Mötley Crüe, Notre-Dame, a black hole, and Bonnie and Clyde: Round up the unusual suspects
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Seems like nearly every April Fool's the servers who provide us with the WP:5000 decide to prank us and make this report harder to make. So through other means (and getting only one article wrong!) we compiled a list whose top topic is the sex, drugs and rock n'roll of Mötley Crüe (#1, #3-6), currently documented in a Netflix biopic - the streaming service also gives us a true crime story (#7), matching a returning one made by Hulu (#8). The latest hit horror movie (#2), the latest March Madness revelation (#9), and the latest Marvel Studios hit (#10) complete the Top 25.
| Rank | Article | Class | Views | Image | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mötley Crüe | 
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2,176,109 | .jpg)
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Back in 2005, someone asked "When did Mötley Crüe become classic rock?" In the years ever since, with good old rock n' roll falling from proeminence, many certainly long for when radios played this hair metal band famous for doing lots of drugs and songs such as "Dr. Feelgood" and "Girls, Girls, Girls". And Netflix is now helping people either remember or meet the Crüe through the biopic The Dirt. |
| 2 | Us (2019 film) | 
|
1,928,747 |  |
Along with falling from #1 in our report, Jordan Peele's (who narrowly missed at #26) Us also went to second place in the box office. Albeit on Wikipedia, the movie that beat Us didn't even break 350,000 views - seems like Disney's latest live-action remake didn't strike our readers as much as red clad doppelgängers carrying scissors. |
| 3 | Nikki Sixx |
|
1,485,904 |  |
How adequate, the four guys who formed our #1 are all in succession.
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| 4 | Vince Neil |
|
1,383,396 | ||
| 5 | Mick Mars | 
|
1,320,444 | ||
| 6 | Tommy Lee |
|
1,318,536 | ||
| 7 | Bonnie and Clyde |
|
933,855 |  |
Another subject of a Netflix film. Well, the antagonists, given The Highwaymen focuses on the two Texas Rangers - played by Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson - who tracked down this famous outlaw couple and eventually showered them with bullets. |
| 8 | Murder of Dee Dee Blanchard |
|
874,161 |  |
From Netflix to Hulu, the crime depicted in The Act. Long story short, Dee Dee (portrayed by Patricia Arquette, pictured), spent 24 years fabricating illness and disabilities on daughter Gypsy Rose (Joey King), claiming she had the mental development of a child, before Gypsy Rose had enough and killed her with the help of an online boyfriend. |
| 9 | Tacko Fall |
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808,612 | _(cropped).jpg) |
For all the ratings and bets it inspires, March Madness rarely brings in entries. This year was an exception, as people got intrigued by this Senegalese basketball player who is ridiculously tall - 2.29 m/7'6" - and helped the UCF Knights nearly upset the more traditional Duke team. |
| 10 | Captain Marvel (film) |
|
797,663 |  |
Again Marvel gambles on an oft-neglected type of lead before the Avengers and makes one billion dollars - last year it was a black superhero, this time it's a female. And it's pretty clear audiences can't wait to see Brie Larson's Carol Danvers beat up Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. |
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This edition is topped by the shocking murder of rapper Nipsey Hussle (#1, #2, #4), and from there we can go on another musical direction - the sophisticated pop of Billie Eilish (#6) - or similar dark and sad paths - true crime stories (#3), horror movies (#10). And while people sought the week's actual events in a new superhero movie (#5) and the ever-popular April Fool's (#7), they're also looking forward for an upcoming supervillain movie (#9) and a big wrestling event (#8).
| Rank | Article | Class | Views | Image | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nipsey Hussle |
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Hip hop downright has a gangsta rap subgenre, so the fact there's enough murdered rappers for a whole list is not surprising, even if it's undeniably very sad. And the latest victim in the genre is rapper Ermias Joseph Asghedom, aka Nipsey Hussle, who just one year after releasing an acclaimed debut album, was shot dead outside his Los Angeles store at the age of 33. |
| 2 | Lauren London |
|
2,294,935 |  |
#1's widow (though they weren't married), an actress with whom he had a son, Kross. |
| 3 | Bonnie and Clyde |
|
1,890,576 | |
Speaking of executions, the famed criminal couple from the Great Depression who wound showered by bullets in a police ambush are the indirect subjects of Netflix's film The Highwaymen, which tells the story of the two Texas Rangers who tracked them down. |
| 4 | Alfredo Bowman |
|
1,383,396 |  |
Prior to being killed, our #1 was working on a documentary about this herbalist and self-proclaimed healer who died in 2016, and in spite of being known as Dr. Sebi is widely considered a quack by reliable sources. |
| 5 | Shazam! (film) |
|
1,050,980 | 
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DC Comics meets Big in the superhero comedy where a Philadelphia kid gets the power to become a muscle man who can also fly and shoot lightning - that in the comics was originally known as Captain Marvel, but for obvious reasons it's not used (in fact, in the movie they never get to a consistent moniker...). Hilarious yet heartfelt, Shazam! was well-received by reviewers and audiences, and hopefully can make a lot of money until its biggest competitor arrives. |
| 6 | Billie Eilish |
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970,686 | .jpg) |
In spite of how dead musicians bring in lots of listens\purchases to their discography, our #1 only got second place in the Billboard 200, with the top spot being When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, the debut album by this 17 year old. Billie doesn't want to be compared to anyone, but hard not to be reminded of Lorde. And her music, of Lana del Rey (though thankfully less soporific and depressing). |
| 7 | April Fools' Day |
|
938,641 |  |
The day where elaborate pranks and practical jokes are pulled. And how I wish "my country's president is pushing for using this day and March 31st to celebrate a coup and all the damage it caused" was one of those. |
| 8 | WrestleMania 35 | 
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691,439 | .jpg) |
Given the amount of anticipation this wrestling event has gotten before it actually happened on April 7 (down to a Last Week Tonight segment that caused some ruckus), it's the possible #1 for our next report. |
| 9 | Joker (2019 film) |
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684,594 | .jpg) |
Batman's archnemesis is portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix (pictured) in an origin story which just had its first trailer released, and will hit theaters in October. Even if director Todd Phillips has mostly made comedies such as The Hangover and the main character is for all intents and means a clown, it will be another serious DC Comics movie, in contrast to our #5. |
| 10 | Us (2019 film) |
|
632,791 | |
Plenty of money and acclaim for a movie with the important lesson of avoiding people in red carrying scissors. |
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It's mostly the same thing as last week, including a highly-anticipated wrestling extravaganza (#1), a superhero movie (#3) and a rising female singer (#7), but at least the end of life (#2, #8) is matched by where all matter ends (#6), a recent arrest (#4) counters a past crime (#5), which for being the inspiration of a Netflix movie also gets the company of an HBO show (#9, #10).
| Rank | Article | Class | Views | Image | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WrestleMania 35 |
|
2,078,000 |  |
For reasons I have never been able to fathom, people continue to be intrigued by so-called entertainment wrestling events like this one by WWE, the 35th annual edition of which was held on 7 April. In the first female-lead main event in the tournament's history, Becky Lynch defeated Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair in a winner takes all triple threat match, winning both the Raw Women's Championship and SmackDown Women's Championship and sealing her victory. |
| 2 | Nipsey Hussle |
|
1,973,249 |
|
Hiphop singer-songwriter Ermias Joseph Asghedom aka Nipsey Hussle was shot down last week at his local store, becoming the 43rd professional from the genre to be murdered. He is survived by #8. |
| 3 | Shazam! (film) |
|
1,372,523 |
|
The latest DC superhero film, starring Captain Marvel (no, not that Captain Marvel) released on April 5. It received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the lighter tone in comparison to previous DC films like Batman v Superman. It also did better than expected at the box office, grossing $53.5 million USD in the US on its opening weekend there. |
| 4 | Julian Assange |
|
1,325,968 |  |
After years hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, lest he be extradicted to Sweden for rape charges, the founder of WikiLeaks was forcibly removed by the police so he'd be extradicted to the United States instead for espionage and computer intrusion charges. |
| 5 | Bonnie and Clyde |
|
1,163,368 | |
Already the subject of a classic movie, the famous outlaw couple now serve as the unseen antagonists of Netflix's hit film The Highwaymen. |
| 6 | Black hole | 
|
1,157,950 |  |
In a great feat for science - and women scientists in particular - the Event Horizon Telescope, using algorithms made by Katie Bouman, managed to gaze into the supermassive, supermassive black hole at the center of Messier 87 and take the picture to the left. |
| 7 | Billie Eilish |
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815,714 | .jpg) |
Along with a #1 album and various hit songs, this 17 year old singer-songwriter also performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where Eilish both fulfilled a dream of meeting Justin Bieber and managed to forget her own lyrics. |
| 8 | Lauren London |
|
804,610 | |
London is #2's partner, and had a son, Kross, with him. |
| 9 | Game of Thrones |
|
773,777 |  |
After a year and a half off the air, it is now time for the last season of the hit TV series filled with sex, blood, political intrigue, dragons, ice zombies, and terrible things happening to whoever has the audience sympathy. Expect Westeros to not leave the Report for the next six weeks, if not more. |
| 10 | Game of Thrones (season 8) |
|
751,539 |
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The world, and by proxy the perusers of Wikipedia, was struck by three stories this week - the incendiary damage sustained by the celebrated, hunchback-less Parisian cathedral of Notre-Dame, the venerable victory of Tiger Woods on the hallowed greens of Augusta, and the return of HBO's fantasy mega-hit Game of Thrones to the small screen. This trifecta of disparate tales accounts for a large quantity of entries to the report, but do not detract from or diminish its overall diversity; the remainder of the entries revolve around K-Pop, streaming series, and various superhero films, both released and forthcoming. I hope that the report is as entertaining to read as it was to compile.
Without further ado, for the week of April 14 to 20, 2019, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:
| Rank | Article | Class | Views | Image | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notre-Dame de Paris |
|
6,716,199 |  |
One of the more recognisable Parisian landmarks, alongside Le Tour Eiffel and L'Arc de Triomphe, was irrevocably changed by a monumental blaze this week, which captivated and shocked the world. Renovation works were underway on the famed cathedral, and these reportedly exacerbated the risk of, and ultimately caused, the fire, which consumed the spire of the church, alongside much of the roof. Firefighters nobly attempted to contain the inferno, but given the impossibility of audacious plans involving airdropping water, were unable to prevent much of the damage sustained to the historic 12th century site, whose striking Gothic architecture may never be the same again. Thankfully, the tragic damage sparked a wave of generosity that culminated in charitable donations amounting to €900 million to finance the subsequent renovations and repairs, which may take up to two decades to be completed. |
| 2 | Tiger Woods |
|
3,127,942 |  |
The greatest sporting comeback outside of Constantinople took place on the fabled fairways and treasured tees of Augusta National last weekend, with the long-awaited return of the most successful golfer of the 21st century to the most major of stages. For the first time in eleven years, the world of professional golf heard the roar of the ferocious tiger, mercilessly efficient in pursuing his prey through Amen Corner and beyond, and ultimately donning the green jacket for the fifth time in his storied career, a feat which would have been considered an impossibility by the vast majority of golf aficionados a mere year ago. |
| 3 | Game of Thrones (season 8) |
|
2,528,460 |  |
The best show currently on television has returned for its eighth and final season, and the world is on tenterhooks to see who shall sit upon the Iron Throne once the dead have been defeated and the dust has settled, as evidenced by the gargantuan number of page views that articles associated with the HBO series have seen in recent weeks. Given that Game of Thrones is renowned for its shocking, horrific, traumatising deaths, you should all be prepared for the only logical way in which the series can conclude - with the commencement of the reign of Hot Pie, first of his name. |
| 4 | Game of Thrones |
|
1,516,505 | ||
| 5 | Billie Eilish |
|
911,973 | .jpg) |
I honestly have very minimal idea who this is, beyond the fact that she is a singer, and after listening to some of her music in preparation for this piece, have minimal inclination to change this. My exposure to Eilish involves hearing various jokes about how her new single resembles the greatest song ever written, but, to reiterate, I lack the insight to either verify or refute this claim. Only time will tell if the emergent seventeen year-old is a new force in the music industry, or a flavour of the month, and I am hesitant to speculate either way. To do so would surely make me the bad guy. |
| 6 | List of Game of Thrones episodes | 
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900,781 | .jpg) |
Duh duh duh na nuh nuh da da duh duh duh na nuh nuh ... |
| 7 | Notre-Dame de Paris fire |
|
863,794 |  |
The fire which occurred at the gorgeous Gothic cathedral in Île-de-France caused extraordinary destruction, but more positively united the people of France and beyond in charitable unity, spearheaded by nine-figure donations from famous French billionaires like the Arnault, Bettencourt, and Pinault families, which will be used to finance the necessary reconstruction and restore the cathedral to its world-famous, awe-inspiring glory. |
| 8 | Pete Buttigieg |
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760,812 | .jpg) |
The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg is the latest of a long string of donkeys to throw their hats into the ring to contest the 2020 election against the Donald. Buttigieg lacks the credentials of some of his forthcoming opponents, having never served in either chamber of Congress, but the Harvard graduate has garnered a considerable amount of attention from the media after embracing his husband on stage at his candidacy announcement, propelling him to unprecedented heights in primary polls. |
| 9 | Bonnie and Clyde |
|
728,453 |  |
The most notorious amourous duo of American crime are currently capturing the eyes of binge-streaming Wikipedians courtesy of the content overlords over at Netflix, and their latest viral original film, The Highwaymen, which stars the Prince of Thieves and Haymitch Abernathy as FBI agents in pursuit of the murderous thieves, who have somehow been romanticised in spite of their status as serial killers. The couple have maintained a constant presence in the pantheon of criminals for nearly a century, aided by zeitgeist-capturing appearances such as those of Dunaway and Beatty, and thus it is of little surprise that they continue to engage the curiosity of Wikipedians. |
| 10 | Avengers: Endgame |
|
726,105 |  |
I lack the courage to mutter a mere word, or even a Google search, until midnight on Thursday, so sorry. You know what this is, and should ready yourself for it to rest atop future iterations of the report - this article's page views are about to tend to infinity. |
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