Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/September 28 to October 4, 2014

Top 25 Report: Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (September 28 to October 4, 2014)

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Summary: The first case of the Ebola virus on US shores sent people into a tizzy, rushing to their keyboards to try and learn what they could. Despite Ebola being actually quite difficult to transmit, the news media readily drummed up the apocalypse from this single case. Overcome with anxiety, Wikipedia users returned to their safe havens; TV, video games, novels and celebrities.

As prepared by Serendipodous, for the week of 28 September 4 October, 2014, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the 5,000 most viewed pages, were:

Rank Article Class Views Image Notes
1 Ebola virus disease   1,153,294
 
This week, two weeks after an exasperated World Health Organization declared that the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak, already the largest in history by far, was spiralling out of control, the first American case was identified in Texas. This naturally sent people a bit panicky, even though it is virtually impossible for anyone to spread Ebola before they're symptomatic.
2 Amal Alamuddin   1,129,602 A sizeable portion of the world's female population turned their furious gaze on this highly accomplished human rights lawyer, determined to ascertain whether she was truly good enough to take the most eligible bachelor on the planet away from them.
3 2014 Asian Games   577,311
 
The 2014 Asian Games, a pan-Asian sporting event held every four years, commenced its 2014 edition in Incheon, South Korea on 19 September; the event will run through 4 October. The 2014 Games have 28 Olympic sports, as well as eight non-Olympic sports including baseball and sepak takraw (kick volleyball). The 2014 Asian Games medal table currently shows China with a runaway lead, followed by South Korea, Japan, and Kazakhstan.
4 On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog   571,290 This prescient 1993 cartoon from The New Yorker, which anticipated the rise of cyberstalking and virtual identity, gradually became an internet meme in its own right, as noted on a Reddit thread this week.
5 George Clooney   527,193
 
Sorry ladies, but the last bachelor star is now off the market, having married Amal Alamuddin (see above).
6 Gotham (TV series)   460,188
 
This American TV series is yet another reboot of the Batman franchise, and debuted on 22 September 2014.
7 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.   433,869
 
Marvel Studios' expansion of its cinematic universe into television returned for its second season on 23 September.
8 Gone Girl (novel)   418,892 David Fincher's hit movie spurred interest in the novel on which it is based.
9 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor   409,547 This open world action adventure game set in JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth was the biggest launch ever for a game set in that universe.
10 Deaths in 2014   400,447
 
The list of deaths in the current year is always a popular article.
11 Facebook   399,379
 
A perennially popular article.
12 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant   387,411
 
ISIL falls out of the Top 10 for the first time in seven weeks, despite the recent escalation in military action against it.
13 Google   366,478
 
Always a fairly popular article.
14 Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird   362,028
 
A leading candidate for the title of "coolest-looking plane in history", the SR-71 spy plane could travel at Mach 3 and fly at altitudes of 15 miles; high enough to see the curvature of the Earth. It could also record its entire flightpath, ensuring that it could prove it didn't violate another country's airspace, as noted in a thread on Reddit this week.
15 Gone Girl (film)   346,991 David Fincher's thriller adaptation, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, was the biggest hit of the week, earning $38 million in its first two days.
16 Kent (cigarette)   331,526
 
In 1952, in response to claims of smoking's carcinogenic effects, Kent brand cigarettes decided to protect its users – by adding an asbestos filter, as noted in another Reddit thread this week.
17 Ebola virus   286,823
 
The other article on this week's top topic.
18 Achatina fulica   286,128
 
Also known as the giant African land snail, it is one of the most invasive of invasive species, having colonised large areas of Asia and the Pacific and even reached the United States, where it has received top quarantine alert status. A small incursion of the species into Florida this week led to a flurry of interest.
19 Hong Kong   284,421
 
The rising tide of protest that greeted Beijing's attempt to rig their first popular vote has drawn international concern, along with uncertainty about how far the government is really willing to go.
20 List of Bollywood films of 2014   273,690
 
A regular visitor to the Top 25.
21 Annabelle (film)   269,832 This hastily-produced not-really-prequel to The Conjuring has not done well with critics (its Rotten Tomatoes rating is currently 32%) but almost managed to overtake Gone Girl as the top film this weekend.
22 Bang Bang!   253,941
 
This James Bond-esque action romance starring Hrithik Roshan (pictured) has broken several Bollywood box office records, having made INR1 billion ($16.3 million) in its first five days.
22 Derek Jeter   263,273
 
This very accomplished baseball player for the New York Yankees completed his 20th and final season in Major League Baseball in the United States. In his last at-bat in his final game on 28 September, Jeter hit a single off Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz. After being replaced by a pinch runner, he received a rare ovation from Red Sox fans as he exited the field.
23 Yom Kippur   247,884
 
The Jewish "Day of Atonement" occurs 10 days after Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah), and involves fasting, repentance and prayer.
24 Jehovah's Witnesses   246,784
 
According to believers of this faith, Satan and his followers were cast down from Heaven on 1 October 1914; a fact noted on Reddit this week, 100 years later.
25 Ariana Grande   240,344
 
The singer remains a regular visitor to this list.

Exclusions

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  • This list excludes the Wikipedia main page, non-article pages (such as redlinks), and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). There are a number of articles that reappear frequently in the raw top 25 for no determined reason, and have been excluded as likely being due to automated views. Please feel free to discuss any removal on the talk page if you wish.

Specific exclusions this week:*

* determined by e.g. large numbers of hits from single IP addresses.