Traffic report
Fifty Shades of... self-denial?
An odd juxtaposition this week, as interest in Fifty Shades of Grey coincided with the observance of the Chinese New Year and the annual festival of penance, Ash Wednesday.
For the full top 25 list, see WP:TOP25. See this section for an explanation of any exclusions.
For the week of February 15 to 21, 2015, the ten most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the most viewed pages, were:
Rank Article Class Views Image Notes 1 Fifty Shades of Grey 
1,921,638 
The release of the film adaptation of this onetime Twilight fanfic, which introduced large audiences to the questionable joys of BDSM, was panned by critics (it has a 25% on Rotten Tomatoes). The film earned $324 million worldwide in its first eight days. Still, early reports from the second weekend suggests the film may have, shall we say, peaked too early, with a reported 74% drop in receipts. 2 Alessandro Volta 
1,641,496 
The inventor of the electric battery and namesake of the volt unit got a Google Doodle on his 270th birthday on 18 February. 3 Fifty Shades of Grey (film) 
1,437,315 See #1 4 Chinese New Year
1,404,338 
The Year of the Goat (or sheep, or ram) knocked last year off the bridge on 19 February. 5 Ash Wednesday
994,181 
There was a time, not so long ago really (say a century or two), when this moveable feast marking the first day of Lent would have been the main topic of discussion among the public. Times have changed. Most people don't even fast for Lent any more, let alone show their devotion by marking their foreheads with ash. 6 Zach LaVine
940,027 
This rookie player for the Minnesota Timberwolves won the Slam Dunk Contest at the 2015 NBA All-Star Weekend. At just 19, he was the youngest to do so for eight years. 7 Stephen Hawking
870,838 
The former Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, black hole theorist, and latter-day science icon makes his 16th straight appearance in the Top 25 this week. Interest is only likely to increase after the Oscars, thanks to Eddie Redmayne's Best Actor win for portraying him in The Theory of Everything. 8 Chris Kyle
853,404 
If there's one thing America loves, it's a good, old fashioned culture war. Clint Eastwood's latest directorial effort American Sniper may not be wowing the critics (Rotten Tomatoes places it 13th among the films he has directed), nor drawing the crowds overseas (its international box office take is currently less than a third its domestic take), but it has played spectacularly well in America's conservative heartland, leading politicians on the left and right to, well, snipe at each other about what the film and its popularity say about America, its people, and in particular its subject, the now deceased sniper Chris Kyle. While interest seems to be winding down (viewing figures for this article peaked at 5.3 million three weeks ago), the topic still has enough oxygen to keep it in the Top 10. 9 Dakota Johnson
811,185 
The daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson played the lead role in Fifty Shades of Grey (film) (see #1) 10 Lunar New Year
805,996 
Many cultures have a Lunar New Year, but only a few celebrate it in February, as several curious users found out this week.
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