- Top Five
Top Five, also TopFive, is an
Internet humorwebsite maintained by Chris White. The site, which has been in operation since 1994, publishes a new "top five" list every Monday through Friday. The list items are submitted by a group of amateur comedy writers spread out across the USA, with a few residing in other countries. Editor White selects the best submissions, polishes them up and publishes the finished product.The lists themselves range in topics, though the most common are those making fun of pop culture, politics, big business, the Internet, and TopFive itself. The site is not afraid of stepping on toes and can at times be downright vicious, although usually in a humorous manner. The quality of the lists varies from hysterical to somewhat pedestrian.
Due to Financial concerns, TopFive ceased publishing new comedy on August 28. The site owners are currently in the process of recreating and re-branding the site and are now publishing partial lists taken from the archives in an attempt to procure greater funding.
Little Fiver
TopFive also publishes twenty-five specialized "Little Fiver" lists on a weekly basis. These are smaller circulation lists, each dealing with lists built around a different subject such as sports, music, parenting, sex, and others.
Top Five in popular culture
Top 15 Chinese Translations of English Movie Titles
The site has twice been brought into the public eye. The first incident occurred in 1998, when someone attached the list entitled "Chinese Translations" list to an article in the
Wall Street Journal . The list took notable American movies and, quite poorly, "translated" them into Chinese. Other news outlets to report this list as factual include theNew York Times [cite news
url =http://archive.salon.com/21st/log/1999/01/05log.html
title = More fun with Chinese movie titles
publisher = Salon
date = 1999-01-07
accessdate = 2007-07-06] , theLos Angeles Times ,ABC World News Tonight , and CNN's "Showbiz Today". As is documented by the site, both the New York Times and World News Tonight issued corrections. The #6 entry on the list, "Babe" - "The Happy Dumpling-to-be Who Talks And Solves Agricultural Problems" was featured as an answer on the May 24, 1999 episode of "Jeopardy! ". [cite web
url = http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=276
title = Jeopardy! Show #3401 - Monday, May 24, 1999
accessdate = 2007-07-06
date = 1999-05-24
publisher = The J! Archive]Top 13 Jewish Country & Western Songs
The second incident began in 1999. TopFive published a list of "Jewish Country & Western Songs" [ [http://www.topfive.com/html/algore.shtml The Top 13 Jewish Country & Western Songs list at TopFive.com] ] , which were quoted by presidential candidate
Al Gore in a campaign speech. Among the major news outlets to cover this wereNew York Daily News , theAtlanta Journal-Constitution ,San Jose Mercury News , the New York Times [cite news
url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00E4DA1E38F933A25756C0A9669C8B63
title = THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE VICE PRESIDENT; After McCain-Bush Act, Gore Tries Catskill Routine
publisher = New York Times
date = 2000-05-10
accessdate = 2007-07-06] , Slate, and theChicago Tribune . As a sign of thanks, the TopFive team received a personal letter from Gore.External links
* [http://www.topfive.com/ The Top Five Website]
References
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