week14: read Wikipedia:Did you know --LAOXINYI

  1）Summary

 "Did You Know" (DYK) is a featured section on the front page of Wikipedia, designed to showcase newly created or significantly expanded articles. Its purpose is to introduce readers to Wikipedia’s constantly growing content while encouraging editors to continue contributing. These featured items are presented in the form of "hooks" — for example, "Did you know that...?" — followed by an interesting but factual statement that links to the relevant article. To be featured on DYK, an article must meet several basic criteria: it must have been created or expanded fivefold within the past seven days, contain at least 1,500 characters of prose, include a hook fact that is properly cited in the article, and comply with Wikipedia’s core content policies such as verifiability and copyright. Any registered user who is autoconfirmed can submit a DYK nomination. Submissions go through community review, and approved entries are scheduled for display by administrators. DYK differs from featured or good articles in that it does not require exceptionally high quality — instead, it prioritizes content that is new, accurate, engaging, and visible. It is not a collection of trivia, nor a platform for advertising. The goal of DYK is not only to showcase fresh content to readers, but also to inspire participation and attract more people to contribute to Wikipedia.

2）Interesting Point

I just finished reading about Wikipedia’s “Did You Know” (DYK) project, and it turns out to be much more interesting than I expected. It’s not just a collection of random trivia — it’s actually a structured system designed to showcase newly created or significantly expanded articles. What surprised me is that even older articles can be featured, as long as they’ve been expanded fivefold within the past seven days. This really shows how dynamic Wikipedia is.

One fun fact I found: the very first article to appear in the DYK section was "Pencil sharpener," back on February 22, 2004. It’s kind of amazing to think that something so simple kicked off a now long-standing tradition on one of the world’s biggest knowledge platforms. I also learned that DYK entries don’t need to be as high-quality as Featured Articles — the focus is more on being new, factual, interesting, and visible.

There’s also a neat rule: if you’ve submitted more than five nominations, you have to review someone else’s nomination for every new one you make. This is called “QPQ” (quid pro quo), and I think it’s a smart way to keep the community active and fair.

Lastly, DYK hooks are carefully scheduled and queued, with a maximum of two sets shown on the main page each day. It’s not random — there’s a whole process behind it. Learning all this made me realize that while DYK may seem like a small section, there’s a lot of thoughtful effort and structure behind the scenes.


3）Discussion

So how do you think one can write a hook that is both accurate and attention-grabbing?

Comments

  1. wu wenhaoMay 24, 2025 at 1:13 AM

    Hi，Lao Xinyi.
    I think your blog post is really clear and informative. What stood out to me was how you explained that DYK isn’t just a random list of trivia, but actually has a strict selection and review process. That completely changed how I see that section. Also, the fun fact about the pencil sharpener being the first DYK article to appear on the main page was really interesting — it added a nice touch of curiosity to your writing.

    If I were to offer one small suggestion, it would be about the “Discussion” section. You raised a great question about how to write a hook that’s both accurate and attention-grabbing, but I think you could develop that idea a bit more. For example, you could include an actual DYK hook as an example and explain why it works — what kind of language or technique it uses to draw interest. Or maybe mention some common mistakes people make when writing hooks. That way, your reflection would have even more depth and could be more useful to readers.

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