Celebrate International Internet Day with a good old fashioned rabbit hole

Sigh. The internet.

In some ways, it simplifies – letting us get stuff done a matter of pings. Other times, it takes us down the most unhinged, directionless paths imaginable, a return from which becomes less likely with each click.

On International Internet Day, it feels right to focus on the latter. And by focus, I mean take 23 times as long as I normally would to pull together a coherent article. To my boss: what mind were you in when you approved an idea to research the internet’s best rabbit holes?

Ah well, we’re here now.

Wiki game

This isn’t just an internet game. It’s your very own rabbit hole generator.

Start by choosing two incongruent things. Let’s say The Big Banana and Shoelaces. Start on the Wikipedia article for one, and get to the other using only links on each page.

Play it with friends to try to get there in the shortest time, or the fewest clicks. And try not to get tempted by other articles along the way.

P.s. Big Banana, Water park, Equipment, Sportswear, Shoes, Derby shoe, Shoelaces

Reddit

If you’re a Reddit user, you’ve probably already been down warren’s worth of rabbit holes.

For the uninitiated, Reddit is an online forum made of various subtopics, called subreddits. I asked my team for some of their favourites and it lost me half a day.

Heads up: we did vet all these links first, but because they’re always changing, you might still stumble across some non-PG stuff.

CatsAreLiquid

Filled with hard evidence that despite the science, cats are amorphous, liquid entities.

IAmA

“I am a [blank] – ask me anything”. This is a forum where interesting people open the floor to questions from anyone.

IfYouLikeBlank

Do you like something? Do you want to find other things that are like the things you like? You can find those things here.

MadeMeSmile

Go on, get wholesome.

FanTheories

There’s nothing like getting lost in the chasm of What Aboutism, and this is a good place to do it. Here’s where people put their theories about movies, TV shows, books, and all the other like.

TheWayWeWere

If you like getting your ye olde on, venture yonder.

ExplainLikeImFive

Complicated questions often have complicated answers, but not here. Explain like I’m five has one rule: answers have to be simple enough for a five year old to understand.

DamnThatsInteresting

This is kind of like a list of fun facts in multimedia format.

TodayILearned

This is like if every single one of your friends arrived at dinner saying ‘you won’t believe this’, then told you an interesting story, one after the other.

Typeracer

Were you a nerdy kid in primary school who wanted to be able to type real fast and do other stuff real good too? This isn’t a rabbit hole so much as a rabbit entertainment centre where you try to beat people in typing races.

Try Typeracer

Worst things for sale

This one hasn’t been updated for a while now, but the message is the same: why do we insist on producing such weird stuff?

See the worst things for sale

Window swap

Do you ever look out your window and think ‘I wonder what other people see when they look out their window’? I’ve got news.

Window Swap is a collection of videos showing the view outside windows around the world. You can also turn it into a game by guessing the location (which is in the top right corner).

Wonders of street view

If you send little cars around to map the world for street view, you’re going to see some weird stuff. I bring you, Wonders of Street View.

McMansion Hell

They say a man’s home is his castle. But sometimes, a man’s castle is his home too. Explore some of our world’s most outrageous mansions, annotated for your enjoyment.

Abandoned mall videos

Creepy, derelict building fan? Head onto YouTube and feast on the wonders within.

Marble runs

Marbles rolling down a hill while someone commentates as though it’s a real race is one of the most surprisingly captivating things on the internet. Watch a marble race and tell me I’m wrong.

And that’s it for this Internet Day celebration – congrats on making it to the end. (Hopefully it’s still the same day as when you started.)