're on WNYC. Hi, Ishmael.

Ishmael: Hi. Thanks for taking my call, Brian. I live in Harlem now, but I'm from Los Angeles. I was telling your producer that after I moved here for college, I became really fascinated by the history of LA's public transit system, just given my experience with the subway here.

Brian Lehrer: Wait, LA has a public transit system? I'm kidding. Go ahead.

Ishmael: Surprising, right? It's undergone this significant expansion over the last 15 years or so. My favorite tidbit from the Wikipedia page, which I check regularly just to know what's happening with the system, is that most of it didn't exist before 1990. Now, it has 102 stations, four light rail lines, two rapid transit lines, I think an annual ridership of above 60 million, which might seem like nothing compared to New York. In a time where I think the entire nation struggles with building infrastructure, especially public transit, it's really inspiring to me that LA has somehow gotten this done in the last 35 years.

Brian Lehrer: Really interesting. Ishmael, thanks for starting us off. That's really interesting. Following the LA transit system from here in Harlem. Lizette in Rockville, Maryland, you're on WNYC. Hi, Lizette.

Lizette: Hi. Good afternoon. Good morning, Brian. Yes, I've been listening for a long time because of my dad, but this is the first time I'm calling in. [chuckles]

Brian Lehrer: So glad you're on.

Lizette: Thank you. Yes, my Wikipedia niche is something called "fox tossing." It was a blood sport back in Europe in the 17th and 18th century. It was something that the aristocratic class would do. It would involve taking a giant bed sheet or these giant types of tarps. The people would be teamed up on either side. They would toss these poor creatures into the air. They toss foxes. They toss deer or, excuse me, not deer. They toss wild cats. Frequently, the animals, unfortunately, would pass away, but also some of the people too because those animals would come after the people on their way down.

Brian Lehrer: Jeez.

Lizette: There's a great quote on the Wikipedia website or on the page if you read it. They say that wildcats were particularly troublesome. The writer remarked, "They do not give a pleasing kind of sport, for if they cannot bury their claws and teeth in the faces or legs of the tossers, they cling to the tossing slings for dear life, and it is next to impossible to give one of these animals a skillful toss."

Brian Lehrer: Oh, my goodness. Lizette, we have truly hit the Depths of Wikipedia with that call. Thank you very much. Since that was your first call, please do call us again. Who's next? Corinna, you're on WNYC. I say, Karina, you're on WNYC. Hi, Karina.

Karina: Amazing. Hi, it's a pleasure to be here. I'm calling about something that I didn't learn on Wikipedia, which is the abolitionist history that happened in my hometown and actually where I learned to swim, which is Island Grove Park in Abington, Massachusetts. I worked really using the work of Professor Donald Yacovone, who's at Harvard, to update the Wikipedia site and to add a section on abolitionist history because it wasn't there.

While in the town, there's a monument to white male and female abolitionists who spoke there like William Lloyd Garrison and Lucy Stone. The monument does not mention the Black American activists who spoke there like Henry Box Brown, Ellen and William Craft, who there's now a book about, Charles Lenox Remond, who spoke there quite a lot. It's just a call to share that there's so much we don't know and that isn't yet written. We can all play a part in contributing to expanding history.

Brian Lehrer: That is so cool. You helped make a Wikipedia page. You might relate to this. We got a text message from somebody said, "I'm a professor. A few years back, my class rewrote a Wikipedia page for an African-American poet because it was weirdly colonialist and they loved the assignment." Karina, there you go. Thank you very much. Another listener writes, on a lighter note, "My uncle, Robert Dressler," I guess he has a Wikipedia page, "former mayor of Fort Lauderdale who 'killed spring break.'" Well, I'd like to know more about that, but it's not in the text. "Jesse in Manhattan, you're on WNYC. Hi, Jesse.

Jesse: Hi, so there's a Jeopardy! contestant named Amy Schneider. She was a trans woman who had a really unflattering picture of her on the Wikipedia article. She took to Twitter and the Talk page to try and get a better photo of herself uploaded. They eventually did.

Brian Lehrer: [laughs] Campaigning to get a better photo of yourself on Wikipedia. Listener writes, "Wikipedia is my favorite place to learn about nepotism and privilege. Did you know Julia Louis-Dreyfus' father is a French billionaire?" I did not know that. We're going to take one more. Tom on the Upper West Side, we have 15 seconds for you. What's your Depth of Wikipedia page?

Tom: Okay. Hi, Brian. This is very, very serious. It's Poe's law. P-O-E's. If you don't show your intent when you're posting something satirical or merely funny, people will take you entirely seriously. So put that little smiley face or the winking face next to your posts.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you very much. Poe's law from Tom. Thanks, listeners, for chiming in with inspiration from the Depths of Wikipedia site on your niche, big or small, Wikipedia finds or contributions as we heard. That's The Brian Lehrer Show for today. Thanks for listening. Stay tuned for Alison.

[MUSIC]

New York Public Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline, often by contractors. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of New York Public Radio’s programming is the audio record.

Produced by WNYC