Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/July 26 to August 1, 2020

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (July 26 to August 1, 2020)
Prepared with commentary by, and 

More than celebrity deaths and political scandal, this week brings you politician deaths and celebrity scandal. A fifth of the articles this week are explicitly Indian, and none of them are about a major conspiracy, a nice change.


 * {| class="wikitable"

! Rank ! Article ! Class ! Views ! Image ! Notes/about
 * 1
 * John Lewis (civil rights leader)
 * 1,507,358
 * John Lewis (cropped).jpg
 * The funerary services befitting such a figure as Congressman Lewis took place this week. After his funeral he lay in state at first in the Alabama State Capitol, and then the United States Capitol rotunda on Monday and Tuesday, the first African-American lawmaker to receive the honor. A second funeral ceremony was held in Atlanta on Thursday, where he was eulogized by former Presidents Clinton, W., and Obama, and he rests in Atlanta's South-View Cemetery. Lewis died on July 17, and now doubles the views his article had last week during a strangely slow period for Wikipedia, appearing on here for three consecutive weeks, unusual for a recent death: more unusual is only hitting #1 in the third week, which he does now thanks to many redirects for his common name.
 * 2
 * Regis Philbin
 * 1,505,819
 * Philbin Bush Ripa.jpg
 * American television has lost enough stars old and young this year to fill out several montages at the upcoming Emmys, but the most prominent is probably Regis, who died last week and now overtakes all the Sushant Singh Rajput (#12)-related entries. Whether it be every game show you can think of or the morning talk show named after him for over 20 years, just about every American (and a sizable number of people from around the world) has seen him host despite pulling back due to poor health in the 2010s. This poor health led to his fatal heart attack on July 24.
 * 3
 * Olivia de Havilland
 * 1,448,864
 * De Havilland-Melanie.jpg
 * After Kirk Douglas in February, another centenarian from Hollywood's Golden Age leaves us with the passing of Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland, winner of an Academy Award for To Each His Own (only Luise Rainer, who almost got to her 105 birthday, lived longer among Oscar winners). De Havilland was also involved in classics such as The Adventures of Robin Hood and Gone with the Wind.
 * 4
 * Herman Cain
 * 1,331,901
 * Herman Cain by Gage Skidmore 4.jpg
 * Cain, a businessman who was once considered a front runner for the 2012 Republican nomination, died of COVID-19 complications on Thursday. He was hospitalized on June 1, only 9 days after attending a Trump rally maskless. Cain's death should be seen as a cautionary tale for the anti-mask movements. It won't, but it should.
 * 5
 * Shakuntala Devi
 * 1,097,470
 * A treatise of arithmetic Fleuron T051624-1.png
 * The first Indian figure on the list this week is Devi, author of The World of Homosexuals which, fascinating as it sounds and groundbreaking as it was, is unrelated. Devi was best known as a human calculator (or the human calculator, so was her fame) and her amazing mind earned her an official Guinness World Record... in 1980. She died in 2013, and was only presented with the record this week, despite appearing in the GWR book. She's also the subject of a recent biopic, released Friday on Prime Video.
 * 6
 * Rhea Chakraborty
 * 1,095,924
 * Rhea Chakraborty at Pega Teach For Change event (08) (cropped).jpg
 * Chakraborty was first reported as #12's girlfriend after the latter committed suicide. On the 25th, the deceased's father filed a First Information Report, accusing her (and many others) of theft and abetting suicide for allegedly threatening Singh Rajput by saying he should be declared mentally unwell. She was arrested this past Tuesday.
 * 7
 * Deaths in 2020
 * 921,476
 * Allegory of death; skeleton, c.1600 Wellcome L0014669.jpg
 * They call me The Seeker I've been searching low and high I won't get to get what I'm after Till the day I die
 * 8
 * The Umbrella Academy (TV series)
 * 686,289
 * San Diego Comic-Con 2008- day 3 - Umbrella Academy signing.jpg
 * Netflix released the much-anticipated second season adapting the comics written by musician Gerard Way and drawn by Gabriel Bá (pictured), where the remaining kids of a superpowered "family" time travel to prevent an apocalypse. "Family" being in inverted commas thanks to adoption that allowed for diverse casting: among its popular main cast are a British actor, an Irish actor, a Canadian, a teenager, and one of the original Broadway cast of #14's musical.
 * 9
 * Dil Bechara
 * 664,134
 * Director Mukesh Chhabra's (pictured) take on the teenage cancer of teenage cancer books, The Fault in Our Stars, was released for free streaming on Disney+ Hotstar on July 24, and was reportedly viewed 85 million times in its first 24 hours. It's either still getting hype or has been dragged into the new scandal (#6) about the star's (#12) suicide.
 * 10
 * Jacob Elordi
 * 632,000
 * Jacob_Elordi_for_Vanity_Fair_02.jpg
 * This young Australian actor has seen a sudden rise to prominence thanks to his leading roles in two major franchises: TV's Euphoria and the Netflix movies about a kissing booth that are getting a lot of coverage at the moment. The second of the films (#18) was released this week.
 * 11
 * Eid al-Adha
 * 588,860
 * The Badshahi in all its glory during the Eid Prayers.JPG
 * The celebration at the end of the Islamic pilgrimage of Hajj began this week. It also saw controversy in England when their Health Secretary announced precautionary local quarantines for some areas with high Muslim populations, an act seen as openly discriminatory, only hours before the celebration began. The Hajj itself was downsized by the millions this year, with Mecca only allowing entry to local people to ensure distancing practices.
 * 12
 * Sushant Singh Rajput
 * 577,209
 * Sushant sr Manish M B'day bash.jpg
 * Singh Rajput was one of the international stars to make it onto the 'In memory of...' list at the Television BAFTAs held this week, but is most likely this far up because of his new film (#9) and the emerging suicide scandal (#6).
 * 13
 * COVID-19 pandemic
 * 569,173
 * Berg a DNV - 49655647492.jpg
 * Would you believe me if I said it's been 6 months of lockdown for parts of the world?
 * 14
 * Alexander Hamilton
 * 565,724
 * Hamilton Alexander Portrait 10 dollar banknote.JPG
 * Imagine a reality where no one wrote a blockbuster musical about this guy. Why would he be the 14th highest viewed Wikipedia article of a given week? Maybe a statue of him just got torn down, or they want to take him off the $10. Just something to think about.
 * 15
 * Dassault Rafale
 * 554,957
 * Rafale - RIAT 2009 (3751416421).jpg
 * In 2010, the Indian Air Force held a competition to find a replacement for its aging fleet of combat aircraft. The winner was the Rafale (French for "burst of fire") by Dassault Aviation. The delivery of aircraft was scheduled to take place in 2015, but after continuous delays and a second competition, it took until this Monday for 5 whole aircraft to be shipped.
 * 16
 * Joey King
 * 551,967
 * Joey King interviews on KidsPickFlicks 01.jpg
 * The Kissing Booth 2 hit Netflix, bringing in attention for its main star (who last year got an Emmy nomination playing the mastermind behind the Murder of Dee Dee Blanchard). Though she is probably still best known for some of her child acting roles, the popularity of this film series could change that.
 * 17
 * Stella Immanuel
 * 540,008
 * Stetoskop.jpg
 * There's a doctor, licensed in the state of Texas, who believes that gynecological illness is caused by "demon sperm". This is somehow not the most outrageous thing about Stella Immanuel, who this week gave a press conference touting a cocktail of hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and zinc as a treatment for COVID-19 (coincidentally, the same combination Donald Trump claimed to be taking back in May.) Video of this event received millions of views, and was retweeted by Trump himself, before being removed by social media sites for being, you know, unsubstantiated nonsense.
 * 18
 * The Kissing Booth 2
 * 527,702
 * KISSING BOOTH Sign.jpg
 * Two years after book adaptation The Kissing Booth became a teen sensation on Netflix, a sequel was released. Reviews have been scathing, saying #16 is the only bright spot, yet a third installment is already scheduled for next year. And the jokes are coming in about an Oscar nom, given the lack of other qualifying domestic releases in 2020.
 * 19
 * Friendship Day
 * 509,629
 * Tying friendship bracelet.jpg
 * A holiday that is celebrated in late July/early August all over the world, though some countries hold it on Valentine's Day (if you don't have love, hopefully you've got a friend?). But other countries get in on the act this time of year when they see a party, too.
 * 20
 * COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory
 * 504,123
 * COVID-19 Outbreak World Map per Capita.svg
 * Ah yes, the competition time of this whole "THIS is the Bad Place" situation appears to be starting, or at least some political leaders are vying for a dogfight to prove that they're not the worst. Ever helpful, Wikipedia's article has some charts and graphs to let people see the worst affected nations all next to each other or in gradient colors.
 * 21
 * John Saxon
 * 475,279
 * John Saxon 1958.jpg
 * While Old Hollywood died a while back, it's stars are sadly getting old and dying with increasing frequency, too (see #3): Saxon (born with a much cooler but harder-to-say name, and dead of pneumonia at 83) was a legend in the best of horror movies such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, and was not uncommon in Westerns, too.
 * 22
 * Joan Fontaine
 * 457,978
 * Joan Fontaine in Until They Sail trailer.JPG
 * 3's younger sister, also a successful Golden Age actress - she starred in Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca and Suspicion, winning an Oscar for the latter - but not a centenarian: she almost got there, dying at 96 in 2013.
 * 23
 * Karen Bass
 * 453,508
 * Karen-Bass-2012 (cropped).jpg
 * On Friday, the Daily Caller posted a video, from 2010, of Representative Bass speaking at the ribbon cutting for a new Scientologist church in Los Angeles. Bass has since clarified that she is not a Scientologist, which is probably the worst press release to be issuing when you're being considered for Vice President of the United States.
 * 24
 * Elon Musk
 * 446,714
 * [[File:Elon Musk and Hans Koenigsmann at the SpaceX CRS-8 post-launch press conference (26223624532) (cropped).jpg|100px]]
 * On July 24, Elon Musk tweeted an apparent admission that he helped oust Evo Morales. He followed it up with "Pronouns suck" and got called out by his own girlfriend. He hasn't stopped tweeting, but nothing he's posting really lives up to the two mentioned. In themselves they are proof enough that money cannot buy sense. It does buy some big rockets and the right to name your child after a Captcha, though.
 * 25
 * Folklore (Taylor Swift album)
 * 439,034
 * TS folklore Wordmark.svg
 * Taylor Swift's newest album, recorded during lockdown and released with only a few hours warning, sold 1.3 million copies in its first day, and hit 2 million copies in the week. It landed as the biggest debut of the year, and the biggest debut at all since her own last album. After she vaguely invented a new genre (alternative indie folk?) to record it, critics also seem to love it - netting it an 89/100 on Metacritic, 10 points above anything else she's ever done. If I were a music reviewer I'd say something corny like maybe Taylor needs to calm down.
 * }
 * Two years after book adaptation The Kissing Booth became a teen sensation on Netflix, a sequel was released. Reviews have been scathing, saying #16 is the only bright spot, yet a third installment is already scheduled for next year. And the jokes are coming in about an Oscar nom, given the lack of other qualifying domestic releases in 2020.
 * 19
 * Friendship Day
 * 509,629
 * Tying friendship bracelet.jpg
 * A holiday that is celebrated in late July/early August all over the world, though some countries hold it on Valentine's Day (if you don't have love, hopefully you've got a friend?). But other countries get in on the act this time of year when they see a party, too.
 * 20
 * COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory
 * 504,123
 * COVID-19 Outbreak World Map per Capita.svg
 * Ah yes, the competition time of this whole "THIS is the Bad Place" situation appears to be starting, or at least some political leaders are vying for a dogfight to prove that they're not the worst. Ever helpful, Wikipedia's article has some charts and graphs to let people see the worst affected nations all next to each other or in gradient colors.
 * 21
 * John Saxon
 * 475,279
 * John Saxon 1958.jpg
 * While Old Hollywood died a while back, it's stars are sadly getting old and dying with increasing frequency, too (see #3): Saxon (born with a much cooler but harder-to-say name, and dead of pneumonia at 83) was a legend in the best of horror movies such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, and was not uncommon in Westerns, too.
 * 22
 * Joan Fontaine
 * 457,978
 * Joan Fontaine in Until They Sail trailer.JPG
 * 3's younger sister, also a successful Golden Age actress - she starred in Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca and Suspicion, winning an Oscar for the latter - but not a centenarian: she almost got there, dying at 96 in 2013.
 * 23
 * Karen Bass
 * 453,508
 * Karen-Bass-2012 (cropped).jpg
 * On Friday, the Daily Caller posted a video, from 2010, of Representative Bass speaking at the ribbon cutting for a new Scientologist church in Los Angeles. Bass has since clarified that she is not a Scientologist, which is probably the worst press release to be issuing when you're being considered for Vice President of the United States.
 * 24
 * Elon Musk
 * 446,714
 * [[File:Elon Musk and Hans Koenigsmann at the SpaceX CRS-8 post-launch press conference (26223624532) (cropped).jpg|100px]]
 * On July 24, Elon Musk tweeted an apparent admission that he helped oust Evo Morales. He followed it up with "Pronouns suck" and got called out by his own girlfriend. He hasn't stopped tweeting, but nothing he's posting really lives up to the two mentioned. In themselves they are proof enough that money cannot buy sense. It does buy some big rockets and the right to name your child after a Captcha, though.
 * 25
 * Folklore (Taylor Swift album)
 * 439,034
 * TS folklore Wordmark.svg
 * Taylor Swift's newest album, recorded during lockdown and released with only a few hours warning, sold 1.3 million copies in its first day, and hit 2 million copies in the week. It landed as the biggest debut of the year, and the biggest debut at all since her own last album. After she vaguely invented a new genre (alternative indie folk?) to record it, critics also seem to love it - netting it an 89/100 on Metacritic, 10 points above anything else she's ever done. If I were a music reviewer I'd say something corny like maybe Taylor needs to calm down.
 * }
 * 24
 * Elon Musk
 * 446,714
 * [[File:Elon Musk and Hans Koenigsmann at the SpaceX CRS-8 post-launch press conference (26223624532) (cropped).jpg|100px]]
 * On July 24, Elon Musk tweeted an apparent admission that he helped oust Evo Morales. He followed it up with "Pronouns suck" and got called out by his own girlfriend. He hasn't stopped tweeting, but nothing he's posting really lives up to the two mentioned. In themselves they are proof enough that money cannot buy sense. It does buy some big rockets and the right to name your child after a Captcha, though.
 * 25
 * Folklore (Taylor Swift album)
 * 439,034
 * TS folklore Wordmark.svg
 * Taylor Swift's newest album, recorded during lockdown and released with only a few hours warning, sold 1.3 million copies in its first day, and hit 2 million copies in the week. It landed as the biggest debut of the year, and the biggest debut at all since her own last album. After she vaguely invented a new genre (alternative indie folk?) to record it, critics also seem to love it - netting it an 89/100 on Metacritic, 10 points above anything else she's ever done. If I were a music reviewer I'd say something corny like maybe Taylor needs to calm down.
 * }
 * TS folklore Wordmark.svg
 * Taylor Swift's newest album, recorded during lockdown and released with only a few hours warning, sold 1.3 million copies in its first day, and hit 2 million copies in the week. It landed as the biggest debut of the year, and the biggest debut at all since her own last album. After she vaguely invented a new genre (alternative indie folk?) to record it, critics also seem to love it - netting it an 89/100 on Metacritic, 10 points above anything else she's ever done. If I were a music reviewer I'd say something corny like maybe Taylor needs to calm down.
 * }