You have a paper due, and though your bibliography fills pages, you're still not exactly sure of the difference between a republic and a democracy. You're on the phone with a friend, hearing about her plans vacation in Monteray...is that in California or one of those other warm states? You place a bet with a friend when you're sure that that song is by Led Zepplin and he says it's the Rolling Stones and you say the two bands don't even sound the same. Where do you turn when your grades, your reputation, or even ten dollars stands on the line?

Wikipedia, of course.

But this article from MSNBC points out that Wikipedia isn't always the ultimate source for the ultimate truth. When Senator Ted Kennedy was hospitalized after suffering a seizure Tuesday, Wikipedia was the first to post the news...of his death. It took several editing tries for Wiki's avatars to correct Kennedy's entry and lose the section of his life story where he died. 

The article's author poses an interesting claim here: even though Wikepedia serves as an encyclopediac reference, it's the first place people look when they want to know whether something's true. Why check CNN or MSNBC for late-breaking news when the information you want is available (though at the end of the entry) on Wikipedia? The piecing of information from multiple sources into single comprehensive entries appeals to us. However, incidences such as this serve to remind us that Wikipedia isn't infallible.