Stir-fried wikipedia

Language Log has a highly amusing post about some new examples of strange English translations on Chinese restaurant menus. This is, of course, not new (as has, of course, been widely documented), but this particular instance is quite amusing because of the way the word wikipedia shows up in there. Unfortunately I cannot read Chinese, so I’ll have to wait for LL’s official explanation—they’ve already got a pretty good hypothesis in a primitive form on the first linked post. But when you take into account the P.R.C.’s on-again off-again blocking of Wikipedia using the Great Firewall, I’m somewhat surprised that the word even occurred to someone (or some computer) as an acceptable translation at all. I would understand if it were Google, given the censorship issues that surrounded its creation and continued existence, but the ultimate permission being granted to remain after Google hopped in bed with the P.R.C. government. But Wikipedia?? That’s just weird.

Another thing that’s just weird: my spelling checker, which I never modify or anything because I can’t see the purpose or the relevance of trying to do so, recognises the words ‘Wikipedia’ and ‘Google’ without a second hesitation; even the word ‘wikipedia’ as in ‘barbecued congo eel with wikipedia and Fermented bean curd’ is recognised. But ‘href’ isn’t. Go figure.