"I believe our future depends powerfully on how well we understand this Cosmos, in which we float like a mote of dust in the morning sky."
Useful notes on a variety of subjects, the purpose of which is threefold:
- To debunk common media stereotypes.
- To help you understand some media better.
- To educate, inform, and sometimes entertain.
The Law of Wiki Expansion states that every specialized wiki will accumulate useful notes like these as it grows. Note, however, that this is not supposed to be an index of everything that exists in the real world — that is the purview of The Other Wiki. We are a site about media and storytelling. As a rule of thumb, items to be added should either be commonly featured in media, or related to its creation and distribution in some way.
Useful Notes articles are not tropes and are not to be included in a work's trope list. See, however, Historical-Domain Character. Similarly, tropes are not to be used to describe the subject of a Useful Notes article directly. You may, however, list tropes that are commonly found in media portraying the subject.
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Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Anime Fan Speak
- Names to Know in Anime
- Animators
- History of Animation
- Looney Tunes And Merrie Melodies Filmography
- The 50 Greatest Cartoons
- The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes
- Noteworthy Disney Staff
- Noteworthy Fleischer Staff
- Noteworthy Looney Tunes Staff
- Noteworthy MGM Cartoon Staff
- Supermarionation
- Visual Novel Fanspeak
Arts (Painting, Sculpting, Photographing, Performance)
Business
Comic Strips
Culture
- Awards Index
- Broadway and the West End
- Cultural Cringe
- Cyber Goth
- Fringe Festival
- Funerals
- Furry Fandom
- Graffiti
- Green Is Blue
- Great American Novel
- Great Dickens Christmas Fair
- Hat Shop
- Interacting with Persons Different Than Yourself
- The Irish Diaspora
- Juggalo
- Kawaisa
- Kimono
- List of Films You Should See By the Age of 14
- Lolita Fashion
- Meditation
- Mexican Americans
- Muramasa and Masamune
- Must See Movies Before You Grow Up
- Nudism
- Otherkin
- Peking Opera
- Pride Parade
- Skinheads
- Society for Creative Anachronism
- Subcultures
- Whovians
Economics
Education
Films — Live-Action
Folklore & Mythology
- Aboriginal Australian Myths
- Aztec Mythology
- Celtic Mythology
- Classical Mythology
- Chinese Mythology
- Egyptian Mythology
- Fairy Tale
- Hebrew Mythology
- Hindu Mythology
- Inca Mythology
- Japanese Mythology
- Korean Mythology
- Lusitanian Mythology
- Mesopotamian Mythology
- Modern
- Native American Mythology
- Norse Mythology
- Persian Mythology
- Popol Vuh
- Romani Mythology
- Russian Mythology and Tales
- Slavic Mythology
- Tarot Cards
Food and Drink
- Alcohol
- Beer Commercials
- Burger King
- Coffee
- Chuck E Cheese
- Cuisines in America
- Friendlys
- General Mills
- The Ground Round
- Kentucky Fried Chicken
- Lemonade Stands
- Long John Silvers
- McDonald's
- Medieval Food In Europe
- National Drinks
- Pepsi Challenge
- Ramen as Dehydrated Noodles
- Snails and So On
- Taco Bell
- Tea And Tea Culture
- TGI Fridays
- White Castle
Games
- Chess
- Console Wars
- Desura
- Dice
- Electronic Entertainment Expo
- Entertainment Software Ratings Board
- Fighting Game
- The History of Video Games
- The Golden Age of Video Games
- The Great Video Game Crash of 1983
- The 8 Bit Era Of Console Video Games
- The 16 Bit Era Of Console Video Games
- The Fifth Generation of Console Video Games
- The Sixth Generation of Console Video Games
- The Seventh Generation of Console Video Games
- The Eighth Generation of Console Video Games
- How Video Game Specs Work
- Left 4 Dead
- Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics (a.k.a. "the MDA model")
- Magic: The Gathering
- Mao
- N-Gage
- Ouya
- Pan European Game Information
- PC vs. Console
- Plug N Play Game
- Professional Gaming
- Ren'Py
- Role-Playing Game Terms
- SNES CD-ROM
- Steam
- Unity
- Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle
- Video Game A.I.
- Video Game Creators
- Video Game Design
- Video Game Systems
- Yu-Gi-Oh!
Gender & Sexuality
- Asexuality
- Avoiding Sexual Harassment
- BDSM
- The Bechdel Test
- Bisexual
- Erotic Film
- Erotic Literature
- For the Love of Many (swingers, polygamists, etc.)
- Homophobia
- Homosexual
- LGBTCommunity (LGBT redirects to this)
- Pornography (To understand the subject in an informative, non-titillating way.)
Geography
- Africa
- The Americas
- Antarctica
- Asia
- Australian States and Territories
- Big International Clubs
- Brazilian States
- Canadian Provinces and Territories
- The Caribbean
- The Caucasus
- Central Europe
- Departemental Issues
- Digging to China
- Europe
- The Far East
- The Forty Seven Prefectures
- Indian States and Union Territories
- International Date Line
- Latin America
- Major World Cities
- The Middle East
- North America
- Oceania
- Provinces of Indonesia
- The Seven Seas
- Seven Wonders of the World
- The Several States
- The Sixteen Lands of Deutschland
- South America
- Third World
History
- The Achaemenid Empire
- The American Revolution
- Anglo-Saxons
- Arab–Israeli Conflict
- The Arab Spring
- Barbary Coast Wars
- Brazilian Military Regime
- Byzantine Empire
- The Crusades
- Cultural Revolution
- Dynasties from Shang to Qing
- The Fall of Constantinople
- The Enlightenment
- Explorers
- The French Revolution
- Grand Vizier Jafar
- The Habsburg Empire
- The Hashshashin
- The Hindenburg
- History of the Cold War
- History of English
- Holy Roman Empire
- The House of Normandy
- The House of Plantagenet
- The House of Stuart
- The House of Tudor
- Iron Curtain
- The Knights Templar
- The Lost Colony of Roanoke
- Meiji Restoration
- Moorish Spain
- The Napoleonic Wars
- National Reorganization Process (Argentine military junta)
- Pillarisation
- Pre-Columbian Civilizations
- Red October
- The Renaissance
- The Roman Empire
- The Roman Republic
- Romanovs And Revolutions
- RMS Titanic
- Sengoku Period
- The Shinsengumi
- The Silk Road
- The Space Race
- The Kingdom Of Spain for a brief list of Spanish Monarchs and the Spanish Empire
- The Spanish Inquisition
- To Get Rich Is Glorious (current China)
- The Trojan War
- Tsarist Russia
- Victorian Britain
- The Wild West
- The Roaring '20s
- The '50s
- The '60s
- The '70s
- The '80s
- The '90s
- The Oughts (Zeroes, Noughties, Ohs, etc.)
- The New '10s
- The Viking Age
- Wars In History
- Wars of the Roses
- World War I
- World War II
- Woodstock
Language
- Ancient Greek Language
- Arabic Language - Desperately needs more love and possibly a rewrite.
- Chinese Language
- Cyrillic Alphabet
- Dutch Pronunciation
- Emojis
- Esperanto, the Universal Language
- Fonts
- German Language
- Grammar In Foreign Languages
- Japanese Language
- Korean Honorifics
- Korean Sibling Terminology
- Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon
- Latin Language
- Linguistics
- Norwegian Language Struggle
- Portuguese Language
- Romanization
- Russian Language
- Separated by a Common Language
- Signed Language
- Spanish Language
- Tenses
Law
- Activists
- CIA
- The Common Law
- Court Systems
- Criminals
- Fair Use
- The First Amendment
- Gun Politics
- IC Number (British police code for ethnicity)
- Indian Laws
- Miranda Rights (American form of being read one's rights upon arrest)
- Police Forces
- Staying Out of Legal Trouble (staying out of jail and court)
- You Do Not Have to Say Anything (British form of being read one's rights upon arrest)
Medicine
Military
- Air-Launched Weapons
- Archery
- Armored Fighting Vehicles
- Big Brother Is Watching This Index (Real Life espionage agencies)
- Castles
- Cool Guns
- Firearms
- Forces with Firepower
- Argentina: Argentines with Armored Vehicles
- Armenia: Armos with Armor
- Australia: Aussies with Artillery
- Austria: Neutral Austrians with No Navy
- Belarus: Belarusians With BTRs
- Belgium: Belgians With Brigades
- Brazil: Brazilians with Bazookas
- Canada: Canucks with Chinooks
- China: Chinese with Chopper Support
- Chinese Nuclear Weapons: The Dragon's Teeth
- Confederate States of America: Rebels with Repeaters
- Cuba: Revolutionaries with Russian RPDs
- Czech Republic: Bohemians With Bombers
- Denmark: Danes With Drakens
- Egypt: Egyptians with Eagle Fighters
- Finland: Finns with Fearsome Forests
- France: Gauls With Grenades
- French Nuclear Weapons: The Ultimate Resistance
- Germany: We Are Not the Wehrmacht
- East Germany: Ossis with Osas
- Nazi Germany: Nazis with Gnarly Weapons
- Greece: This Is Hellas
- Habsburg (Austro-Hungarian) Empire: The Sound of Martial Music
- India: Indians with Iglas
- Indian Nuclear Weapons: The Third Eye of Bharat
- Indonesia: Indonesians with Infantry
- Iran: Persians with Pistols
- Ireland: Paddies with Propeller Planes
- Israel: Israelis with Infrared Missiles
- Israeli Nuclear Weapons: The Samson Option
- Italy: New Roman Legions
- Ancient Rome: The Glory That Was Rome
- Japan: Kaiju Defense Force
- Imperial Japan: Katanas of the Rising Sun
- Jordan: Warriors of Desert Winds
- Mexico: Mexicans with Machine Guns
- Nepal/the Gurkhas: Nepali With Nasty Knives
- The Netherlands: Dutchmen with Destroyers
- New Zealand: Kiwis with Carbines
- North Korea: North Koreans with Nodongs
- North Korean Nuclear Weapons: The Hooves of Chollima
- Norway: Norwegians With No Ammo
- Pakistan: Pakistanis with Panters
- Pakistani Nuclear Weapons: Pak Attack
- Panama: Panamanians With Planes
- Phillippines: Filipinos with Firearms
- Poland: Poles with Poleaxes
- Portugal: Portuguese Men-of-War
- Romania: The Bite of Dracula
- Russia: Russians with Rusting Rockets
- Russian Nuclear Weapons: From Russia with Nukes
- USSR: Reds with Rockets
- Imperial Russia: Russians with Rifles
- Republic of China (Taiwan): The Other Chinese Army
- Saudi Arabia: Saudis with Sabers
- Singapore: Singaporeans with Stealth Frigates
- Slovakia: Slovaks with Sappers
- South Africa: South Africans with Surface-to-Air Missiles
- South Korea: South Koreans with Marines
- Spain: New Spanish Armada
- Sweden: Swedes with Cool Planes
- Switzerland: Swiss with Army Knives
- Thailand: Thai Fighters
- Turkey: Turks with Troops
- Ukraine: Ukrainians with Depleted Uranium
- United Kingdom: Brits with Battleships
- UK Nuclear Weapons: Ultimate Defence of the Realm
- United States: Yanks with Tanks
- Air Force One (planes operated by the Air Force to transport Presidents)
- Coast Guard
- The Pentagon (headquarters of the US Department of Defense)
- US Nuclear Weapons: Peace Through Superior Firepower
- Venezuela: Bolivarians with BMPs
- Vietnam: Vietnamese with Kalashnikovs
- South Vietnam: South Vietnamese with Skyraiders
- Common Ranks
- Common Military Units
- Gun Safety
- Krav Maga
- Military Personnel
- Modern Battlefield Weapons
- The Modern-Day Rambo (Special Operations Forces)
- Navy SEALs (the US Navy's version of the above)
- Mounted Combat
- Naval Gazing
- History of Naval Warfare
- Naval Weapons
- Types of Naval Ships
- Plane Spotting
- Reporting Names
- Silencers
- Swords
- Nuclear Weapons
- The Laws and Customs of War
- The Poor Man's Atomic Bomb
- The Rest of the Nuclear Club
- The Thirty-Six Stratagems
- When You Need Something Dead
- Wild Weasel
Music
Natural Sciences
- Alchemy
- Black Holes
- Constellations
- Dinosaurs
- Explorers
- Evolution
- Evolutionary Levels
- The Longitude Problem
- Genetics
- DNA
- Mathematics
- Fermat's Last Theorem
- Fermi Paradox
- Obsidian
- Planets
- Prehistoric Life
- Quantum Physics
- Random Number Generator
- Relativity
- Scary Scorpions
- Schrödinger's Cat
- The Milky Way Galaxy
- The Scientific Method
- Scientists and Inventors
- Snow Means Cold
- The Solar System
- Stars!
- Tornadoes
- Theorum
- History of the Universe
People
- Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud
- Pope Alexander VI
- Idi Amin
- Attila the Hun
- Authors
- Elizabeth Báthory
- Musashibo Benkei
- Otto von Bismarck
- Osama bin Laden
- Blackbeard
- Black Douglas
- Lizzie Borden
- Tom Brady
- Canadian Prime Ministers
- Al Capone
- Carolus Rex
- Fidel Castro
- Catherine the Great
- Caterina de’ Medici
- Wilt Chamberlain
- Charlemagne
- Geoffrey Chaucer
- Anton Chekhov
- Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Jacques Cousteau
- Walter Cronkite
- Stephen Curry
- Doge Andrea Dandolo
- Charles Darwin
- Richard Dawkins
- Jacques Derrida
- Novak Djokovic
- Sir Francis Drake
- Duke of Caxias
- Dale Earnhardt
- Albert Einstein
- M. C. Escher
- Roger Federer
- Richard Feynman
- Flavius Belisarius
- The 47 Ronin
- Francisco Franco (who, as of 2019, is still dead)
- Benjamin Franklin
- Muammar Gaddafi
- Yuri Gagarin
- Genghis Khan
- Wayne Gretzky
- Che Guevara
- Stephen Hawking
- Reinhard Heydrich
- Toyotomi Hideyoshi
- Christopher Hitchens
- Adolf Hitler
- Heads of State
- Jack the Ripper
- LeBron James
- Joan of Arc
- Johnny Appleseed
- Jim Jones
- Michael Jordan
- Pope Julius II
- Steve Kerr
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Evel Knievel
- Sasaki Kojiro
- Marquis de La Fayette
- Vladimir Lenin
- Leonardo da Vinci
- William Levitt
- Louis XIII
- Louis XIV
- Louis XV
- Louis XVI
- Malcolm X
- Peter Mandelson
- Peyton Manning
- Charles Manson
- Mao Zedong
- Marie Antoinette
- Mark Twain
- Joseph McCarthy
- The Men of Downing Street
- John Milton
- Marilyn Monroe
- Bernard Law Montgomery
- Thomas More
- Rupert Murdoch
- Miyamoto Musashi
- Rafael Nadal
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Isaac Newton
- Jack Nicklaus
- Friedrich Nietzsche
- Oda Nobunaga
- Notable Swedish Monarchs
- Bobby Orr
- Other Royal Families
- Eva Peron
- Peter the Great
- Augusto Pinochet
- Pope Pius XII
- Pocahontas
- The Presidents
- Prussian Kings
- Religious Leaders
- Robert the Bruce
- Maximilien Robespierre
- Erwin Rommel
- Ricky Rudd
- Babe Ruth
- Saddam Hussein
- Carl Sagan
- William Shakespeare
- Shaka Zulu
- William Tecumseh Sherman
- Skanderbeg
- Josef Stalin
- Tarrare
- Nikola Tesla
- Timur the Lame
- Josip Broz Tito
- Hideki Tojo
- Leon Trotsky
- Tsar Tsar Autocrats
- Harriet Tubman
- Ted Turner
- Mike Tyson
- Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Vincent van Gogh
- Vlad the Impaler
- H. G. Wells
- Wong Fei-hung
- Wu Zetian
- Yagyu Jubei
- Jan Žižka
Philosophy
Politics
- American Political System
- Anarchism
- AstroTurf
- Australian Politics
- British Political System
- Canadian Politics
- French Political System
- Irish Political System
- Japanese Political System
- Marxism
- Mexican Politics
- Post-War British Politics
- Political Ideologies
- Political System of Germany
- Politicians
- Russian Political System (modern, not Soviet)
- Singapore Politics
- Standard European Political Landscape
Psychology
- Psychology (overview)
- Abuse
- Alcoholism And Alcohol Abuse
- Big Five Personality Traits
- Bipolar Disorder
- Cult
- Depression
- Dissociative Identity Disorder
- Dyslexia
- The Enneagram
- High-Functioning Autism
- Asperger Syndrome
- Holmes & Rahe Stress Scale
- Id, Superego, & Ego
- IQ Testing
- Lack of Empathy
- Mensa
- Myers–Briggs
- Passive Aggressive
- Psychologists
- Suicide
- Trigger
- Victim Blaming
Religion
- Religion (overview)
- Agnosticism
- American Churches
- Atheism
- Ba Gua
- Buddhism
- Christianity
- Deism
- Discordianism
- Flying Spaghetti Monster
- Gnosticism
- Heresies and Heretics
- Hinduism
- Islam
- Jesus
- Judaism
- Neo-Paganism
- New Age
- Our Angels Are Different
- Pandeism
- Pantheism
- Religious Leaders
- Satanism
- Shinto
- Sikhism
- Spiritism
- Taoism
- Voudoun
- Wicca
- Zoroastrianism
Sports
- Sportspeople
- Olympic Games
- NCAA
- American Football
- Australian Rules Football
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Bodybuilding
- Cricket
- Cycling
- Equestrian Sports
- Fantasy Sports
- Humans vs. Zombies
- Ice Hockey
- Martial Arts
- Motorsports
- Formula One
- Formula E
- Indy Car
- NASCAR
- Rallying (Needs More Wiki Magic)
- 24 Hours of Le Mans
- United Sports Car Championship
- Mountain Climbing
- Rugby
- Rugby League
- Rugby Union
- Rugby Laws (specifically those of union)
- Soccer/Association Football
- Pool Sports
- Professional Wrestling
- Radio Taiso
- Robot Combat
- Skydiving
- Tennis
Technology & The Internet
- Alice and Bob
- Artificial Intelligence
- Assistive Technology
- Automated Dialogue Recording
- BB Code
- Betamax
- Beta Test
- Blu-ray
- CED
- The C Language
- Compact Disc
- Computer Wars
- The Deep Web
- Digital Rights Management
- DIVX
- DOS4GW
- DVD
- Encryption
- 555
- Flash Memory
- Going Mobile
- High Definition
- LaserDisc
- Lua
- macOS
- Magnetic Disk
- Mass Storage
- Microsoft Windows
- MikuMikuDance
- Misplaced Nationalism
- MP3
- Mozilla Firefox
- Nine Hundred Number
- Optical Disc
- Python
- Region Coding
- SD Card
- Segregated Commercial
- Two Way Radio
- UNIX
- User Operation Prohibit Flag
- VCR
- V/H/S
- Web 2.0
- Web Video Creators
- WINE
Television
- Actors
- Block Programming
- Critics and Reviewers
- Deggans' Rule
- Directors
- Double Acts and Groups
- Illusionists
- Television
- Casting Director
- Networks
- Network Executives
- Presenters
- Producers
- Ratings
- Screenwriters
- TV Strikes
- TV Licensing
- The Rural Purge
- Tokusatsu
- Mainstream Media
- State Broadcaster
- What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events In Television History
Transportation
Other
- Bees
- Columbine
- Cat Communication
- Chernobyl
- Fire And Explosive Safety
- Geocaching
- Gold
- Hachiko
- Homelessness
- Identification by Dental Records
- The Inklings
- Lotus Position
- Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
- Patronymic
- Plagiarism
- Roleplaying
- Rolling Stone: 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time
- Theosophical Society
- Termites
- Writer's Resources
