General Discussions

**NullPointer** · 04:45 AM

I was researching something the other day and I ended it up looking it up on wikipedia. As I often do I got distracted by related articles and ended reading several others. By the time I decided to get back on topic, I found that I was reading about something completely unrelated.

I haven't been very active in the forum games, but I couldn't help but wonder that if given the first page, and the last page, if someone would be able to find a path from point A to point B. This being the case, I couldn't help myself:

The Game

Given a start page and an end page, you must determine a path (the shorter the better) from the start point to the end. The "Path" is a series of articles where the previous article links to the current article, and the current article links to the next article. After you determine the path come up with your own start and end pages (make sure a path exists) and reply with your answer, and the next challenge.

The more unrelated the two articles are the better.

EDIT:

As James pointed out stick to links in the article itself, not those in the navigation bar or the categories links.

I'll start:

Kiwi --> Jupiter

I was able to find a path in 5 steps (5 degrees of separation).

**Madman340** · 02:31 AM

I kind of cheated =x

Kiwi > Random article: Astronomy > Jupiter

So that doesnt count I guess...

Here is a good one:

Eukaryote > Celery

**jamestl2** · 06-20-2009, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NullPointer

Kiwi --> Jupiter

I was able to find a path in 5 steps (5 degrees of separation).

I found a path only two clicks away

.

Kiwi --> Weight (Under the "Morphology" section) --> Jupiter (Under "Relative Weights of the Earth" heading)

@Madman, I'm just starting to look at yours. Plus I think you have to say how many steps away you found it in.

Also, should we exclude certain links, like navigation links on the left side, or category links at the bottom of the page? Meaning you can only use links contained in the actual content of the article? That should keep things straight, I think.

**NullPointer** · 05:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamestl2

I found a path only two clicks away

.

Kiwi --> Weight (Under the "Morphology" section) --> Jupiter (Under "Relative Weights of the Earth" heading)

Way to put me to shame. My path was:
Kiwi --> Flightless bird --> Dinosaur --> Cretaceous Tertiary extinction event --> Shoemaker Levy 9 --> Jupiter

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamestl2

Also, should we exclude certain links, like navigation links on the left side, or category links at the bottom of the page? Meaning you can only use links contained in the actual content of the article? That should keep things straight, I think.

Good point. I edited the original post.

@Madman:

Eukaryote --> Plant Cell --> Potato --> Asterids --> Apiales -- > Celery

This one is possible in just two steps:

Texas --> Big Foot

**Giselle** · 06-23-2009, 10:28 PM

Texas - Piney Woods - Legend of Boggy Creek - Bigfoot

**jamestl2** · 06-24-2009, 12:25 AM

Isn't that three steps?

I couldn't find any right path though, so nice job (There's too many links on that Texas page!

)

**Giselle** · 06-24-2009, 01:33 AM

That was a good one Matt, truly was a challenge! I got hung up on the Jurassic era. You are right James, there was a bunch of links on the Texas page!

**NullPointer** · 06-24-2009, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giselle

Texas - Piney Woods - Legend of Boggy Creek - Bigfoot

There's actually a link to Bigfoot on the Piney Woods page. The path I found was

Texas -> Piney Woods -> Bigfoot

**Giselle** · 06-24-2009, 06:16 PM

I had to go and look that up again Matt, you are sure right, gee wiz, two sentences right above the The Legend of Boggy Creek was Bigfoot. How in the world could I have missed that one??

**micahlmartin** · 06-25-2009, 04:44 PM

I've created a game based on this exact concept. It tracks all your clicks in Wikipedia for you. You can earn points and badges for creating and solving puzzles. Come check it out at www.wikipediamaze.com

**hairygunther** · 06-25-2009, 05:32 PM

"You can earn points and badges for creating and solving puzzles."

excitement city. who needs alcohol when this much fun is on tap?

**Giselle** · 06-25-2009, 07:40 PM

Matt, will you be starting another Wikipedia Game? It was fun, but a challenge...

**NullPointer** · 06-26-2009, 12:51 AM

I was actually hoping someone else would start one, but here's another (I think this one might be a bit harder):

Bugs Bunny --> Weapons of Mass Destruction

I was able to do it in 4 steps.

**Sheila** · 07-02-2009, 11:06 AM

wow,thats nice,will try them