Point A to Point B

I was introduced to a new game today. It can only be the brainchild of this information age that we live in, and far too much time on one's hands. I can only imagine it's epic creation, two bored college students who just spent three hours of fascinated clicking.

What, pray, is the name of this momentous, yet enriching, waste of our time, you ask?

Wikipedia racing.

Follow me here. Two or more people on separate computers, preferably with the same internet speed, are given or come up with a random entry on Wikipedia, ex. the Scripps National Spelling Bee. They are then given or come up with a COMPLETELY separate, random entry as their end goal, ex. jade. This works best if you can grab someone walking by and ask them to decide your destination entry. The goal is to get from point A to point B only by clicking on links within each entry. No back buttoning is allowed. The first person to reach point B wins. They then must repeat their trail back to the group.

For example, (I'm not going to link ALL these pages) I started at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. I then clicked on 'New Zealand' and this is how it preceeded from there: Maori, ocean (mythology), Hindu mythology, Shiva, Bronze, Sculpture. I almost had it here; the word JADE appeared in the section on Chinese sculpture, but it wasn't linked, so no go. Then I tried: Ming Dynasty, Porcelain, Quartz, Gold, Jewelry, gemstone... and then I had to admit defeat. I kept hitting dead ends. A smarter (but more improbable) route would have been: Spelling Bee, New Zealand, Maori, Hei-tiki (a kind of necklace), Pounamu, jade.

The most logical connection isn't usually the best path to take in Wikipedia racing. Usually when a connection is too obvious, the word isn't linked in an entry. Also, one must be careful, because entries do exist that have no more links in them. Dead ends. And two entries aren't guaranteed to share a link that goes both ways. Sometimes random clicking proves more profitable than logic.

Now I'm sure that there are some reading this post who are going to try it with roommates the night after you read this. To you I say, "Godspeed."