Ever feel like the scope of what you know is limited to the things you learn in class? Don’t have time to learn anything outside your busy schedule? Or are you simply just running out of interesting facts to tell your friends? Whether your brain is in dire need of a pick-me-up, or you want to learn new things for fun, here’s five websites that will help you do just that!
If you’re looking for something extremely random and mildly light-hearted, mental_floss just might be the site for you. Self-dubbed “an intelligent read, but not too intelligent,” the online magazine has topics ranging from History to Food to Pop Culture. If you’re in a lazy I-don’t-want-to-read-long-articles-mood, the top of the site is the Amazing Fact Generator, hitting you with facts from a random topic! The website also attempts to test your knowledge with quizzes on just about anything! One particular quiz called “Reindeer, Hobbits and the Zodiac” challenges you to distinguish between the Fellowship hobbits from Lord of the Rings, Santa’s reindeer and the Zodiac signs within a one-minute time frame (believe it or not, I had a hard time with this one).
Interesting reads:
- Reindeer, Hobbits & The Zodiac
- Toilet Paper History: How America Convinced the World to Wipe
- 13 Words of the Year from Other Countries
Are you a geek at heart but scared of the backlash that “female geeks” are unfairly subjected to?! Don’t fear, The Mary Sue is here! It offers topics from comic books to video games to television. The Mary Sue is an online safe haven for female (and male) geeks. The online magazine “…promotes and celebrates women’s representation in geek culture, comic book movies, genre television, space exploration, emerging technologies, the coolest video games, and the weirdest finds on the internet and works to make geekdom safe and open for women.” The website is also feminist heaven—from giving women in the media the recognition they deserve to examining female characters beyond what most people see: physical characteristics.
Interesting reads:
- Finally They’re Opening Up the Gates: Unlicensed Frozen App Anna Giving Birth Is Exactly What it Sounds Like
- The Mary Sue Exclusive: Archie Comics’ Betty & Veronica #275 Anniversary Covers
- Back to the Future II Concept Art Reveals More 2015 Gadgets We Still Don’t Have
If you’re a visual learner and find text over white space boring, or you simply don’t have enough time to read an article, FactSlides is perfect for you (or if neither applies, you should check out this awesome site anyways)! The website is one big colourful slideshow of random facts, but you can also choose among a variety of categories ranging from: Ancient Rome, Cats, and even your Heart. If you ever want to just sit back and relax, you can automate the slides by animating it at time intervals that you choose.
Interesting facts:
- Cats have 32 muscles that control the outer ear, while humans have only 6.
- Canada is the World’s Most Educated Country: over half its residents have college degrees.
- Energy drinks still don’t have as much caffeine as a Starbucks coffee.
If you’re interested in people (both dead and alive) and their achievements—not just achievements, but badass achievements, then this one’s for you. The website features one “badass” a week, accompanied by a usually very convincing article as to why the featured person deserves such a title. Articles aren’t written in a boring, history book way either. The creator Ben Thompson, uses contemporary language for his storytelling so the read never feels tedious!
Interesting reads: