Web Development

Geek Trivia: Prior to Wikipedia, what work held a centuries-long record for longest encyclopedia ever written?

In 2007, Wikipedia became the most extensive encyclopedia ever written, displacing a reference work that had held that title for nearly 600 years.

For better or worse, Wikipedia is now the most extensive single reference work ever composed. Since its launch on Jan. 15, 2001, Wikipedia has grown to roughly 20 million articles in 282 languages. (The English version of Wikipedia is the largest, comprising roughly one-sixth the total volume of articles.) Wikipedia is consistently one of the 10 most visited sites on the Internet, regardless of which service is doing the ranking.

Not bad for Plan B.

Often lost in the accolades (and criticism) of Wikipedia is an acknowledgement that it was a fallback position for a much more (oxymoron alert) traditional online encyclopedia. Wikipedia founders Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger first collaborated on Nupedia, a free online encyclopedia written by volunteer experts whose work was peer-reviewed by accredited authorities. In its three-year history, Nupedia managed to shepherd just 24 original articles through its strenuous review process.

Frustrated with the Nupedia's lack of adoption, Wales and Sanger ported a copy of Nupedia over to a free wiki version, to which anyone could submit or edit articles. The Wikipedia proved immediately popular, and began to accrue surprisingly good content at a rapid pace. By 2003, Nupedia was shut down in favor of its free successor. By 2007, Wikipedia was the most extensive encyclopedia ever written, displacing a reference work that had held that title for nearly 600 years.

PRIOR TO WIKIPEDIA, WHAT WORK HELD A NEAR 600-YEAR RECORD AS THE LONGEST ENCYCLOPEDIA EVER WRITTEN?

Get the answer.

About

Jay Garmon has a vast and terrifying knowledge of all things obscure, obtuse, and irrelevant. One day, he hopes to write science fiction, but for now he'll settle for something stranger -- amusing and abusing IT pros. Read his full profile. You can a...

7 comments
BALTHOR
BALTHOR

The Internet gives your truth sensing muscle a work out.It's a big planet and some tell powerful lies.

Robiisan
Robiisan

Simply spout off what they THINK is true. I am reminded of some of the lyrics of "A Puzzlement" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I: That tho' a man may be in doubt of what he know, Very quickly he will fight... He'll fight to prove that what he does not know is so!

AnsuGisalas
AnsuGisalas

which features this Palomar series (very good) as well as his brother's Locas series (also very good).

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