Wiki Wiki to the Encyclopedia

On multiple occasions I have referred to “Wikipedia” as a source of information for an article or a quote that I am working on. Truly it is amazing as it fits into the present internet culture. Millions upon millions of bits of information catalogued by faithful contributors… edited all the time… updated whenever… and ready to access immediately by anyone with a computer.

From an article posted on Wikipedia itself – about Wikipedia… quote…
Wikipedia is a free, web-based multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its name is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a technology for creating collaborative websites, from the Hawaiian word wiki, meaning "quick") and encyclopedia. Wikipedia's 13 million articles (2.9 million in the English Wikipedia) have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world, and almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone who can access the Wikipedia website. Launched in January 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, it is currently the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet.

There is the answer to a question that many have… the word Wikipedia – is “portmanteau” of the Hawaiian word “wiki” – meaning “quick” and the end of the word encyclopedia.
There are 2.9 Million article in the English edition of this growing resource. 13 million articles from all kinds fo language groups around the world. From Afrikaans to Žemaitėška – where it is called Vikipedėjė.

When searching the list of languages now available I found “Scots” and it says…
Wikipaedia is a wab-foondit, free beuk o knawledge (or encyclopedia) that onybody can cheenge gin thay like. Wikipaedia haes aboot a million an a hauf airticles, an a thrid o thaim's in Inglis.

Under Kiswahili – it states…
Kutoka Wikipedia, kamusi elezo huru
Rukia: urambazaji, tafuta
Wikipedia ni kamusi elezo huru ya lugha nyingi katika mtandao. Inatumia taratibu wa wikiwiki. Ni bure kabisa, na inaweza kusomwa, kuandikwa, na kuhaririwa na mtu yeyote, popote pale. Yaani kila mtu anaweza kuchangia makala au kuwa na uhuru wa kuboresha makala zilizopo kwa kuzihariri.
Kamusi hii inajengwa kwa utaratibu huria ambao umejengwa juu ya falsafa ya ushirikiano inayokuwa kwa kasi. Falsafa hii inaonekana katika vuguvugu la programu huria ya tarakilishi, mikutano huria, demokrasia huria, n.k.

What an amazing idea it is – to say the least. Any language group that is able to access a computer and keyboard in their language – can access the Wikipedia in their area… and can also add to the data base of information.

It is only 8 years old now. In world of the internet that is ancient – but in my own world that is a baby.

But Wikipedia is not the only source using this idea of sharing information – other groups or similar frame works have sprung up – for an example Enciclopedia Libre

A long time ago…
I think it was about Grade 10 when I discovered the magic in the corner of the Library at Central Collegiate Institute where I attended High School. Other guys were goofing off while we were to use the space and time as a study period.

I was bored. I walked over to this dusty set of maroon coloured books. One was open. I could see thousands of words on that two page spread. I remember wondering who would write this kind of thing. What kind of fun would it be? Were they nuts? Etc.

For a person of 16 years of age – I could not imagine what words could be of that much value to put in a book.

I cannot remember why I did it… but I turned the pages to “Gun Powder”… I think my friends and I were talking about it and the idea came to look it up in the Big Books… as I looked down on the pages.

Wikipedia has almost the exact same description that I read 49 years ago.
Black powder is a granular mixture of
* a nitrate, typically potassium nitrate (KNO3), which supplies oxygen for the reaction;
* Charcoal, which provides carbon and other fuel for the reaction, simplified as carbon (C);
* Sulfur (S), which, while also a fuel, lowers the temperature of ignition and increases the speed of combustion.

Now adding to this bit of information was a Chemistry Teacher that had mentioned that Potassium Nitrate (KNO3) was almost the same as Potassium Chlorate (KClO3 ) – which can be bought in a drug store.

BINGO! New idea… could we make a bomb with home made gun powder?

In one drug store we found sulfur. In another we found charcoal. And in the third we found some Potassium Chlorate.

After a small amount of mixing we found that a light gray colour was an extremely rapid burning mixture that flared up and filled the garage we were sitting in with a huge smoke cloud – instantly.

Now if you confine the grayish coloured mixture in a tight area – and light it… the volume of smoke and gases released try to break the container. The breaking of the container is instant… and a Kerboom happens to the delight of the young teens standing around.

We made our first Bomb in a toilet paper roll wrapped with tape tightly. Not bad… it blew upwards about 10 feet.

The evolution of containers worked up to a large copper pipe left over from a plumbing job that my dad had done in our house. It was ¾ of an inch in diameter… and about a foot long.

When it was ignited (by a special “Lincoln Invention” that will remain a secret)… the sound was beyond imagination and scared us out of Bomb making for a long time. None of us could hear right for days… and maybe even today. When the man from down the block came running to see what had happened… his mouth moved but none of us could hear what he said.

Wikipedia says…
Gunpowder, also called black powder, is an explosive mixture of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate, KNO3 (also known as saltpetre/saltpeter) that burns rapidly, producing volumes of hot solids and gases which can be used as a propellant in firearms and as a pyrotechnic composition in fireworks. The term gunpowder is also often used more broadly to describe any propellant powder used in firearms. Modern firearms do not use the traditional gunpowder (black powder) described in this article, but instead use smokeless powder. Antique firearms or replicas of antique firearms are often used with black powder substitute propellants. In this article, the terms gunpowder and black powder are used interchangeably.

A while ago as my Grandsons were becoming so interested in knowing more Grandpa and what I did when I was a boy… I was so tempted to tell them a story of “Kerboom”. But my daughters made me promise that I would tell their sons any stories yet….

Wiki Wiki to the encyclopedia…

~ Murray Lincoln ~
www.murraylincoln.com

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_powder