There is a popular myth that life flashes before your eyes at the moment of death. I am not dying today, but the end of wissen.de on January 7th triggered a similar rapid review of my past. From late 2011, I wrote and edited countless stories that still stick with me. My farewell special, “Lieblingsgeschichten,” collects these memories.
How did wissen.de approach everyday curiosity differently from major news outlets?
I covered a wide range of topics over the last two years. It started with a knowledge test about potatoes, Germany’s favorite staple, where I learned surprising facts. Then I visited a project for school skippers, an experience that deeply impacted me. I also tackled psychology, asking why we feel shame, and societal shifts like the actual impact of Facebook protests. One interview with an African Lampedusa refugee stayed with me for a long time.
These topics share one trait: they pop up in daily life and spark immediate curiosity. Sometimes the answers are hard to find. What do we actually find beautiful? Why do placebos work? What does daily life look like for blind people? I explored these questions for wissen.de over the years.
Why does the closure of wissen.de matter beyond the headlines?
wissen.de is not Süddeutsche Zeitung or ZEIT Wissen. Its shutdown does not dominate front pages or trigger massive public discourse. That silence is part of why it was valuable to work there. We did not ignore current events, but we moved slowly enough to look behind them. We had time to dig deeper into contemporary topics rather than just reporting the surface. I will miss that luxury.
Which types of content made wissen.de popular for general knowledge seekers?
Wissen and general education tests were especially popular. I lost count of how many questions I created over time. Some tests taught me a lot, like the history of medicine. Others were just for fun, like idioms about food. Others required heavy research, covering monsters, myths, and urban legends.
I learned something new with every single test. That was part of the joy of working at wissen.de. I know things now that I had no idea about before. Of course, not everything sticks. But I will certainly remember the time I spent with kind colleagues and interested readers.
Thank you for that.
Alexandra Mankarios, freelance author and editor
