Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/September 21 to 27, 2014

=Top 25 Report: Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (September 21 to 27, 2014)=

← Last week's report – Next week's report →

Summary: Jews wished each other Shanah Tovah ("Good year") this week as Rosh Hashanah was our most popular article. It was also a week not dominated by heavy news and tragedies, so aside from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (#2, sixth week in the Top 10), our popular article list runs the gamut of current events including new television series Gotham (#3), the 2014 Asian Games (#4), and Reddit-fueled popularity for German director Uwe Boll (#7). In the greater Top 25, notable events included the Mars Orbiter Mission reaching Mars (#11) and the marriage of accomplished lawyer Amal Alamuddin (#21) to an American actor. There was also a great deal of bot activity in our exclusions list this week, and while this is not usually anything worth noting, an identical large spike of views hitting Scotland, England, and Marriage from 26-28 September is duly acknowledged with a chuckle.

As prepared by Milowent, for the week of September 21 to 27, 2014, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the 5,000 most viewed pages, were:


 * {| class="wikitable"

! Rank ! Article ! Class ! Views ! Image ! Notes
 * 1
 * Rosh Hashanah
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"|	581,893
 * Liten_askenasisk_sjofar_5380.jpg
 * That's the Jewish New Year to the rest of us. Jews the world over ushered in the year 5775.  With just over 580,000 views, that's within 10,000 of the viewcounts on the chart last year, when the holiday had to settle for the #2 spot after Lil Wayne.
 * 2
 * Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|580,884
 * Syria and Iraq 2014-onward War map.png
 * ISIL continues to remain in the Top 10 for a sixth consecutive week (and eighth in the Top 25), as military action against the brutal group by a large coalition of countries begins to take shape.
 * 3
 * Gotham (TV series)
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|577,423
 * Gotham_City_backdrop_for_Gotham_TV_series.jpg
 * This American TV series is yet another reboot of the Batman franchise, and debuted on 22 September 2014.
 * 4
 * 2014 Asian Games
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"|503,064
 * 2014_Asian_Games_6.jpg
 * 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 at the 2014 Asian Games with a runaway lead, followed by South Korea, Japan, and Kazakhstan.
 * 5
 * Derek Jeter
 * Featured article star.svg
 * align="right"|457,031
 * Derek_Jeter_batting_stance_allison.jpg
 * 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.
 * 6
 * August 2014 celebrity photo leaks
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|454,221
 * Jennifer Lawrence 2, 2013.jpg
 * After dropping out of the Top 25 for a week, this tawdry story about the hack into dozens of personal files that celebrities (including Jennifer Lawrence, pictured) unwittingly stored on Apple's iCloud was back in the news with additional reports of leaked photos. And since these new leaks occurred in September, the article has been moved once again and now can be found at 2014 celebrity photo leaks.
 * 7
 * Uwe Boll
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|453,240
 * Uwe_Boll_Dungeon_Siege.jpg
 * Boll is a German film director whose work has included many films adapted from video games, many of which are listed among the worst ever made. His article became popular this week due to a Reddit "Today I Learned" thread which noted that in attempting to get the rights to make a World of Warcraft film, Boll was told "We will not sell the movie rights, not to you…especially not to you."
 * 8
 * Google
 * Symbol support vote.svg
 * align="right"|427,481
 * Google 2011 logo.png
 * Always a fairly popular article.
 * 9
 * Deaths in 2014
 * Symbol list class.svg
 * align="right"|412,368
 * Carlotta_Ikeda.jpg
 * The list of deaths in the current year is always a popular article. Deaths noted this week include Frieda Szwillus on 21 September at age 112, the oldest living person in Germany; Russian mathematician Alexey Chervonenkis (22 September); former Afghan provincial governor Mullah Ghani, killed by unknown gunmen (23 September); Japanese butoh dancer Carlotta Ikeda, pictured at left (24 September); Estonian singer Jaak Joala (25 September), who also covered Western pop music in Estonian, see [|this nifty 1981 cover of [[Billy Joel]]'s All for Leyna (25 September); British actress Maggie Stables (26 September), and Hungarian architect Antti Lovag (27 September)
 * 10
 * Facebook
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"|408,018
 * Ad-tech London 2010 (5).JPG
 * A perennially popular article, unlikely to be unseated anytime soon by Ello.
 * 11
 * Mars Orbiter Mission
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|382,503
 * Mars_Orbiter_Mission_-_India_-_ArtistsConcept.jpg
 * This spacecraft, launched in November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation, entered orbit around Mars on 24 September. It is the first interplanetary mission from India, and, much to the surprise of the rest of the world, they got it right first time.
 * 12
 * List of Bollywood films of 2014
 * Symbol list class.svg
 * align="right"|327,342
 * Priyanka_Chopra_2014.jpg
 * A regular visitor to the Top 25.  Pictured at left is Priyanka Chopra, the star of Mary Kom, which was released on 5 September.
 * 13
 * Wikipedia
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|323,019
 * Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg
 * You're on it now.
 * 14
 * Infant swimming
 * N/A
 * align="right"|322,804
 * Barnbarn.jpg
 * This subject appears to be a popular one with Reddit, with a number of threads over time discussing the subject. Most recently, a Today I Learned thread picked up on the 21 September Did you know? entry that babies will hold their breath underwater as a matter of instinct until the age of six months.
 * 15
 * Achtiname of Muhammad
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"|296,975
 * The_Patent_of_Mohammed.jpg
 * This ancient document allegedly ratified by Muhammad granted protection to Christian monks at a monastery in the Sinai Peninsula. It gets cited today to attempt to promote religious tolerance, though we've not tracked down the exact source of this most recent spike in viewership.
 * 16
 * Night of Champions (2014)
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|296,253
 * John_Cena_2012.jpg
 * The eighth annual WWE Night of Champions event took place on 21 September 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee.
 * 17
 * Hitler and Mannerheim recording
 * N/A
 * align="right"|287,034
 * Hitler_Mannerheim_Ryti.jpg
 * This secret 1942 voice recording of Adolf Hitler and Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim is the only known recording of Hitler speaking in an unofficial tone, as Reddit noted this week.
 * 18
 * The Maze Runner
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|278,096
 * James_Dashner_at_CONduit_17.png
 * The film based on this 2009 novel by James Dashner (pictured at left) was released in the United States on 19 September 2014.
 * 19
 * Bigg Boss 8
 * N/A
 * align="right"|271,958
 * Salman_Khan_BSE11.jpg
 * The eighth season of the Indian version of Big Brother hosted by Salman Khan (pictured at left) debuted on 21 September 2014.
 * 20
 * Dali Lithograph
 * N/A
 * align="right"|261,478
 * This redirect to Salvador Dalí grew in popularity this week, though the exact source is not clear.
 * 21
 * Amal Alamuddin
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|261,334
 * George Clooney 2014 2.jpg
 * As the story has been told tongue-in-cheek this week, this truly accomplished British lawyer recently married some American actor, who is pictured at the left.
 * 22
 * The Maze Runner (film)
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|253,941
 * James_Dashner_at_CONduit_17.png
 * See #18. It is not uncommon that when a film is released about a popular book, the book article gets more traffic on Wikipedia, at least initially.
 * 22
 * California grizzly bear
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"|253,577
 * Monarch_the_bear.jpg
 * Reddit noted that "California's official state animal is extinct".
 * 23
 * Ariana Grande
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|240,344
 * ArianaGrandeDecember2013.jpg
 * The singer remains popular on a weekly basis, though the article received 60,000 fewer views than last week.
 * 24
 * Mahatma Gandhi
 * Symbol support vote.svg
 * align="right"|234,400
 * Portrait_Gandhi.jpg
 * Less popular than Ariana Grande, that settles it. Seriously though, this is regularly a well-viewed article, with over 10,000 views a day.  E.g., it is #183 on last weeks raw WP:5000, and #209 the week prior.  It is a core high importance article.  A view spike with unclear causes on 26 September put it into the Top 25 for this week.
 * 25
 * United States
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"|232,860
 * US_states_and_territories_1970x1340.png
 * Regularly a popular article, it happens to make the Top 25 in a relatively slow news week.
 * }
 * California grizzly bear
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"|253,577
 * Monarch_the_bear.jpg
 * Reddit noted that "California's official state animal is extinct".
 * 23
 * Ariana Grande
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|240,344
 * ArianaGrandeDecember2013.jpg
 * The singer remains popular on a weekly basis, though the article received 60,000 fewer views than last week.
 * 24
 * Mahatma Gandhi
 * Symbol support vote.svg
 * align="right"|234,400
 * Portrait_Gandhi.jpg
 * Less popular than Ariana Grande, that settles it. Seriously though, this is regularly a well-viewed article, with over 10,000 views a day.  E.g., it is #183 on last weeks raw WP:5000, and #209 the week prior.  It is a core high importance article.  A view spike with unclear causes on 26 September put it into the Top 25 for this week.
 * 25
 * United States
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"|232,860
 * US_states_and_territories_1970x1340.png
 * Regularly a popular article, it happens to make the Top 25 in a relatively slow news week.
 * }
 * US_states_and_territories_1970x1340.png
 * Regularly a popular article, it happens to make the Top 25 in a relatively slow news week.
 * }
 * }

Exclusions

 * 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.


 * Alive/Alive!: Links to disambigs with no apparent reason for being.
 * less (Unix): 800k requests a day from the same IP address.
 * Online shopping: Massive view spike commenced on 6 Sept without explanation.
 * Undefined. A common error message in computing, these are automated visits by a buggy computer program.
 * Ddd: Hello? Spambot here. Just checking in.
 * Amazon.com. Apparently due to bad caching.
 * Rock music. Ditto.
 * English alphabet and Alphabet. No legitimate reason for recent rise in views.
 * NASA Helios: A single misbehaving user has been flooding this.
 * Payday loan: A scammer attempting to bilk the desperate.
 * Hollow Body Guitar: Comes and goes.

Specific exclusions this week:*


 * Mutual fund: bots
 * Script kiddie: bots
 * Scotland, England, and Marriage: All three have a very similar noticeable spike on Sept 26-28. Do you get the joke?  Someone has a sense of humour.
 * Last Spike (Canadian Pacific Railway), confirmed bots, is someone toying with us?
 * China
 * Sun Yat-sen
 * Rome
 * Ford Ranger
 * Yazid I
 * Positive and negative predictive values
 * India. We kept Gandhi, but this random spike on 24 September was also unusual.
 * Nanoscopic scale


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