Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/March 10 to 16, 2013

=Top 25 Report: Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (March 10-March 16 2013)= ← Last week's report – Next week's Report →

Summary: You know a week has been active when it comprises mostly new entries, and it makes sense that it would be dominated by the slightly problematic transition between Popes, taking up 10 slots. And yes, many said viewers were probably Catholic, but in truth, anyone with an interest in current affairs should take notice of the election of a man who claims absolute moral authority over a seventh of the world's population. However, I must say, there is a certain irony in a Google Doodle resulting in a list overwhelmed by religious entries being topped by a dedicated atheist.

For the week of March 10 to March 16, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the 5,000 most trafficked pages* were:


 * {| class="wikitable"

! Rank ! Last ! Wks ! Article ! Views ! Notes
 * 1
 * Douglas Adams
 * align="right"|2,405,520
 * Douglas adams portrait cropped.jpg If any proof were needed that Wikipedia users are geeks, the fact that a Google Doodle honoring the late (d. 2001) and much-missed sci-fi satirist triggered 20% more views than the top-rated page during Oscar week should clinch it.
 * 2
 * Jorge Bergoglio
 * align="right"|2,117,836
 * Card. Jorge Bergoglio SJ, 2008 (crop 2).jpg The first of two consecutive entries on the new Pope; this one being his civilian identity.
 * 3
 * Pope Francis
 * align="right"|2,014,994
 * Card. Jorge Bergoglio SJ, 2008 (crop 2).jpg And now the same guy in his more iconic form.
 * 4
 * Society of Jesus
 * align="right"|1,528,166
 * Ihs-logo.svg The new Pope is the first to be elected from this hard-living missionary order (also known as the Jesuits, also known as "God's Marines")
 * 5
 * Saint Patrick's Day
 * align="right"|1,176,556
 * Kilbennan St. Benin's Church Window St. Patrick Detail 2010 09 16.jpg A major celebration in Ireland and the United States, this day falls on March 17.
 * 6
 * List of Popes
 * align="right"|879,529
 * A new Pope is obviously going to spark interest in the old ones.
 * 7
 * Pope
 * align="right"|856,143
 * And of course, interest in the basic concept will be up as well
 * 8
 * Pope Benedict XVI
 * align="right"|740,560
 * Benedykt XVI (2010-10-17) 4.jpg Previous Pope and current, er, sorta, kinda, maybe in the background Pope? Who knows.
 * 9
 * Pope John Paul II
 * align="right"| 683,511
 * JohannesPaul2-portrait.jpg All this Pope-focus was bound to make people remember the last Pope who was actually popular.
 * 10
 * 7
 * 2
 * Oz the Great and Powerful
 * align="right"| 651,760
 * Remained the most popular film at the box office this week, reaching $100 million in 6 days.
 * 11
 * 5
 * 10
 * Facebook
 * align="right"|644,080
 * A perennially favorite article.
 * 12
 * 6
 * 5
 * The Walking Dead (TV series)
 * align="right"|559,994
 * The American television series, currently airing in third season, is enjoying increasing popularity.
 * 13
 * 3
 * 4
 * Harlem Shake (meme)
 * align="right"| 496,143
 * The latest internet craze continues to rank, though now down to just one entry
 * 14
 * 11
 * 5
 * The Walking Dead (season 3)
 * align="right"|445,348
 * See #12 above.
 * 15
 * Justin Timberlake
 * align="right"|443,063
 * Justin Timberlake 2011 AA - Cropped.jpg The singer just released his newest album, The 20/20 Experience
 * 16
 * Ides of March
 * align="right"|420,777
 * Otherwise known as March 15, this date in the Roman calendar is mainly famous as the date of Caesar's assassination and as a chancy gambit for desperate Scrabble players, though its appearance on the Main Page gave a large number of people the chance to finally find out what it means.
 * 17
 * 14
 * 4
 * Deaths in 2013
 * align="right"| 418,164
 * The lists of deaths in the current year is always a quite popular article.
 * 18
 * Francis of Assisi
 * align="right"| 415,568
 * Saint Francis of Assisi by Jusepe de Ribera.jpg The poverty-embracing, animal loving, religious order-founding saint was the inspiration for the current Pope's alias.
 * 19
 * 16
 * 4
 * World War II
 * align="right"| 411,921
 * Another perennially popular article. (The 16th most popular article from 2010-12, in fact, see Table 2 here.)
 * 20
 * Lil Wayne
 * align="right"|380,060
 * Lil Wayne in Concert.jpg On March 15, this hip-hop singer was rushed to the hospital after suffering a seizure. His current condition is uncertain.
 * 21
 * Duck Dynasty
 * align="right"| 379,158
 * This reality television show about a family of hunting-accessories magnates is currently in its third season.
 * 22
 * Pope John Paul I
 * align="right"| 379,117
 * Albino Luciani, 1969 (3).jpg Pope-popularity has also rubbed off on this guy, despite his only holding the job for 33 days, before mysteriously dying and inspiring a host of conspiracy theories and a subplot in The Godfather Part III.
 * 23
 * Prophecy of the Popes
 * align="right"|376,334
 * Just to be clear, this was probably a 16th-century forgery, which explains why so many of the prophecies up to that time are so mysteriously accurate. That said, the Shroud of Turin shows that reality can't get in the way of a cool concept, and, assuming it's correct, the new Pope will be the last before Armageddon, which should inspire those disappointed by the failure of the 2012 apocalypse.
 * 24
 * Daylight saving time
 * align="right"| 363,063
 * What the Ides of March were to the Romans, Daylight Savings Time is for us. I suppose.
 * 25
 * 23
 * 2
 * Game of Thrones (TV series)
 * align="right"|358,386
 * Popular television series whose third season begins on March 31
 * }
 * align="right"| 418,164
 * The lists of deaths in the current year is always a quite popular article.
 * 18
 * Francis of Assisi
 * align="right"| 415,568
 * Saint Francis of Assisi by Jusepe de Ribera.jpg The poverty-embracing, animal loving, religious order-founding saint was the inspiration for the current Pope's alias.
 * 19
 * 16
 * 4
 * World War II
 * align="right"| 411,921
 * Another perennially popular article. (The 16th most popular article from 2010-12, in fact, see Table 2 here.)
 * 20
 * Lil Wayne
 * align="right"|380,060
 * Lil Wayne in Concert.jpg On March 15, this hip-hop singer was rushed to the hospital after suffering a seizure. His current condition is uncertain.
 * 21
 * Duck Dynasty
 * align="right"| 379,158
 * This reality television show about a family of hunting-accessories magnates is currently in its third season.
 * 22
 * Pope John Paul I
 * align="right"| 379,117
 * Albino Luciani, 1969 (3).jpg Pope-popularity has also rubbed off on this guy, despite his only holding the job for 33 days, before mysteriously dying and inspiring a host of conspiracy theories and a subplot in The Godfather Part III.
 * 23
 * Prophecy of the Popes
 * align="right"|376,334
 * Just to be clear, this was probably a 16th-century forgery, which explains why so many of the prophecies up to that time are so mysteriously accurate. That said, the Shroud of Turin shows that reality can't get in the way of a cool concept, and, assuming it's correct, the new Pope will be the last before Armageddon, which should inspire those disappointed by the failure of the 2012 apocalypse.
 * 24
 * Daylight saving time
 * align="right"| 363,063
 * What the Ides of March were to the Romans, Daylight Savings Time is for us. I suppose.
 * 25
 * 23
 * 2
 * Game of Thrones (TV series)
 * align="right"|358,386
 * Popular television series whose third season begins on March 31
 * }
 * Prophecy of the Popes
 * align="right"|376,334
 * Just to be clear, this was probably a 16th-century forgery, which explains why so many of the prophecies up to that time are so mysteriously accurate. That said, the Shroud of Turin shows that reality can't get in the way of a cool concept, and, assuming it's correct, the new Pope will be the last before Armageddon, which should inspire those disappointed by the failure of the 2012 apocalypse.
 * 24
 * Daylight saving time
 * align="right"| 363,063
 * What the Ides of March were to the Romans, Daylight Savings Time is for us. I suppose.
 * 25
 * 23
 * 2
 * Game of Thrones (TV series)
 * align="right"|358,386
 * Popular television series whose third season begins on March 31
 * }
 * 23
 * 2
 * Game of Thrones (TV series)
 * align="right"|358,386
 * Popular television series whose third season begins on March 31
 * }


 * This list is derived from the WP:5000 report. It excludes the Wikipedia main page (and "wiki"), non-article pages, and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Notable removals this week: G-force; this has been in the Top 25 since the list was started at the beginning of the year.  The continuing popularity of this article, which jumped in June 2012, has been without explanation.  Articles on popular scientific concepts get nowhere this level of viewing based on our analysis to date, e.g., Gravitation (49,516 views from March 3-9), and therefore we have decided to remove it from the list as most likely caused by non-human views.  Please feel free to discuss any removal on the talk page if you wish); Cat anatomy (explanation still unknown for its continuing high view counts); and Ernst Litfaß, also removed a few weeks ago, is having another unexplained spike in views).  Litfaß (or Litfass) was the German inventor of Advertising columns.  Whether the views are the work of a spambot with a sense of humour is unknown.  The German Wikipedia version saw no view spike, as before.)
 * Number of views needed to reach Top 25 this week: 358,386. Last week: 352,391.
 * Almosts: YouTube (342,884 views) Pi (342,680 views); Argo (2012 film) (342,021 views)
 * The revision of WP:5000 containing the data used to create list: