What did people want to learn about the most this year?
Wikipedia has gathered data on its most viewed articles of 2012. It has created different lists for each language, but the most popular articles by far are in English.
The data shows we care a lot about movies, teenage pop stars, and tech companies.
10. The Hunger Games
What it is: The first book of a trilogy by Suzanne Collins. It takes place in future America, where 24 children are chosen to fight to the death in a computer-controlled arena for a reality TV show. It was released as a movie this year starring Jennifer Lawrence.
Number of views: Its Wikipedia page was viewed 18,431,626 times this year.
Excerpt from the page:
The Hunger Games is a 2008 young adult novel by American writer Suzanne Collins. It is written in the voice of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem, where the countries of North America once existed. The Capitol, a highly advanced metropolis, exercises political control over the rest of the nation. The Hunger Games are an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12–18 from each of the twelve districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle to the death.
The book received mostly positive feedback from major reviewers and authors, including author Stephen King. It was praised for its storyline and character development, though some reviewers have noted similarities between Collins' book and the Japanese novel Battle Royale (1999), as well as other works. In writing The Hunger Games, Collins drew upon Greek mythology and contemporary reality television for thematic content. The novel won many awards, including the California Young Reader Medal, and was named one of Publishers Weekly's "Best Books of the Year" in 2008.
9. Google
What it is: The giant search engine company created by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Number of views: Its Wikipedia page received 18,508,719 views this year
Excerpt from the page:
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is an American multinational corporation which provides Internet-related products and services, including internet search, cloud computing, software and advertising technologies.[6] Advertising revenues from AdWords generate almost all of the company's profits.[7][8]
The company was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while both attended Stanford University. Together, Brin and Page own about 16 percent of the company's stake. Google was first incorporated as a privately held company on September 4, 1998, and its initial public offering followed on August 19, 2004. The company's mission statement from the outset was "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful"[9] and the company's unofficial slogan is "Don't be evil".[10][11] In 2006, the company moved to its current headquarters in Mountain View, California.
8. The Dark Knight Rises
What it is: The third batman movie, starring Christian Bale, which was released this year.
Number of views: Its Wikipedia page received 18,882,885 views this year
Excerpt from the page:
The Dark Knight Rises is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan and the story with David S. Goyer. Featuring the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the final installment in Nolan's Batman film trilogy, and it is the sequel to Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008). Christian Bale reprises the lead role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, with a returning cast of his allies: Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. The film introduces the characters of Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), a cunning cat burglar in search of a way to escape her past, and Bane (Tom Hardy), a militant revolutionary out to destroy Gotham City. The film deals with a Batman who has retired, but is drawn back into action by new threats to the city.
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