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April Fools' Day Main Page (talk)
14th-century depiction of Mickey Mouse
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Did you know?
Introduction and rules
IntroductionWP:DYK
General discussionWT:DYK
GuidelinesWP:DYKCRIT
Reviewer instructionsWP:DYKRI
Nominations
Nominate an articleWP:DYKCNN
Awaiting approvalWP:DYKN
ApprovedWP:DYKNA
April 1 hooksWP:DYKAPRIL
Holding areaWP:SOHA
Preparation
Preps and queuesT:DYK/Q
Prepper instructionsWP:DYKPBI
Admin instructionsWP:DYKAI
Main Page errorsWP:ERRORS
History
StatisticsWP:DYKSTATS
Archived setsWP:DYKA
Just for fun
Monthly wrapsWP:DYKW
AwardsWP:DYKAWARDS
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Hall of FameWP:DYK/HoF
List of users ...
... by nominationsWP:DYKNC
... by promotionsWP:DYKPC
Administrative
Scripts and botsWP:DYKSB
On the Main Page
Main Page errorsWP:ERRORS
To ping the DYK admins{{DYK admins}}

Please use this page for discussions surrounding the creation of "Did You Know" items for April Fools' Day 2025

Areas of work needed to complete the front page are:

Ground rules for this activity along with a list of participants may be found on the Main talk page.

Rules

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April Fools Did You Know items should present some trivia that can be presented in a manner that is possibly unbelievable to the reader. This can be done through words or names that mean two different things, shortened names, unbelievable facts, unrelated facts, etc. The normal written and unwritten rules for Did You Know (DYK) are followed, with these exceptions...

  • April Fools DYKs are subject to the usual exclusions regarding prior Main Page appearance, but the normal rules for special occasions do not apply: the article need only have been created/expanded/brought to GA in the year immediately preceding the April 1 on which it will appear.
  • Proper capitalization, title formatting, and linking standards may be disregarded only if adhering to them will tend to give away the joke. This should be done as little as possible. (example from 2009: "... that Caviar, Chardonnay, and Hot Cocoa compete for the love of Ray J? ")

All other Wikipedia rules and guidelines still apply. Pay special attention to Wikipedia's Biographies of living persons guidelines if your hook relates to a living person.

Remember, we are trying to confuse and mislead Wikipedians and visitors, not lie to them. Keep all hooks and articles completely truthful, but outrageous. (examples from 2010: A hook claiming Dmitry Medvedev died in 2005 is ok, saying Mikheil Saakashvili died is not.)

How to review a nomination

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Any editor who was not involved in writing/expanding or nominating an article may review it by checking to see that the article meets the DYK criteria except, per above, the normal new enough rule (long enough, no serious editorial or content issues) and the hook is cited. Editors may also alter the suggested hook to improve it, suggest new hooks, or even lend a hand and make edits to the article which the hook applies so that the hook is supported and accurate. For a more detailed discussion of the DYK rules and review process see the supplementary guidelines.

If you want to confirm that an article is ready to be placed on a later update, or note that there is an issue with the article or hook, please use the following symbols to point the issues out:

Symbol Code Status Description
{{subst:DYKtick}}

{{subst:DYKyes}}

Approved No problems, ready for DYK
{{subst:DYKtickAGF}} Approved Article is ready for DYK, with a foreign-language, offline or paywalled hook reference accepted in good faith
{{subst:DYK?}} Query DYK eligibility requires that an issue be addressed. Notify nominator with {{subst:DYKproblem|Article|header=yes|sig=yes}}
{{subst:DYK?no}} Maybe DYK eligibility requires additional work. Notify nominator with {{subst:DYKproblem|Article|header=yes|sig=yes}}
{{subst:DYKno}} Rejected Article is either completely ineligible or otherwise requires an insurmountable amount of work before becoming eligible.
{{subst:DYK?again}} New review Requesting a second opinion or fresh review

An article cannot be officially promoted until a reviewer has given approval ( or ) to at least one of the article's hooks.

Nominations

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Awaiting verification

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Note: Nominations for April 1 should be added to Template talk:Did you know in the usual way, as well as below.

Verified hooks

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Barack Obama (horse)

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Created by Di (they-them) (talk). Number of QPQs required: 1. Nominator has 15 past nominations.

Di (they-them) (talk) 16:20, 22 July 2024 (UTC).[reply]

Well, this definitely won't lead to anyone freaking out when opening the Main Page. No, seriously, I love the original hook, and the other two are good backup alternatives if anyone wants to limit the surprise effect to more reasonable levels. Regarding the article, it's new enough, long enough, well-sourced enough and copyvio-free, and includes the content of ALT0 and ALT1. No WP:BLP (or should it be WP:BDH?) issues as far as I can see.
Only one very esoteric thing to note: all horses are traditionally registered with a date of birth of "January 1st", even if they were born later in the year, so the article technically doesn't have the information that he died at age 20 beyond the age template (should {{Death date and age}} have a variant for horses?). Either way, that's pretty much a non-issue, and the DYK is approved! Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 16:40, 22 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
After a little more research, it looks like I was mistaken, and horse age is also calculated from January 1. So the information is enough to say that the horse was "20 years old" for horse purposes, even if it might not have lived 20 literal years. Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 16:55, 22 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Di (they-them), are you willing for this to wait for WP:DYKAPRIL? ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 17:18, 26 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@AirshipJungleman29: Sure, that's fine with me. Di (they-them) (talk) 18:27, 26 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, I want to ask to update this hook and merge this nomination with Template:Did you know nominations/Kamala (elephant). I'm not really sure what the procedure for that is. Di (they-them) (talk) 21:33, 5 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

  • Copying from Kamala's DYKN, Kamala needs a review. Thanks, charlotte 👸♥📱 04:51, 6 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    • @Di (they-them), Chaotic Enby, AirshipJungleman29, Queen of Hearts, and Queen of Hearts mobile: Will do this after I've slept, ping me if I forget.--Launchballer 01:49, 7 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    What makes Kamala notable? Of the seven references, the first six are nothing other than 'she died' and the seventh doesn't mention the elephant. I don't see WP:SUSTAINED coverage.--Launchballer 14:11, 7 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    @Di (they-them), Chaotic Enby, Queen of Hearts, and Queen of Hearts mobile: Please address the above.--Launchballer 14:42, 20 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks for the ping, and yes it is indeed a good point to consider. I did find these 2014 Washington Post articles ([1], [2]) on the transfer of Kamala (and two other elephants) from Calgary to Washington, D.C., although I leave it to your judgement to decide whether that is enough to meet WP:SUSTAINED. Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 14:49, 20 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    I'll echo Chaotic Enby (thanks for finding those btw), I think the 2014 sources establish sustained notability. Di (they-them) (talk) 16:23, 20 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    @Launchballer: charlotte 👸♥ 05:45, 26 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    I think so as well. This is long enough, new enough and the QPQ's done (The Catholic Spirit, haven't checked Stuff Matters). Hook checks out; the Washington Post is paywalled, but it checks out to the Smithsonian and to WJLA. I see no reason why this might deserve a maintenance template; an Earwig check shows several WP:LIMITED phrases.--Launchballer 11:47, 26 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]


    The United States of America (album)

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    • ALT1: ... that the title of the 1968 album The United States of America was intended to be a political statement akin to "hanging the flag upside down"?
      • Reviewed:
      • Comment: Had to find an alternate source that I could easily link to as the article uses a book source
    Improved to Good Article status by Iostn (talk). Number of QPQs required: 0. Nominator has fewer than 5 past nominations.

    Iostn (talk) 21:45, 23 September 2024 (UTC).[reply]

    It would be brilliant. But add the italics and the quotation marks and it should work reasonably well on any day. Surtsicna (talk) 20:02, 28 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    • The article was promoted to GA status 5 days before the DYK nomination. It is, unsurprisingly, also long enough and it meets the sourcing, neutrality, and copyright requirements. The hooks proposed by Iostn are fine, but there is a clear potential for something much grander. See Launchballer's suggestion. We rarely get such gems in the rough, Iostn, but let me know if you cannot bother and I will approve your original hook. Surtsicna (talk) 20:13, 28 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    Hi, Surtsicna, I think I'm going to hang on with this nom and wait for the April Fools' proposal, if possible Iostn (talk) 15:51, 29 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    @Iostn: While quirky, I do not think this hook fits the spirit of the type of hooks used in the April Fools DYK set. Z1720 (talk) 23:06, 29 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    It could in theory work as a regular quirky hook rather than an AFD hook, although the decision about that could be left to a promoter. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 09:54, 6 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    There's a few other quotes that could be used instead, such as 'met a "mixed reception"' or something from 'wasn't half bad. Some of it was embarrassing but some of it really stood up over time'.--Launchballer 10:00, 6 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    What is the status of this nomination?--Launchballer 17:12, 13 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    @Iostn, Surtsicna, Z1720, and Narutolovehinata5: As this is a day away from time out and is taking up room at T:TDYK, I am approving ALT1 ("Guevara" isn't in the article). Any promoter at Approved is free to approve either ALT2 or move any of the following April Fools' hooks into WP:DYKAPRIL for approval:
    ALT3: ... that the United States of America met a mixed reception?
    ALT4: ... that the United States of America wasn't half bad?
    ALT5: ... that some of the United States of America was embarrassing?
    ALT6: ... that some of the United States of America really stood up over time?--Launchballer 14:08, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    May I suggest:
    ALT7: ... people thought the United States of America "snooty, loud and obnoxious"? Iostn (talk) 21:17, 17 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    That hook appears to apply to the band rather than the album, otherwise good idea.--Launchballer 13:33, 18 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

    information Note: moved to WP:DYKAPRIL. ALTs 2&3 approved. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 14:32, 20 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

    Bliss (photograph)

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    • ... that Bliss, the default wallpaper of Windows XP, was initially a stock photo? Source: Rooke, Hannah (August 7, 2023). "Have You Seen the "Most Viewed Photo Ever"?". Digital Camera World. Archived from the original on October 8, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
    Improved to Good Article status by Vacant0 (talk). Number of QPQs required: 1. Nominator has 12 past nominations.

    Vacant0 (talk • contribs) 17:06, 15 October 2024 (UTC).[reply]

    Bliss is still copyrighted right? DYK doesn't allow fair-use pictures to be used on the Main Page unfortunately. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 12:28, 30 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    Yes, it is copyrighted and owned by Microsoft. It would be cool to include the photograph but I'm unsure if DYK rules allow this. Vacant0 (talk • contribs) 20:16, 30 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    From WP:DYKIMG: The media must be freely licensed—fair-use images are not permitted on the Main Page. So the answer is no. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 00:44, 31 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    I'd rather prefer other proposed blurbs. Vacant0 (talk • contribs) 21:10, 31 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    That's too bad. ALT5 is the best of them all. Viriditas (talk) 20:21, 21 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    • Will be claiming this for review and will do the full review once I come back from vacation. I have to agree with Viriditas that the quirky hook is the best option here. While some of the other options do meet DYKINT, the quirky is the one most likely to attract readers. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 05:28, 23 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    • The article was promoted to GA status on time. It meets the other DYK article criteria as well such as length and close paraphrasing. Quotes are properly cited. A QPQ has been done and it was completed. For the purposes of review I'm approving two hooks, one quirky (ALT5) and one non quirky (ALT4). It's too bad the picture is copyrighted because ALT4 would have been very effective with the picture, but oh well. I will leave it to the promoter if ALT5 is to be held for April Fools, or if it runs as a regular quirky. ALT5 is the preferred option, ALT4 is more the backup. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 11:54, 25 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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