Wikipedia Brown

November 20, 2006 7:59 AM

Wikipedia Brown - a minimystery for the internet generation.
posted by jacquilynne (37 comments total)

Wow, that got mindbending. Well done and good post. Thanks!
posted by sciurus at 8:09 AM on November 20, 2006

Neat. Adam Cadre writes some pretty nice interactive fiction, too (actually, this is the sort of story you might see done as IF; it'd be great fun guiding the story with player-modified room descriptions, for example).
posted by uncleozzy at 8:17 AM on November 20, 2006

That was great! Thanks!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:18 AM on November 20, 2006

That was enjoyable. Encyclopedia Brown was among my favorites as a kid.
posted by OmieWise at 8:18 AM on November 20, 2006

That was pretty good, thanks.
posted by interrobang at 8:19 AM on November 20, 2006

Made my day! Thanks!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 8:19 AM on November 20, 2006

Sweet. That was even funnier than Tom Swift and His Ethertropic Web Server.
posted by Smart Dalek at 8:20 AM on November 20, 2006

That is such a brilliant idea that I don't even need to look at the link.
posted by empath at 8:23 AM on November 20, 2006

The power of truthiness in an Encyclopedia Brown parody. Good times.
posted by MythMaker at 8:24 AM on November 20, 2006

lol@ "Colt"
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:36 AM on November 20, 2006

Ish. Funnyish. Satireish. FPP material? Not sure.
posted by imperium at 8:41 AM on November 20, 2006

Umm, well, I'll be sure to run all my future posts by you before I make them, just in case you don't approve.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:44 AM on November 20, 2006

This story amusingly and succinctly illustrates why I tend to hate wiki-fueled discussions with people.

"no rly i'm rite cuz wiki sez so"
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 8:48 AM on November 20, 2006

Don't worry jacquilynne...everybody else above approves. Nice post!
posted by daninnj at 8:48 AM on November 20, 2006

Looks like someone needs to make like Christopher Columbus and die. I'll let you solve the mystery of who for yourselves.

It could have used a slightly better ending, but that's always true for Encyclopedia Brown. The important thing is that he got the tone, details, and typeface exactly right. Thanks, jacquilynne!
posted by melissa may at 8:55 AM on November 20, 2006

Sally is so heroine.
posted by orange swan at 9:11 AM on November 20, 2006

"so my heroine". Sigh.
posted by orange swan at 9:11 AM on November 20, 2006

I wish I had the Idaville Zoo's donut budget.
posted by ilsa at 9:15 AM on November 20, 2006

Cool. I was kinda hoping for a bit more Duck Amok ending, tho.

Wait! I know! Edit: The FPP story had a more Duck Amok ending, and user number 17391 was satisfied.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:21 AM on November 20, 2006

Very funny, thanks!
posted by maryh at 9:26 AM on November 20, 2006

Current revision (09:28, 20 November 2006)
Ish. Funnyish. Satireish. FPP material? You betcha!
posted by George_Spiggott at 9:30 AM on November 20, 2006

Very enjoyable. Thanks for posting !
posted by AuntLisa at 9:41 AM on November 20, 2006

Reminds me of 1967 Yearbook Brown. And then there are the parodies that John Warner wrote for Modern Humorist...
posted by Iridic at 10:00 AM on November 20, 2006

Bum, should've read the thread before the link - doesn't really make much sense if you've never heard of Encyclopedia Brown!
posted by jack_mo at 10:03 AM on November 20, 2006

This really brightened my day; this old Encyclopedia Brown fan thanks you.
posted by TedW at 10:09 AM on November 20, 2006

Adam Cadre writes some pretty nice interactive fiction, too

Hey the photopia author!
Photopia is not much of a game, but pretty awesome as a story. Worth checking out y'all.

Very short and hinges on a single gimmick, but 9:05 is neat too.
posted by juv3nal at 10:12 AM on November 20, 2006

Wikiality at its best. Thanks
posted by FeldBum at 10:12 AM on November 20, 2006

Those books were a favorite of mine in elementary school. When book fair time rolled around, they were always at the top of my list. This was great, thanks!
posted by gigawhat? at 10:12 AM on November 20, 2006

"Why don't you make like Christopher Columbus, and die." omg lollercaust. THANKS, jacquilynne!
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:30 AM on November 20, 2006

This is great! I loved Encyclopedia Brown as a kid. Love the nod to The Colbert Report as well. : )
posted by SisterHavana at 10:38 AM on November 20, 2006

fpp material...made my day, thanks!
posted by Holy foxy moxie batman! at 10:42 AM on November 20, 2006

Fantastic story. for a moment I thought the solution was too easy, then I remembered they are all easy when you aren't eight years old...

It was a digital clock! Of course!
posted by sdrawkcab at 11:05 AM on November 20, 2006

When I read these as a kid, I always particularly relished the lines about the Tigers. "They should have called them the [whatever]. They were always [whatever]. This one has a particularly good one.
posted by Miko at 11:40 AM on November 20, 2006

Great story, thanks for the link. It's certainly the most entertaining warning about Wikipedia's quality control that I've seen.
posted by Sprout the Vulgarian at 12:13 PM on November 20, 2006

Wow! That was great!

I'm afraid it took me a few moments to mentally untangle my confabulated memories of Encyclopedia Brown and "Brains Benton".

Once untangled, I laughed out loud at "Treehugger Smith".
posted by Tube at 5:05 PM on November 20, 2006

Brilliant!
posted by piratebowling at 6:18 PM on November 20, 2006

This is great. I too loved the Encyclopedia Brown stories. Are they still popular with kids?
posted by litlnemo at 6:33 PM on November 20, 2006