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Crucial Update

The Very Best of Wikipedia's 'Controversy' Pages

The next time you feel like getting riled up, see the best “Controversy” sections of Wikipedia pages, as well as the best Wikipedia pages about specific controversies.

The controversial practice of reiki in all its controversy.
The controversial practice of reiki in all its controversy.
Four Gates Oriental Medicine

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Dedicated "Controversy" Sections

Jerry Lee Lewis

Twenty-two-year-old American singer-songwriter Jerry Lewis marries thirteen-year-old Myra Gale Brown.

United States Academic Decathlon

Before the 1995 Illinois state competition, Steinmetz High School students obtain copies of the tests and memorize the answers, beating out returning champs Whitney Young Magnet High School

HGTV

HGTV representatives admit that most scenes on House Hunters are recreations of prior events and often, home purchase is made prior to filming.

Cracker Barrel

In 1991, the company calls for the dismissal of all employees who do not possess "normal heterosexual values."

Nash Grier

Teen Vine celebrity uses a series of homophobic and racists slurs in his seven-second videos mostly consumed by teenage girls.

SK-II

Japanese beauty brand is found to contain heavy metals causing dermatitis and eczema in its high-end skin products.

"Sailor Mouth" episode of SpongeBob SquarePants

Episode of SpongeBob SquarePants featuring swear words censored by dolphin noises meant to parody TV censorship catches the attention of the Parents Television Council

Bonsai Kitten

Satire website offers instructions on how to grow a kitten in a jar, drawing the ire of animal rights groups.

Reiki

Psychologists accuse the pseudoscience of Reiki (and the practitioners who manipulate a "universal energy" with their hands) of preying on people already in vulnerable situations.

Orange Man

British schoolchildren slap each other, exclaiming, "You've been Tango'd" mimicking an orange soft drink commercial.

Constitution of Arkansas

Constitution of Arkansas disqualifies Atheists from holding office or testifying as witnesses in the state.

Mount Rushmore

The United States seizes Lakota land to carve the face of four presidents into the mountain.

Joe Camel

Journal finds that by age 6, as many children are able to associate "Joe Camel" with cigarettes as they are "Mickey Mouse" with Disney Channel.

Phoenix University

The for-profit online university draws criticism for preying on people of color, women, veterans, and "socially isolated individuals"

Bratz

National Labor Committee discovers that laborers in China receive $0.515 an hour for making Bratz Dolls.

Full Articles

Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them! controversy

Conservative radio host and fathers' rights activist Glenn Sacks attempts to take shirt behemoth David and Goliath down for a misandrist tee shirt for teens.

Montreal-Philippines Cutlery controversy

Elementary school in Montreal punishes a Canadian boy from a Filipino family for using a fork to push his food onto a spoon.

Bill Clinton haircut controversy

Bill Clinton's stylist grounds flights on several runways at LAX while giving POTUS a haircut aboard Air Force One.

Gina Grant college admissions controversy

Harvard grants early admission to high school senior Gina Grant, only to revoke it after discovering she had left the fact that she murdered her mother out of her college app.

2010 Duke University faux sex thesis controversy

Duke Senior Karen Owen's forty-two slide PowerPoint presentation about the people she'd slept with leaks across the Internet.

Jamyi Witch hiring controversy

Wisconsin's Republican state representatives oppose a Wiccan reverend hired as a chaplain at the Waupun Correctional Institute.

Dungeons & Dragons controversies

Critics of the role playing game claim myriad psychological effects on players, including schizophrenia and inability to distinguish reality from fantasy.


Claire Carusillo lives in a bedroom in New York City. Follow @clocarus for an open discussion of books, bread, and eyebrows.