In the past few months I have noticed several rather funny articles on Wikipedia. The humour here lies not in the authors' creativity but simply in the fact that the authors wrote down exactly what happened without adding further words to make it sound more neutral and encyclopedia-like.
Sometimes the truth is funny and reporting it makes one sound like a cynic.
Examples are these two:
Arab League (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_League)
And I quote from the timeline at the bottom of the article:
"1942 - The United Kingdom promotes the idea of the Arab League in an attempt to win over Arabs as allies in war against Germany.
1945 - Arab league member states declare a boycott of Jewish businesses in Palestine, this is continued after the establishment of Israel as the Arab League boycott."
"1990 (May) - A summit meeting in Baghdad criticizes Western efforts to prevent Iraq from developing advanced weapons technology.
1990 (August) - At emergency summit, 12 out of 20 states present condemn the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait; unified Yemen joins the Arab League."
Prostitution in Germany (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Germany)
And I quote from the article:
"Prostitution is legal in Germany, though it doesn't quite have the same status as a regular occupation. Income from prostitution is taxed at a slightly higher rate than income from normal occupations. Prostitutes even have to charge VAT for their services, to be paid to the tax office. In practice, prostitution is a cash business, and taxes are almost never paid and rarely enforced."
"The only city in Germany with an explicit prostitution tax is Cologne. It was initiated early in 2004 by the city council ruled by a coalition of the conservative CDU and the leftist Greens. The sex tax applies to striptease, peep shows, porn cinemas, sex fairs, and prostitution. In the case of prostitution, the tax amounts to 150 euros per month and working prostitute, to be paid by brothel owners (the eros center Geestemünder Straße owned by the city is exempt)."
"In 2003, Michel Friedman, popular TV talk show host and assistant chairman of the German Jewish community, became embroiled in an investigation of trafficking in women. He had been a client of several escort prostitutes from Eastern Europe who testified that he had repeatedly taken and offered cocaine. After receiving a fine for the drug charge, he resigned his posts."
"Also in 2003, well-known artist and art professor Jörg Immendorff was caught in the luxury suite of a Düsseldorf hotel with seven prostitutes (and four more on their way) and some cocaine. He received 11 months on probation and a fine for the drug charges. He attempted to explain his actions by his "orientalism" and his terminal illness."
