History Trivia / TheBestPageInTheUniverse

* OldShame: In March 2020, Maddox posted a [[http://maddox.xmission.com/c.cgi?u=coronavirus variation]] of his "I hope I get swine flu" article (in which he talks about how swine flu's mortality rate is overblown), except with references to swine flu replaced with the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. One month later, he walked back on his words ("[[OnSecondThought Changed my mind. I'm good.]]") and made a much more sincere video talking about the reliability of COVID-19 statistics.[[note]]Most likely he assumed that the virus was going to blow over relatively quickly like swine flu and SARS did, but after coronavirus proceeded to spread like wildfire with no sign of stopping, realized that he spoke too soon and didn't want to downplay one of the biggest global pandemics in decades.[[/note]]

** ''"Now that my book is finished, [[SelfDeprecation I can get back to regularly not updating my website."]]''

** The success of the site back in the late '90s spawned a whole genre of sites that follow the pattern of "I run an angry blog where I write offensive things". Many even go as far as to title their pages akin the original with examples like, "''The '''Second''' Best Page in the Universe''", or even, "''The '''Worst''' Page in the Universe''". Most imitators were the victims of SturgeonsLaw, ignoring the original site's satirical edge and instead just aiming for shock value.

---> ''[[{{Irony}} Yes, the company that once alluded to an Orwellian future with controlled media, is now controlling media.]]''[[note]]This is referencing Apple's "1984" ad campaign.[[/note]]

* ScheduleSlip: Over the years, Maddox has updated the site less and less, and at points gets an update about 1-2 times per year. However, it's getting better after the release of his second book:
-->''"Now that my book is finished, [[SelfDeprecation I can get back to regularly not updating my website."]]''

* QuoteSource: RiceBurner

* ScheduleSlip: Over the years Maddox has updated the site less and less, and at points gets an update about 1-2 times per year. However, it's getting better after the release of his second book.

** The site is banned in UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia and the UsefulNotes/UnitedArabEmirates. And he's proud of it. (Turns out he was banned for a technicality, not content, but he thinks it still counts.)

* OneOfUs: He plays a lot of video games, has a Twitch channel for streaming them, and has done positive reviews for ''VideoGame/{{Contra}} III'' and ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}''. The name "Maddox" also came from a 1980s {{mecha}} OVA by the name of ''Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01''.

* RealLife/MeanCharacterNiceActor: Maddox is soft-spoken and level-headed in interviews. His voice in his videos is also much softer than one would expect from reading the website. Contrary to what people want to believe, Maddox doesn't take himself too seriously.

* DoingItForTheArt: He doesn't get paid to write, and he pays out of pocket for his hosting to ensure that fans never have to see a single advertisement on his site. He does take donations, as mentioned on his [[http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=faq FAQ]], but he doesn't "hold this site hostage to donations."

* DoingItForTheArt: He doesn't get paid to write, and he pays out of pocket for his hosting to ensure that fans never have to see a single advertisement on his site. He may be a man who writes about hating everything other than himself and [[TrademarkFavoriteFood beef jerky]], but he cares about giving his fans a hassle-free browsing experience, even if [[ScheduleSlip his updates have gotten less frequent over time]].

* OneOfUs: He plays a lot of video games, and has done positive reviews for ''VideoGame/{{Contra}} III'' and ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}''. The name "Maddox" also came from a 1980s {{mecha}} OVA by the name of ''Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01''.

** The site is banned in UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia and the UsefulNotes/UnitedArabEmirates. And he's proud of it. (Turns out he was banned for a technicality, not content, at least for the first two, but he thinks it still counts.)

** The site is banned in UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia, and the UsefulNotes/UnitedArabEmirates. And he's proud of it. (Turns out he was banned for a technicality, not content, at least for the first two, but he thinks it still counts.)

** The site is banned in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and the United Arab Emirates. And he's proud of it. (Turns out he was banned for a technicality, not content, at least for the first two, but he thinks it still counts.)

* BannedInChina: The site is banned in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and the United Arab Emirates. And he's proud of it. (Turns out he was banned for a technicality, not content, at least for the first two, but he thinks it still counts.)
** {{Unperson}}: The site is also banned in stores or other workplaces associated with Apple, in such a way that suggests the site doesn't even exist at all (attempts to access it from those [=IPs=] instead redirect to a [=MacBook=] Pro ad).

** "Now that my book is finished, [[SelfDeprecation I can get back to regularly not updating my website."]]

* OneOfUs: He plays a lot of video games, and has done positive reviews for ''VideoGame/{{Contra}} III'' and ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}''. The name "Maddox" also came from a {{mecha}} OVA.