Ash Wednesday

First day of Lent in Western Christianity

On February 18, 2026, the most-viewed article on Wikipedia was Jesse Jackson, with 371,241 views. It was already WikiPop's pick on February 17, and we don't repeat an article within 30 days. So WikiPop's pick is #2, Ash Wednesday, with 311,650 views.

Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of prayer, fasting and almsgiving before the arrival of Easter.

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311,650 views that day

The full top 10 of February 18, 2026

The most-viewed Wikipedia articles that day, by raw page views.

#1
Jesse Jackson
American minister, activist and politician (1941–2026)

371,241
#2
Ash Wednesday WikiPop's pick
First day of Lent in Western Christianity

311,650
#3
James Talarico
American politician, teacher, and seminarian (born 1989)

267,923
#4
Eileen Gu
Chinese-American freestyle skier (born 2003)

246,095
#5
Robert Duvall
American actor and filmmaker (1931–2026)

237,615
#6
Alysa Liu
American figure skater (born 2005)

208,645
#7
Jeffrey Epstein
American financier and child sex offender (1953–2019)

206,361
#8
United Airlines Flight 232
1989 aviation accident in Iowa

191,058
#9
XXX (2002 film)
American action film directed by Rob Cohen

189,337
#10
2026 Winter Olympics
Multi-sport event in Italy

173,296

OBSCURE WIKIPEDIA ENTRY OF THE DAY Escalator etiquette

Escalator etiquette is the etiquette of using escalators and moving walkways. In many places, there is a convention that people should stand on a particular side to allow other people to walk on the other side. Standing on the right is the most common convention, following early escalator design in London. In the 21st century, there have been campaigns for standing on both sides for reasons of safety or to increase capacity. Continue reading