What is Qwikipedia?
Ever been on Wikipedia to look up an article? More often than not, we start with one topic, click a few links and within no time are reading about something else.
Qwikipedia is a game that tries to quench this curiosity in us. The objective is to get to a particular wiki page, starting from a specific article, using minimal clicks. There is no single correct answer, so we might surprise ourselves by finding new routes each time!
Galapagos Islands —> Ford Model T
All aboard! We are now in the Galapagos Islands. These volcanic islands are distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean and belong to Ecuador. The sights to see include a national park and a marine reserve. There’s something quite special about these geologically-young islands and the wealth of wildlife. It was here that Charles Darwin conducted some important research for his theory of evolution. The group has 13 main islands and one of the islands richest in wildlife is San Cristobal island, the first one that Darwin visited. It hosts sea lions, marine iguanas and tropical birds. The island is named after St. Christopher, the patron saint of sea-farers.
Say a prayer, quick, for now we are in the company of a Saint Christopher, a martyr who lived in the 3rd century. Legend says that he served people by helping them cross a dangerous river. One day, he was helping a child cross the river. The child grew heavier and heavier and it took all of Saint Christopher’s strength to take him over to the other side. In the end, the child revealed himself as Christ. Inspired by this revelation, Christopher went to several places to spread the word of Christ. This angered a local king who wanted him to serve another God. When Christopher refused, he was killed. Today, he is revered as a saint who helped other people undertake journeys even at his own risk. So some devotees have a miniature of the saint on their automobile dashboards.
Jump on, tighten your seat belts. An automobile, auto car or a motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers. The word automobile comes, via the French automobile from the Greek word ‘auto’ (self) and the Latin mobilis (movable), meaning a vehicle that moves itself. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot is credited with building the first full-scale automobile in 1769; he created a steam-powered tricycle. Automobiles were expensive to make but technology has changed that. The Ford Model T (in production from 1908 – 1927) was the first car in America that was considered more or less affordable. Today, cars are often considered a necessity and have become affordable for many people.
Ford Model T
Here’s a little history on the affordable Ford Model T. Henry Ford’s Ford Motor Company manufactured the car. It opened the automobile market to middle-class buyers in the U.S. then. The reason it was affordable was because Henry Ford went in for assembly line manufacturing rather than individual handcrafting. That means more cars could be made within a shorter time. The model has been named the most influential car of the 20th century in an international poll. And that ends our journey for today!
So the path that we have traversed today is:
Galapagos Islands —> St. Christopher —> Automobile —> Ford Model T
Here’s Monday’s question:
Gaza Strip —> Wii
Do send in your paths for the above question to email@example.com with the subject “Qwikipedia”. Do include your name, class and school!
Raviteja Jagadish of class VIII, Venkat International Public School and
Binu Muraleedharan Nair of class 11, Nehru Memorial Model School, Kadakkal have found a path for Friday’s Free rider. The route they traced was Solar eclipse —> Indian Ocean —> Japan —> Yoshihiko Noda.