In primary school, there was a kid who everyone used to tease for spending his lunch times reading encyclopedias in the library. Of course I joined in the teasing, being very careful to not reveal a deep, dark secret to my friends: that after school, in the safety of my own bedroom, I also enjoyed getting lost in the foreign, exotic worlds contained in the pages of these wonderful books.
Lexicon was my preferred brand at the time, as it had colour pictures and a more contemporary, American flavour than the stuffy old Oxfords they had at school. In high school, I swiftly moved into the digital age with Microsoft's Encarta, which had interactive stories and videos which I spent hours exploring.
Since those days I've used the convenient but unreliable Wikipedia as my main source of research. Which is why I was so excited when I discovered Uncyclopedia.
I only discovered the site recently while browsing travel destinations in Canada. I thought I was on Wikipedia and was interested to read that "Oscar Wilde actually had his first homosexual experience in Vancouver, leading to the town's well-beloved nickname 'That place where Oscar Wilde rendez-vouzed with 12 dudes at the same time'". Saucy...
Then I noticed the appeal from Uncyclopedia Mother Codeine's Mum, the site rules (1: Be funny, not just stupid; 2: Don't be a dick), and the potato puzzle logo and I realised that I wasn't in Kansas anymore.
This site is serious fun. With just the right amount of cheek, it really more informative and insightful than Wikipedia. I tested this site by researching some places that I'm familiar with,
and within a few minutes I learnt that "Sydney is loosely translated from the native Aboriginal language as "Atlanta with a harbour"" (so true) and that Melbourne has the lowest crime rate in Australia due to the continued presence of the city's founder, Batman (not to mention that the majority of "suss people" spend 6 months of the year in stadiums watching football). Too funny.
Uncyclopedia makes encyclopedias cool. Had the site been around during my childhood, I think that kid in the library wouldn't have been teased, and I would have been able to come out and announce to the world that I, too, like to read encyclopedias. I mean, it even has swear words! How cool is that?!
Lexicon was my preferred brand at the time, as it had colour pictures and a more contemporary, American flavour than the stuffy old Oxfords they had at school. In high school, I swiftly moved into the digital age with Microsoft's Encarta, which had interactive stories and videos which I spent hours exploring.
Since those days I've used the convenient but unreliable Wikipedia as my main source of research. Which is why I was so excited when I discovered Uncyclopedia.
I only discovered the site recently while browsing travel destinations in Canada. I thought I was on Wikipedia and was interested to read that "Oscar Wilde actually had his first homosexual experience in Vancouver, leading to the town's well-beloved nickname 'That place where Oscar Wilde rendez-vouzed with 12 dudes at the same time'". Saucy...
Then I noticed the appeal from Uncyclopedia Mother Codeine's Mum, the site rules (1: Be funny, not just stupid; 2: Don't be a dick), and the potato puzzle logo and I realised that I wasn't in Kansas anymore.
This site is serious fun. With just the right amount of cheek, it really more informative and insightful than Wikipedia. I tested this site by researching some places that I'm familiar with,
and within a few minutes I learnt that "Sydney is loosely translated from the native Aboriginal language as "Atlanta with a harbour"" (so true) and that Melbourne has the lowest crime rate in Australia due to the continued presence of the city's founder, Batman (not to mention that the majority of "suss people" spend 6 months of the year in stadiums watching football). Too funny.
Uncyclopedia makes encyclopedias cool. Had the site been around during my childhood, I think that kid in the library wouldn't have been teased, and I would have been able to come out and announce to the world that I, too, like to read encyclopedias. I mean, it even has swear words! How cool is that?!
Uncyc rules, but the corporate machine is taking it over. Don't let the barstools grind ya down!
ReplyDeleteI used to be a heavy contributor to Uncyclopedia and for about a year I was completely addicted. Ahh, happy memories.
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