May 2007

Lately, I've been a biography gnome.

Updating Biography Assessments while spinning wheels at the boss' box.

I usually just hit "Recent Changes", and there's always some poor slob waiting to be assessed. No one is safe.

I'm also checking up on female bios, which, I suspect, are underreported. That's an unsourced statement. But take Charmion, here. A couple weeks ago, she was a redline under the list-heavy Strongwoman page. Today everyone is looking up her "Trapeze Disrobing Act" on YouTube, and her IMDb Profile rating has shot up 825%. Who says there's no such thing as progress?

Hey, look what I just made

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It seems to answer a need. --Yamara 02:29, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

If it wasn't for Wikipedia, even I wouldn't know

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  On 11 May, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Vulcana, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.

Thanks for the DYK, Howcheng, And thanks to Sir Blofeld for uploading those bold Vulcana pix.

I discovered Vulcana because Wikipedia had only a broken link to her name. Would it be a waste of time to track her down, her notability being passing, even in her own day? Was she just another carny on the road trying to earn a hard living at the turn of the Twentieth Century?

It turned out, no. I found two thorough sources online, one by an historian, the other a BBC radio interview with one of her granddaughters. Not only was Vulcana's life fascinating, it seems she was a real live heroine, rescuing children from drowning, horses from fire, and fingering an infamous murderer. Neither source had her entire story, but encyclopedias draw together facts, which even in neutrality paint some amazing pictures of forgotten lives.

Human knowledge is biography. Without people, there are few stories to discover.

Peace.