The problem with Wikipedia is that you never know if the wondrous facts listed there prove that truth is stranger than fiction, or if some crank is simply having fun at your expense. The Wikipedia Timeline of Invention is a particularly eyebrow-raising page--dental drill invented in 7,000 B.C.? Ships and pottery invented before agriculture? Reciprocating piston engines in the 13th century?
Inventions from the last century, at least, seem to be on the up-and-up. Click here and scroll down to see what fun inventions came about in your own lifetime; your correspondent was born after the computer mouse but before the personal computer, which just seems damned strange.
Your examples seem to have pretty thorough sources listed if you go and read more on them. The dental drill for instance comes from archaeological evidence dating the teeth in question as 9000 years old.
BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4882968.stm
I am sure there are many dubious items in the wiki world, but I think your examples are just strange on the surface, to the casual observer. Wikipedia is doing a much better job requiring better sources for their posts. I think the best rule of thumb is not to take research you gain from the Wiki world at face value. Instead of thinking it is absolute truth, consider it likely truth and then find 2 other sources before you quote it.
I've checked the references provided, and they seem accurate. For instance, human skulls from ~7000 BC show evidence of crude dental drilling - there's a feature on the BBC's site that goes into detail. The reciprocating piston engine was invented in the 12th century by a Muslim alchemist who used it for processing metal from ore.
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Your examples seem to have pretty thorough sources listed if you go and read more on them. The dental drill for instance comes from archaeological evidence dating the teeth in question as 9000 years old.
BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4882968.stm
I am sure there are many dubious items in the wiki world, but I think your examples are just strange on the surface, to the casual observer. Wikipedia is doing a much better job requiring better sources for their posts. I think the best rule of thumb is not to take research you gain from the Wiki world at face value. Instead of thinking it is absolute truth, consider it likely truth and then find 2 other sources before you quote it.