Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) is a popular online encyclopedia. It is set apart from other encyclopedias (e.g., Encyclopedia Brittanica) by the fact that Wikipedia isn't published by a company; instead, individuals from all over the world contribute to it and edit its entries. In this way, it's information is always ultra-current. In fact, studies have shown that this method makes Wikipedia equally as reliable as its 'real' alternatives (i.e., actual books). Personally, I think that it's a great reference, but it is susceptible to pranksters.

I came across a spectacular example of this today while searching for the definition of "weenie" online (for reasons that aren't necessary to discuss at this juncture). Apparently, Wikipedia's definition has a lot to do with a certain Republican presidential hopeful. It's possible that you can see what I'm talking about by clicking here (as of 4:10 PM on 1/18/08, the link has been fixed, so I took it down [because it now takes you to a page titled "Penis"--am I allowed to say that on the Internet?]), but, by the time you read this, the page will likely have been edited back to the original entry for weenie. So, I included a "screenshot", below (the marks in red are mine, click on the picture to enlarge it).

The most disturbing aspect of this whole situation becomes evident when you actually take the time to read Romney's biography: he's purportedly 60 years old!?!?!? What!!

Question: which parts?
Fact: certainly not any that are visible in that picture.

Zing.

But I'm sure he's a nice man. After all, we shouldn't judge books by their surgically restored covers.

Double zing.