Looking for eclectic and little-known websites that bring joy
Given the current state of things, I have been trying to avoid internet sites that could trigger anxiety. This is harder to do that I thought it would be. So I'm reaching out to the fine and resourceful Tildes collective for links to sites that are less known, and may provide, if not joy, at least interest, uniqueness maybe, fun, or education? Stuff that may be comforting, engrossing, or diverting to give some respite to those of us who are feeling pretty crushed.
Here are two sites I can offer, but I don't want to limit anyone's idea of what might be a good suggestion.
Futility Closet "is a collection of entertaining curiosities in history, literature, language, art, philosophy, and mathematics, designed to help you waste time as enjoyably as possible." (description from their about page)
Strange Company bills itself as "a Walk of the Weird Side of History"
(edited to add links)
I've seen various YouTube channels recently playing "The Password Game" which frankly seems ridiculous. However, the person who made it also made a bunch of other things, and I spent all day today on their website: https://neal.fun Everything is worth checking out for at least a few minutes, and I really got a laugh out of the absurd trolly problems; 'infinite crafting' is the most entertaining for sure.
Oh, thanks! I actually had that one bookmarked and totally forgot about it.
After playing the Circle-drawing game for a bit, I wished that it didn't make me draw the circles around a specific point. So I made a version that lets you draw circles anywhere: https://sethbling.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/temp/DrawCircles/index.html
windows93.net - The OS of the future is here!
fakenamegenerator.com - Fake name/identity generator.
pointerpointer.com - You point; it points back.
tired.com - Tired? Tell them why.
fakeupdate.net - Press F11 to fool your boss for some downtime.
corrupt-a-file.net - A free service!
isitfridayyet.net - Is it Friday?
isitchristmas.com - Is it Christmas?
thisworddoesnotexist.com - Words that do not exist.
zombo.com - The only limit is yourself.
kagi.com/smallweb/ - Find random blog pages.
Thanks, I especially appreciate the smallweb blog page finder.
These are all great. Though, I am not sure the "corrupt a file" service should be included.
The fact that it asks you to give you an actual file feels a bit... problematic. Not only are they actually uploading the file to somewhere (they claim it is removed after a while) there is also no telling what they did to corrupt the file. For all we know, they add a nice bit of malware to the file.
It likely is all benign. but on the modern day internet I feel like this is something we shouldn't encourage people to do.
Someone on here posted https://wiby.me/surprise/ a while ago, I found it amusing.
Fun, this is what I got. Where there are cats on the internet, there is joy.
https://sha.org/bottle/ - Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website - An employee of the US Bureau of Land Management created this in 2003 and continues to maintain it after retirement.
https://milk.com/ - Surprisingly, this domain has never been owned by a big business. It's always been the personal website of programmer Dan Bornstein, who says that he won't consider selling it for less than $10 million. It includes his music, his favorite recipes, and a random kitten photo that changes every hour. Circa 1994.
https://purefelinity.com/ - A 20-year-old online virtual pet game that simulates real cat genetics. Mostly text, plus site-generated cat illustrations.
Well, those are fun! My yard seems to have been used for millennia as a trash heap--it's always coughing up artifacts from Clovis points pottery shards to old bottles. That bottle site helped me 2 little bottles in short order, so thanks!
Happy you enjoyed + wow, happy you got to identify some bottles! That's so cool. What kind of bottles were they?
Both turned out to be common pharmacist's bottles, one clear and one cobalt blue. So not earth-shattering but still really nice to know.
Ohh nice! I love cobalt blue bottles
If you like biking or bikepacking, I'd suggest Bikepacking.com. They have great stories about new routes and gear. Definitely full of inspiration for trips of your own!
I find The Useless Web to be somewhat amusing. There was also a website I found once which highlighted weird stuff people sell online (specifically Amazon I believe) but I can't find it anymore. Maybe someone here might know what site I'm talking about.
I’ve posted this here before, but back in 2022 I looked ahead and realized in 2024 I would need an escape from what was coming.
So I spent over a year writing the four volumes of Lisica, my escapist Scientist Soap Opera. Love and mystery on a fictional island in the North Pacific. Today I’m waking up to record chapter 46 of 60.
It’s freely available without ads or subscription on my website https://dwdraff.in
This is fantastic. Just started Chapter 1. Thank you.
https://tildes.net/ is alright
Definitely gonna check it out!
I was shlubbing around RinkWorks some 20 years ago and it’s still online, basically unchanged. It’s not being updated anymore and the once-vibrant community evaporated long ago… but it’s still a great repository of humor and old-internet charm.
Edit: Fixed URL, I should’ve tested it before posting but it turns out RinkWorks is so old-school that HTTPS doesn’t work!
Mental hygiene has its place. One doesn't need to spend all their time on toxic websites. Maybe you just need a rest day. But still, there might be one thing worth mentioning. If you already know this, just disregard it.
I grew up with a mother who suffered from anxiety disorder and for a long time, I struggled with anxiety as well. I also majored in psychology. If I've learned anything really important about anxiety, it's that avoidance feeds anxiety. Anxiety is like a parasite - it wants something from you, and every time you give it what it wants, it gets stronger. If your anxiety is asking you to behave in a certain way ("Avoid those sites, or...!"), maybe it's not the best idea to obey. Because next time it's going to demand something all the more forcefully.
The anxiety-avoidance cycle is really far more complicated this. I don't think it really applies in this particular situation where OP is talking about not reading news websites or interacting on social media websites daily. If OP is anything like me, they are looking for websites to redirect to when they try to go to reddit.com that will still give a little dopamine spike, but not show us AITA posts detailing abusive relationships, showing us pictures of workers being taken advantage of, etc.
No psychiatrist, social worker, therapist, etc. is going to recommend that their patient with anxiety expose themselves more to current events and world news the way they would treat a fear of heights. Exposure therapy relies on a positive outcome, that's why you step up on a step-stool first, to reinforce that you did not fall.
Yes, thanks. I think I should have also been more clear that I was not trying to avoid triggering an anxiety disorder, but rather just feelings of anxiety in general when I am trying to relax and get a break.
Thanks, I appreciate you taking the time to post this.
While avoidance and anxiety are inextricably linked, the advice to expose yourself to things that make you anxious deliberately is usually only given within the context of an anxiety disorder. But not all anxiety is an anxiety disorder. Avoiding things that make you anxious isn't necessarily always maladaptive.
A few I've bookmarked:
Now we're getting to the good stuff!
corndogoncorndog.com - Give it a click.
ouaismaisbon.ch - Ouais Mais Bon.
everydayim.com - Hustlin'.
sometimesredsometimesblue.com - Keep mashing CTRL+R.
Nice ones! I am a little disturbed that I want to revisit ouaismaisbon a third time.
The defrag simulator is hilarious. Good times.
Oh man, I've really fallen off the small internet world. I used to love it - great topic.
Here's the only one I still regularly check (I'm a patreon and get email updates) - https://dragonsarmory.blogspot.com/
It's very niche, but I love the dramatic and more in-depth approach to Chinese history. All sorts of fun tidbits are in his posts: I recently learned that the last Sassanid Prince of Persia fled to Tang China and became a general for the Chinese.
Man, that is a meaty site! I love history, I find it helps a lot with perspective when things are crappy in the now. I know hardly anything about Chinese history; it looks like I've got some pleasant work to do there!
Thanks for this, I biked every day for around 30 years, but never bikepacked. I love deep diving into niches though. I found this article there on the history of bikepacking super interesting.
https://www.halfbakery.com/ is a pretty fun site!
The Holotypic Occlupanid Research Group : A Database of Synthetic Taxonomy
Wow. That is some impressive dedication to the science.
I don't know if this is the type of thing you are looking for, but my first thought was 5ives. I really wish the author would come back in our time of need. At any rate, it's good for a few minutes of joy with the finite set that already exists.
I especially like this one. I have been known to exclaim "Mama don't like no Fritos in a bowl" when my kids are misbehaving.
That is delightful! I wondered about what he is doing now, so I clicked on his webpage link and found that his favorite side project is now Merlin's Wisdom Project, not as humorous, but also delightful.
Also the podcast Reconcilable Differences with John Siracusa.
ThankS!
I've been spending a lot of time on Puzzmo recently.
I've never seen that. thanks!
earth.nullschool.net
Wow, that is a fantastic resource, thank you!