First page

The Wikipedia Main Page

Welcome to the Wikipedia tour. My name is Denis, and I will be your guide. This trip will show you the diversity of the content on Wikipedia, some of its most unusual articles, the inner workings of the project, its policies and debates, and everything you need to know to become a contributor. Don't worry about getting lost - I will be with you during the whole trip.

What you see below is the Main Page of Wikipedia. You've probably seen it before, but pay a closer look. Much of the content below is updated daily by our open community of editors. The featured article, for example, is picked from the list of featured articles. These are pages which have undergone a community review process. The Did you know section in the lower right comes exclusively from our latest article additions. Also take a look at all the other languages Wikipedia is available in!

Welcome to Wikipedia

,

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

6,916,420 articles in English

From today's featured article

Heptamegacanthus is a genus of acanthocephalans (thorny- or spiny-headed parasitic worms) containing a single species, Heptamegacanthus niekerki. This worm is a parasite of the endangered giant golden mole found only in isolated forests near East London and in the Transkei, both in South Africa. The worms are about 4 millimetres (0.2 in) long and 2 millimetres (0.08 in) wide with minimal sexual dimorphism. Their body consists of a short trunk and a proboscis with 40 to 45 hooks arranged in rings, which are used to pierce and hold the rectal wall of its host. The life cycle of H. niekerki remains unknown; however, like other acanthocephalans, it likely involves complex interactions with at least two hosts. Although the intermediate host for Heptamegacanthus is not definitively identified, it is presumed to be an arthropod, such as an insect, which is eaten by the giant golden mole. The worms then mature and reproduce sexually within the mole's lower gastrointestinal tract, creating eggs which are released in its feces. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Kiki Wong

... that heavy-metal guitarist Kiki Wong (pictured) played drums for Taylor Swift before joining the Smashing Pumpkins?
... that during the colonial period, the Dutch East Indies was the third-largest exporter of tea after the British Raj and Ceylon?
... that the director of Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds once described the film as "gaysploitation"?
... that Xu Xinfu adapted the fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan for Chinese audiences?
... that large aircraft once operated on a regular basis from Griffin–Spalding County Airport despite it only having a 3,100-foot-long (940 m) runway?
... that Susanne Craig won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for her reporting on Donald Trump's taxes after receiving a copy of his tax records in her mailbox?
... that New York City's Hotel Marseilles, once a shelter for Holocaust survivors, later became affordable housing for the elderly?
... that Anatolii Brezvin helped establish a youth hockey championship in Ukraine, and sought to open 60 ice rinks?
... that the Union of Assyrians's mishandling of shoe-polishing stations led to violent conflicts in 1920s Moscow?

In the news

Gintautas Paluckas

Following parliamentary elections, the Seimas elects Gintautas Paluckas (pictured) as the prime minister of Lithuania.
The International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif in its investigation of war crimes in Palestine.
In New Zealand, the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti protest march arrives at Parliament in response to a proposed bill that would reform the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

On this day

November 26: Feast day of Saint Sylvester Gozzolini (Catholicism); Constitution Day in India (1949)

Main Building of the University of Notre Dame

1842 – The University of Notre Dame (building pictured) was founded by Edward Sorin of the Congregation of Holy Cross as an all-male institution in the U.S. state of Indiana.
1942 – World War II: Josip Broz Tito and the Yugoslav Partisans convened the first meeting of the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia at Bihać in northwestern Bosnia.
1977 – A speaker claiming to represent the "Intergalactic Association" interrupted a broadcast of Southern Television in South East England.
2011 – NASA launched the Mars Science Laboratory mission from Cape Canaveral, carrying the Curiosity rover on board.

Ralph Agas (d. 1621)
Rudolph Koenig (b. 1832)
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (b. 1931)
Tina Turner (b. 1939)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

Ice eggs, also known as ice balls, are a rare phenomenon caused by a process in which small pieces of sea ice in open water are rolled over by wind and currents in freezing conditions and grow into spheroid pieces of ice. They sometimes collect into heaps of balls on beaches where they pack together in striking patterns. The gentle churn of water, blown by a suitably stiff breeze, makes concentric layers of ice form on a seed particle that then grows into the floating ball as it rolls through the freezing currents. This formation of ice eggs was photographed in 2014 on Stroomi Beach in Tallinn, Estonia. The temperature was around −20 to −15 °C (−4 to 5 °F), and the diameter of each ball around 5 to 10 centimetres (2 to 4 in).

Photograph credit: Aleksandr Abrosimov

Recently featured:

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – The central hub for editors, with resources, links, tasks, and announcements.
Village pump – Forum for discussions about Wikipedia itself, including policies and technical issues.
Site news – Sources of news about Wikipedia and the broader Wikimedia movement.
Teahouse – Ask basic questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
Help desk – Ask questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
Reference desk – Ask research questions about encyclopedic topics.
Content portals – A unique way to navigate the encyclopedia.

Wikipedia's sister projects

Wikipedia is written by volunteer editors and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other volunteer projects: