The internet can be an amazing place for the procrastinating student. With millions of webpages to browse through, hours can be spent idly clicking links. Here are some of the best of the best online - for their addictiveness, interesting concepts and accessibility.
This site has gained popularity with its simple but innovative idea. People around the world write their most banal and most heartbreaking secrets on homemade postcards. Sometimes tragic, sometimes hilarious, always original, the site updates itself every Sunday. Others have produced pale imitations of PostSecret, but nothing comes close. Irritatingly, there is no archived collection, so bookmark the page and make sure to check it at least once a week.
Maze Frenzy
This game claims it is the “wackiest and most exciting maze game on the internet!” It might be right. The background tune may get monotonous, but mute the computer and spend hours meticulously guiding the small red dot through the blue maze. Sure, that description sounds boring, but the moving gears are strangely fascinating. The nice design is easier on and more attractive to the eyes than the hundreds of maze games that have flooded the internet.
Dorm Life
This surprisingly well-made show has new five minute episodes every week. It features a cast of characters living in a dorm during their first year at a college that resembles UCLA in many ways. The actors, not-so-surprisingly mostly students at UCLA, are witty and spot-on in their depictions of each college stereotype. The show aims to be a university version of The Office, and it comes pretty close to succeeding. Real internet addicts will also thrill at the webcams, Facebook group and cross-media integration.
One word: addictive. Incredibly simple but frustratingly difficult, the only trick is to take a deep breath before you begin playing each round. The player must move around a little square red block to avoid both the black walls and the moving blue blocks. The site says to aim to survive for 18 seconds; it’s perhaps more reasonable to aim for ten. Achieve 30 seconds and give yourself a standing ovation.
Small animated bunnies reenact current and classic movies in 30 seconds. Yes, it’s that self-explanatory. But there is little that can compare to hearing a high-pitched bunny squeak his way through the expletive-ridden Reservoir Dogs. Careful though – the site doesn’t hold back on the spoilers. Haven’t seen The Shining? Don’t watch the bunny version then.
StumbleUpon
As the proverb says, give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. Installing this non-intrusive program allows you to explore the strangest and most interesting websites on the internet to your heart’s content. Who knows what you could stumble upon? It is easy to email friends with the fun new site you discovered, but there are dangers to this new and wonderful world of stumbling.
Explore the online world, but a word of caution. Make sure to impose a time limit, or soon enough, hours will have gone by and the chemistry midterm is still tomorrow.
