Messing with Schenectady
Chris Churchill recently checked the Wikipedia entry for Schenectady and found an interesting "fact" about the origins of the city's name -- specifically that it's "derived loosely from a Mohawk word for 'dress in layers.'"
Of course, that's not true. The edit was made August 4 at 6:24 pm by user RalphMonster -- the first contribution recorded under that name. It was corrected (with the actual origin) just 8 minutes later by Wknight94, who has a significant record of contributions -- in fact, he/she has the highest number of logged changes to the entry.
The correction was uncorrected (if that's the word) Monday at 4:07 pm, about a half hour after Chris noted the odd "fact." The new version: "The name 'Schenectady' is derived loosely from a Mohawk word for 'church hill,' or 'near the church hill,' or 'place beyond the church hill.' The user: 518Snark, who seemed to be having some fun based on Chris' name. (It was 518Snark's first contribution.) The entry was re-corrected at 11:15 pm Monday by a user who did not login, but whose IP address does have a history of contributions.
Anyway, everyone knows that Schenectady means "place where people swoon over goslings."
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Comments
It's really cold outside. Be sure to schenectady.
... said Buckeye on Aug 16, 2011 at 1:05 PM | link
This post is both amazing and exhausting. I am impressed you kept track of all that :)
... said Kristi on Aug 16, 2011 at 1:51 PM | link
@Kristi: Wikipedia makes it easy to track the changes -- just click on the "view history" tab at the top of a Wikipedia page.
... said Greg on Aug 16, 2011 at 2:18 PM | link
Listen, I've been very patient with this, but you're just about to cross the line. I've been maintaining my willful ignorance of who or what a Ryan Gosling is, and have been hoping that once this local fever subsides I may be able to forget what little I know. But if you keep making these references, eventually it's going to stick in my head, and I'm going to be very, very cross. Just sayin'.
... said Carl on Aug 16, 2011 at 2:38 PM | link