"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.
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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
- 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
- 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
- The Seven Seas
- Seven Wonders of the World
- The Several States
- The Sixteen Lands of Deutschland
- South America
- Third World
History
- The American Revolution
- Anglo-Saxons
- Arab–Israeli Conflict
- 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
- Middle East Uprising 2011
- 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 Great Depression
- 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
- 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)
- 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
- Adolf Hitler
- Pope Alexander VI
- Anton Chekhov
- Al Capone
- Albert Einstein
- Attila the Hun
- Augusto Pinochet
- Authors
- Benjamin Franklin
- Bernard Law Montgomery
- Blackbeard
- Black Douglas
- Canadian Prime Ministers
- Carl Sagan
- Carolus Rex
- Catherine the Great
- Charlemagne
- Charles Darwin
- Charles Manson
- Che Guevara
- Christopher Hitchens
- Doge Andrea Dandolo
- Duke of Caxias
- Elizabeth Báthory
- Erwin Rommel
- Eva Peron
- Evel Knievel
- Fidel Castro
- Flavius Belisarius
- Sir Francis Drake
- Francisco Franco
- Genghis Khan
- Geoffrey Chaucer
- Harriet Tubman
- Heads of State
- H. G. Wells
- Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Hideki Tojo
- Idi Amin
- Isaac Newton
- Jack the Ripper
- Jacques Cousteau
- Jacques Derrida
- Jan Žižka
- Jim Jones
- Joan of Arc
- John Milton
- Johnny Appleseed
- Josef Stalin
- Joseph McCarthy
- Josip Broz Tito
- Pope Julius II
- Leon Trotsky
- Leonardo da Vinci
- William Levitt
- Lizzie Borden
- Louis XIII
- Louis XIV
- Louis XV
- Louis XVI
- M. C. Escher
- Malcolm X
- Mao Zedong
- Marie Antoinette
- Marilyn Monroe
- Mark Twain
- Marquisde La Fayette
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Maximilien Robespierre
- Miyamoto Musashi
- Muammar Gaddafi
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Friedrich Nietzsche
- Nikola Tesla
- Notable Swedish Monarchs
- Musashibo Benkei
- Oda Nobunaga
- Osama bin Laden
- Other Royal Families
- Otto von Bismarck
- Pocahontas
- Robert the Bruce
- Peter the Great
- Peter Mandelson
- Pope Pius XII
- Prussian Kings
- Reinhard Heydrich
- Richard Dawkins
- Richard Feynman
- Rupert Murdoch
- Saddam Hussein
- Sasaki Kojiro
- Stephen Hawking
- The 47 Ronin
- The Men of Downing Street
- The Presidents
- Religious Leaders
- Tarrare
- Ted Turner
- Thomas More
- Timur the Lame
- Toyotomi Hideyoshi
- Tsar Tsar Autocrats
- Skanderbeg
- Vincent van Gogh
- Vladimir Lenin
- Vlad the Impaler
- Walter Cronkite
- William Shakespeare
- William Tecumseh Sherman
- Wong Fei-hung
- Wu Zetian
- Yagyu Jubei
- Yuri Gagarin
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
- Dyslexia
- The Enneagram
- High-Functioning Autism
- 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
- 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
