From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wikipedia

6,843,748 articles
containing over 2.97703038×10^9 words in English,
The size of 2,232.8 volumes of Britannica

Index Aa B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1
Flickr Flickr

Today's featured article

Flag of Canada

The flag of Canada is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. It has become the predominant and most recognizable national symbol of Canada. It was adopted in 1965 to replace the Union Flag for most official purposes, although the Canadian Red Ensign had also been unofficially used since the 1860s and approved by a 1945 Order in Council. In 1964, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson appointed a committee to discuss these issues, sparking a serious debate about a flag change. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by George Stanley, based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, was chosen. It made its first appearance on February 15, 1965, a date now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day. Other flags, usually containing the maple leaf motif in some fashion, have been created for use by Canadian officials, government bodies, and military forces. ( Full article...)

Recently featured:

Today's featured picture

Mundus Alter et Idem

Mundus Alter et Idem (Another World and Yet the Same) is a satirical dystopian novel written by the English writer and bishop Joseph Hall around 1605. In the novel, the narrator takes a voyage in the ship Fantasia through the southern seas, visiting the lands of Crapulia, Viraginia, Moronia, and Lavernia (populated by gluttons, nags, fools, and thieves, respectively). These locations feature on this map, which accompanies the novel.

Map credit: Joseph Hall

I didn't have a frickin clue about...

Detail of a frog on a banknote
Detail of a frog on a banknote

Current events...

Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli

Selected anniversaries...

July 1: Eid al-Mubahalah (Shia Islam, 2024); Canada Day ( 1867); Republic Day in Ghana ( 1960); Independence Day in Rwanda ( 1962)

Brown 10-centime Belgian epaulette
Brown 10-centime Belgian epaulette
More anniversaries:

Wikipedia community

Every page on Wikipedia is a collaborative effort. But there are some special places reserved for specific types of discussion and assistance. Find what you're looking for here:

  • The Community Portal — The center of community involvement. Learn about projects and activities you can join to help improve Wikipedia.
  • The Help Desk — Come here if you need help editing. You can ask a question about using Wikipedia. Alternatively, you can find what you need at Help:Contents.
  • The Reference Desk — For questions about any subject you're researching or curious about (not about Wikipedia itself), just like at a library's reference desk.
  • The Village Pump — The main discussion forums of Wikipedia.
  • The Signpost — Wikipedia's newspaper, where you can read and post news about what's happening on this website.
  • Donations — Wikipedia is funded entirely by its users. We appreciate all donations. Thank you!

Wikipedia's sister projects

Wikipedia is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that operates several other multilingual and free-content projects:

wikt:Main Page Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
b:Main Page Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals
q:Main Page Wikiquote
Collection of quotations
s:Main Page Wikisource
The free library
Wikispecies:Main Page Wikispecies
Directory of species
n:Main Page Wikinews
Free content news source
commons:Main Page Commons
Shared media repository
m:Main Page Meta-Wiki
Wikimedia project coordination

Wikipedia in other languages

Complete list · Multilingual coordination · Start a Wikipedia in another language

Contact us