A fact from Fox Island appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 25 September 2021 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:
Did you know... that each of the three times Fox Island exploded, shockwaves could be felt dozens of miles away?
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Latest comment: 3 years ago3 comments3 people in discussion
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. No further edits should be made to this page.
... that each of the three times Fox Island exploded, it could be felt dozens of miles away? Source: "The Fox Island Explosion: The Extraordinary Work of Nitro-Glycerine", "Hercules Powder: A Terrific Explosion at the Lime Kiln Crossing, Detroit River. Perilous Situation of Patrick Collins. Injuries from Flying Boards and Timbers. Peter Boyers' Head and Face Severely Cut. Great Destruction of Window Glass and Houses Shaken to Their Foundations. The Shock Felt at Essex Center, Sixteen Miles Away", "Dynamite Ruins Fox Island Plant, Injuring Two".
Comment: I can easily come up with other hooks for this, if requested -- there are a lot of mad lad moments with this one. From the artificial island created after a court forbade known madlad Dunbar to store explosives on Fox Island, to the explosion caused by madlads on a fishing boat shooting revolvers at the powder house, to the explosion that was clearly audible all the way across Lake Erie.
Lead is unacceptably brief, should summarise all the pertinent aspects of the article.
Y Done.
" WikiMiniAtlas42°06′21″N 83°08′30″W[1], in" ref after comma.
Y Fixed.
Don't use USGS without explaining it.
Y Fixed.
If you insist on that image being right up top like that, you'll need to link all the linkable items in the caption as nothing up to this point apart from Detroit River has been linked.
Y Fixed.
"in the Detroit River is" link.
Y Fixed.
"The United States Geological Survey gave..." that's where you add (USGS).
Y Fixed.
"1851 references to Fox Island give its area as 0.81 acres (0.33 ha); [5][6][7][8][9][10][11] " avoid starting sentences with numerals, don't put space between punctuation and refs, and do we really need seven references for this? At the very least, bundle them up.
Y Fixed.
"to Sarah Macomb along" any context as to who she was?
Yg Sadly, I don't know; I am pretty sure she is one of the Macombs for whom Macomb County was named, who owned property around that area. I think that it would be possible to track down some sources and write an article on her, but I don't want to draw the parallel without solid sourcing for it.
"of Wayne County. The Wayne County' repetitive.
Y Fixed.
"addition to Sugar, Hickory, " overlinked.
Y Fixed.
"land on Grosse Ile" overlinked.
Y Fixed.
"nearby Powder House Island and Stony Island, used Fox" both overlinked.
Y Fixed.
"ferry landing on Stony Island, approximately" overlinked.
Y Fixed.
"138,875" over-precise, nearest $1,000 will do.
Y Fixed.
"channel at Lime-Kiln Crossing".[29" already (red) linked.
Y Fixed.
"October 1, 1880 edition" comma after 1880.
Y Fixed.
"brought it safely to Elba Island.[38] " overlinked.
Y Fixed.
"sturgeon" could link as you already linked perch.
Y Fixed.
"constructed Powder House Island, would again explode' overlinked and "exploded again".
? I usually agree that the "would" formulation is stupid, but I kind of like it here. If you feel strongly about it, I'll change it.
"20 short tons' avoid starting sentences with numeral.
I have come up with a brilliant strategy that may allow me to actually do this on my phone. Let's see if it works. jp×g20:04, 6 September 2021 (UTC)Reply
Okay, my strategy did work, but editing on my phone is a huge pain in the ass anyway, so I will just wait until I get home. jp×g20:08, 6 September 2021 (UTC)Reply
Latest comment: 9 months ago2 comments1 person in discussion
Found https://meanderingmichiganhistory.weebly.com/lake-sturgeon-and-the-detroit-river---historic-partners.html -- probbo not RS in its own right but does mention "A Detroit Free Press story dated July 12, 1903, revealed the scope of the sturgeon fisheries in the Detroit River. In 1903, many fishermen named Fox Island, a small wooded island near the southern tip of Grosse Ile and the northern end of Bois Blanc, about a mile up the Detroit River from Sugar Island, the best sturgeon fishery in the United States.".
Well golly if only I could go read the free press articles from 1903. Well golly if only I knew the exact month and day.... jp×g🗯️17:38, 17 January 2024 (UTC)Reply
Well sourced, long enough, passes criteria. I actually like the hook, given the notion of an island "exploding" three different times. ViperSnake151 Talk 03:20, 6 September 2021 (UTC)
Done.
Sadly, I don't know; I am pretty sure she is one of the Macombs for whom Macomb County was named, who owned property around that area. I think that it would be possible to track down some sources and write an article on her, but I don't want to draw the parallel without solid sourcing for it.
I usually agree that the "would" formulation is stupid, but I kind of like it here. If you feel strongly about it, I'll change it.
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