Wikipedia:six degrees of Wikipedia

{{See also-text|Wikipedia:Wiki Game|Wikipedia:Wikipedia games}}

{{Hatnote|Note that some of the article chains listed here have changed since they were added to this page.}}

{{humor|WP:6|WP:SIX|WP:SDOWP|WP:6D|WP:6DOW}}

{{cleanup|date=February 2023|reason=Many broken lists and redlinks}}

There is a popular hypothesis, known as six degrees of separation, holding that any two people are separated by a chain of no more than six acquaintances. Studying the characters of Wikipedia to see whether something similar obtains among its articles, Six Degrees of Wikipedia aims to be a compendium of the following things:

  • The items separated by the longest minimal chains in the encyclopedia (especially where these are more than four links long). The shortest known chain between the two items should be specified. Generalisation over time, where possible, seems to produce the shortest chains. Failing this, try generalisation over space to reduce chain length.{{clarify|date=September 2010}}
  • The most intuitively remote items separated by short chains—chains of fewer than six articles, anyway. That is, these should be items that have no obvious connection but which, nonetheless, can be linked between very quickly in Wikipedia. This is a much more subjective category, but should still be interesting; it may be enough to describe these as "interestingly" or "oddly" short chains.
  • Chains between two articles selected at random (using Special:Randompage). Since these can often be uninteresting, think twice about actually adding these to this page.
  • Articles that can be proven to have no chain between one another. This is the search for the potential outlier that could prove the hypothesis at least capable of being in a state of "incorrect". Intuition suggests that there shouldn't be any, but that is in fact why we need to search for it/them.

Rules

We will accept only links between actual articles, not "Talk" pages. (If this approach still allows many uninteresting connections, it might be worth restricting it in further ways, such as disallowing articles on years or decades completely, or any other type of article that might be considered "too general". For now, though, we will not worry about these.)

Be sure to specify the direction the chain runs in by using, for example, the right-arrow character (→), which can be found below the "edit window" when editing pages. If you cannot use the arrow character, you can just use the word "to".

Using date-to-date links (e.g., 19961993) is "uninteresting" and should be avoided. Similarly, using country-to-country links (e.g., JapanChina) is uninteresting and should be avoided as well.

Tampering with articles for the sole reason of changing their degrees of separation is discouraged for the purposes of this project; we aim to clarify how Wikipedia is as it evolves, not to set forth that it should be more or less so. That being said, if this page brings to your attention a "missing link" that really should be in an article, feel free to correct it (and make the corresponding change to this page, as well).

Other versions

Software engineer Jacob Wenger created [https://www.sixdegreesofwikipedia.com/ a tool of the same name] that attempts to procedurally find the shortest number of links between any two Wikipedia articles the user provides.

Popular score-based versions of this game include [https://www.thewikigame.com The Wiki Game] and [https://wikispeedrun.org/ Wiki Speedrun].

[https://www.thewikigame.com The Wiki Game] is a real-time and multi-player version. It contains different game-type challenges that include random start and end goals.

[https://wikispeedrun.org/ Wiki Speedrun] is single-player focused and places additional emphasis on the speed at which the player gets from one article to another. It uses a precise speedrun timer that pauses during page load to make final times as competitive as possible.

Surprisingly short chains

= Eight-degree chains =

= Seven-degree chains =

:*Confirmed April 12, 2024

:*Confirmed Janurary 1st, 2024

:*Confirmed November 1st, 2023.

:*Confirmed October 17th, 2022.

:*Confirmed September 12th, 2019.

:*Confirmed to still work as of October 22, 2021.

:* Faster way: Ch'aki Qucha (disambiguation)Quechuan languagesAndesCrypsisArctiinaeNyctemeraNyctemera dauila

:*Tested on 29 February 2020.

:*Tested on 7 September 2020.

:*Tested on 11 December 2020

:*Tested on 3 March 2021

:*Was eight degrees, only 7 as of March 8th, 2021.

:*Tested on 15 July 2021

:*Tested on 5 April 2022

Individual paths

Delphi Community School Corporation

School

Geographic coordinate system

Coordinate system

30th parallel north

Circle of latitude that is 30 degrees north of the Earth's equator

Savage Islands

Macaronesian archipelago in the North Atlantic

Lamiinae

Subfamily of insects

Onciderini

Tribe of beetles

Cacostola

Genus of insects

Cacostola strandi

Species of beetle

= Six-degree chains =

:*ScaphismDeath by burningBritish IslesDartsLawn darts

:*JesusRoman EmpireNazi GermanyAdolf Hitler

:*JesusJudaismHolocaustAdolf Hitler

:*JesusJewsNazi GermanyAdolf Hitler

:*UranusheliumOklahomaRacial segregation

:*Lin-Manuel MirandaPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy SeriesDesperate HousewivesRaspberry

:*Big BangAristotleAncient GreekHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

:*Everywhere at the End of TimeAl BowllyLuftwaffeAdolf HitlerEvilDevilHell

::*Everywhere at the End of TimeTwitterIslamHell

:*Everywhere at the End of TimeAl BowllyLuftwaffeStrategic bombingCivil defense siren

::*Everywhere at the End of TimeYouTubeHillsborough disasterCivil defense siren

:* Everywhere at the End of TimeCreepypastaSavefileSuper Mario GalaxyBlack holeCosmic microwave backgroundHeat death of the universe

::* Everywhere at the End of TimeThe New York TimesCyberattackHeat death of the universe

= Five-degree chains =

::* Article deleted.

::* Rayquaza is now a redirect, but the target page still links to Ozone layer. However, Pokémon no longer contains a link to Rayquaza.

:*RacismDominican OrderHoundPuppy

:*PuppyDogIndonesiaRacism

= Four-degree chains =

= Three-degree chains =

:*Quantum electrodynamicsTheory of everythingTheory of everything (disambiguation)Geometry Dash

= Two-degree chains =

Surprisingly long minimal chains

=Twelve steps claimed=

=Eleven steps claimed=

= Ten steps claimed =

:The only article-space link to ZZZ, List of all three letter acronyms, is orphaned. smurrayinchester(User), (Talk) 10:15, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

:SnoringUvulopalatopharyngoplastyAbbreviationList of acronymsList of acronyms: ZZzz Eventhorizon51 (talk) 04:57, 14 November 2015 (UTC)

=Eight steps claimed=

=Seven steps claimed=

=Six steps claimed=

=Five steps claimed=

:*As RIAA is a redirect to Recording Industry Association of America this looks more like four steps to me. TomTheHand 19:54, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

=Four steps claimed=

Surprisingly long reverse path

Shortest "unusual" chains

  • Anime to Three Stooges
  • AnimeMoeThree Stooges
  • Moe is a disambiguation page, and the link has since been changed to bypass it, so the chain is now broken. NeonMerlin 05:09, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Where is the link to Star Trek on Natural Environment? Avraham 03:01, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

(many obvious other chains from this e.g.:) Dick CheneyGeorge W. BushOsama bin LadenSunflower

:*KadabraPentagramSimplex

:* Ameno (song)FranceScientologyArbitration CommitteeLiberal Democrats (UK)

::* Ameno (song)FranceUnited KingdomLiberal Democrats (UK)

:* SCP FoundationIKEAPolitical prisoner

  • Just...what.

:* ØØ (disambiguation)Ø (Disambiguation)

Chains between two [[Special:Randompage|random pages]]

Charyyapadas to Broadstairs

Oatcake to Ukrainian I

The Payolas to Marvin Liebman

Kick to The Face

Adolphe Joseph Thomas Monticelli to Classical theory

Sobhuza II of Swaziland to Binnenalster

Vin Mariani to Capital virtues

Baltasar Carlos, Prince of Asturias to Saurodactylus

Hal Colebatch to Liard River

Cyber Team in Akihabara to Mount Carmel Cemetery

Sweet Polly Oliver to Committee of Public Safety

Velociraptor to Jewish services

Coenzyme Q to Rawlins, Wyoming

Gerald Posner to Michel Tremblay

Solna to Mohammad Abaee-Khorasani

Pokémon to Boston Molasses Disaster

Common Grackle to Ambassador Hotel

Ylistaro to Streptococcus pneumoniae

Julius Caesar to Rafael Cordero (educator)

Marsupial to Bridge

Frank Drake to Ramsey Island

Proof by verbosity to Rudraige

Walter Richard Parker to 85

Don Beebe to Haji Ali Dargah

Shoichi Nakagawa to Tallest buildings in Australia

Molson Coors to Chemical elements named after places

Clarkefreak 22:25, 8 August 2005 (UTC)

Hollycombe Steam Collection to Tithonus

Clarkefreak 03:39, 18 August 2005 (UTC)

Crawford Notch to Ferdinand von Saar

Visualization (cam) to Defeated nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court

ad nauseum to Coyville, Kansas in six steps:

BackThe Future

List of names of the official languages of the European Union in the official languages respectively to GoldenEye (song)

Zoe StarkPort Everglades

Blue Nile FallsJohn Norquist

Venice CommissionDahntay Jones

::*Can be done in 5: Venice CommissionUnited StatesTennesseeMemphis GrizzliesDahntay Jones---Sluzzelin 14:25, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Principality of CapuaGrant Waite

HMAS Brisbane (D 41)Medical University of Lublin

FishGrowth hormone

AshvinAntarctica does not have any paths less than 10.

AntarcticaSnow Patrol does not have any paths less than 10.

Bowling for DollarsEssex County, Ontario

Bowling for DollarsWJWEssex County, Ontario

Caboose (Red vs. Blue)Heterochromia

Foreign relations of CameroonBaktykozha Izmukhambetov

Foreign relations of Cameroon > United Nations > United Nations member states > Kazakhstan > Nursultan Nazarbayev > Baktykozha Izmukhambetov SalaSkan 01:48, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Qwilfish to University of Indonesia

Rei Ayanami to Crime & Punishment

Maund to Chapare River

Northern Qi to P.H.U.Q.

River DebenEarth Is Room Enough

:*Shorter: River DebenCommon ReedAsiaBibleIsaac AsimovEarth Is Room Enough --jh51681 (talk) 11:37, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

William ElfvingEmergency (Philippine TV program)

Piano Sonata in E-flat major, D. 568 (Schubert) to William Coffey

PikachuJohn Madden

:*Shorter, more prosaic: PikachuVideo games → Video game genresMadden NFLJohn Madden. -- Sandy of the CSARs (talk) 05:34, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

Counterfeit banknote detection penJuryszewo.

Nikki CoghillDedicated (Lemar)

Goat CheeseBarack Obama

Elisabeth Parr, Marchioness of Northampton4774 Hobetsu

ETAOIN SHRDLUFonejacker

Walt Disney to The Hollies

Miranda Cosgrove to Journey (band)

Wednesfield to Quilaco

Gene Hamilton to 3-Faced Elva

Forest Thrush to Bird (disambiguation)

Pytor Iylich Tchaikovsky to Pelican Eel

Courtland to Hunter of Stars

Pat Tillman to Jesus in Islam

Ohio to Cancel culture

No chains found

:*[https://www.sixdegreesofwikipedia.com/?source=Pope%20Francis&target=Windo Discovered] by SchmoeLord on July 12, 2021.

Solved:

Pope Francis to Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to University of Texas at Austin to Armadillo World Headquarters to Gary Windo to Windo.

:*[https://www.sixdegreesofwikipedia.com/?source=List%20of%20serial%20killers%20by%20number%20of%20victims&target=Vodafone-Funkturm%20Stuttgart-Vaihingen] by Enderspearl184 on September 11, 2021.

Solved:

List of serial killers by number of victims to Germany to Stuttgart to Vodafone-Funkturm Stuttgart-Vaihingen

:*[https://www.sixdegreesofwikipedia.com/?source=Portugal.%20The%20Man&target=Glass%20animal%20collectibles] by SneckoBoi on September 28, 2021.

:*[https://www.sixdegreesofwikipedia.com/?source=Nuclear%20fusion&target=Heterobathmia%20pseuderiocrania] on October 16, 2021.

Solved:

Nuclear fission to Energy to Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis to Lepidoptera to Heterobathmiina (redirect to Heterobathmia) to Heterobathmia pseuderiocrania.

(the other two end articles are just orphans)

:*[https://www.sixdegreesofwikipedia.com/?source=Tomato&target=Pomodoro] on June 19, 2022.

:*[https://www.sixdegreesofwikipedia.com/?source=Menlo%20Park%20City%20School%20District&target=Windo] by Tvshowoflife on November 25, 2022.

:*[https://www.sixdegreesofwikipedia.com/?source=Poodle%20Hat&target=Clutterbuck] by Tvshowoflife on January 1,2023. Happy New Year!

:*[https://www.sixdegreesofwikipedia.com/?source=Sergey%20Taboritsky&target=Sudovia] on January 10, 2023.

:*[https://www.sixdegreesofwikipedia.com/?source=List%20of%20Facebook%20features&target=Genzano] by 111.220.108.141 (talk) 02:13, 11 December 2023 (UTC)

:*[https://www.sixdegreesofwikipedia.com/?source=CYK%20algorithm&target=Depression] by Core0y 10:19, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

:*[https://www.sixdegreesofwikipedia.com/?source=Deng+Xiaoping&target=Depression] by Core0y 02:11, 24 Juky 2024 (UTC)

:*[https://www.sixdegreesofwikipedia.com/?source=Civil+War+%28film%29&target=Fanta+cake]

:*

[https://www.sixdegreesofwikipedia.com/?source=FC+Zana+Abasha&target=Fanta+cake]

Six Degrees ''to'' Kevin Bacon

Rules: (1) The destination is Kevin Bacon, in precisely six links; the more obscure, the better. (2) No, but no, film- or acting-related links are allowed. I'm starting off with:

Afterlife no longer links to Kevin Bacon

Philadelphia now has a separate page for notable persons so this is now seven degrees.

See also