Talk:John Basinger

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. Track your hook after promotion. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Beta Beta Beta (talk) 11:09, 2 August 2026 (UTC)

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• Article history

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• ... that John Basinger is believed to be the only person to have memorized all twelve books of Paradise Lost by John Milton?

• Source: NY Times

• • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/John Greenewald Jr., Template:Did you know nominations/Siege of Ravenna (539–540)

Created by Thriley (talk) and Mwinog2777 (talk). Number of QPQs required: 2. DYK is currently in unreviewed backlog mode and nominator has 215 past nominations.

Thriley (talk) 19:25, 19 June 2026 (UTC).

• Hook is cited and interesting, prose length looks good, and no issues with copyvio spotted. I don't know the specifics for licensing on those photos. If they are indeed allowed on Commons, I would think one of those could be used for the Main Page. APK hi :-) (talk) 07:39, 22 June 2026 (UTC)
• I might recommend Template:Infobox person. APK hi :-) (talk) 08:18, 22 June 2026 (UTC)
• @Thriley and APK: The New York Times is obviously a generally reliable source but I do not know how even the Times can be considered authoritative on the question of whether someone is believed to be the only person to have memorized a 360-year-old poem. That is unknowable. Perhaps someone will promote this hook as is, but what do you think about offering a non-superlative as an option for promoters wary of this fairly extraordinary claim? Dclemens1971 (talk) 03:44, 21 July 2026 (UTC)
  • I'm fine with the current hook, but what is your suggested wording? APK hi :-) (talk) 04:25, 21 July 2026 (UTC)

ALT1...that John Basinger, who memorized all twelve books of Paradise Lost, described the work as "a cathedral I carry around in my mind"? Thriley (talk) 04:39, 21 July 2026 (UTC)

I trimmed out Milton's name (I think unnecessary here) and am giving the stamp of approval to ALT1 should promoters consider this claim more defensible. Dclemens1971 (talk) 14:35, 22 July 2026 (UTC)

I linked Paradise Lost. I don't mind if it takes away clicks from the bolded article. Thriley (talk) 22:58, 22 July 2026 (UTC)