Wikipedia:Sandbox
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Wikipedia Wormhole is a self-directed, educational exercise/game using the platform Wikipedia. It was named by Jeff McDonald of Maine as a way to explain to others his usage of searching for a topic of interest and then following the hyperlinks to read related information presented on the primary page.
History:
McDonald, a self-described insomniac, researches wide-ranging topics of interest from people, places, events, history, music, sports, inventions, engineering designs, science, geography, conflicts etc. He starts at the primary page of interest (examples may include military units, historical events, natural phenomena etc). Upon opening the first page, he would open links in a new tab to gain insight into the related (or unrelated) events. The subsequent pages, from the new tabs, would, invariably, present new links of interest for him to follow. He described it as following the information through a WormHole.
In August of 2024, McDonald donated to the Wikimedia Foundation through the advertised funding requests. Following the donation, a new pate appeared to the Wikipedia Merchandise store. He searched for any items that might describe his activities.
Finding none, he sent an email to the contact link explaining a fun idea for a "Wikipedia WormHole All-Star" tee shirt or bumper sticker. He makes the assumption that there are many who use Wikipedia as a form of entertainment. He further surmised that others might be curious what "Wikipedia WormHole" means. These thoughts were steeped in the belief that people enjoy learning new topics, thoughts, ideas etc. based on the popularity of television, radio, on-line or public quiz games that many enjoy. By publicizing and selling the named merchandise, it may spark interest in others to play their own versions of the game.