Many college students, myself included, are experts at procrastinating.
One of my favorite ways to waste time is reading about random things on Wikipedia and seeing how far down the rabbit hole I can go. I start with one topic, say, tree frogs, and somehow I end up reading an unabridged biography of Tom Cruise. It's so fun seeing how many interesting things I can click on before I remember that I should really be doing something else (like writing that paper that's worth 30 percent of my grade).
So the next time you have a 10 page analysis due, here are eight weird topics to educate yourself on instead:
1. Blobfish
These fish look so strange and sad. Dwelling in the dark depths of the ocean around 3,000 feet below the surface, apparently blobfish look a lot better in their natural habitat. Instead of working on your group project, learn more about this fascinatingly ugly creature.
2. Bidets
Ah, the mystical water jets for one's behind. Who needs toilet paper when you've got a mini sink? Bidets can be found in most of Southern Europe. Plan a trip to go find one instead of finishing your 70 pages of assigned Shakespeare reading.
3. Medieval Torture
This one is kind of gruesome. However, you be able to relate--you might feel like all the homework you have to do is pulling you apart, limb by limb, much like that demented contraption is doing to the guy pictured above. This is only one torture method of many that will definitely distract you from whatever it is you are trying to accomplish.
4. Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracy theories are my personal favorite procrastination topics (bonus: they also irritate my STEM major boyfriend). Moon hoaxes will be sure to pique your curiosity, or at the very least they will annoy you enough to put you back on task.
5. Bigfoot
Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Hairy Man or whatever you want to call it, this urban legend has a definite cult following. If you really want to waste time, watch YouTube videos of supposed sightings.
6. Mad Cow Disease
Also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, mad cow disease has a cool name. Read about this rare disease caused by prions (another topic to learn about) rather than doing your biology homework that's due at midnight. You'll be the star of any cocktail party with the amount of useless facts you'll know.
7. Every "How It's Made" Video Ever
These videos are informative and ridiculously mesmerizing. There are episodes on anything you could imagine: Legos, mascara, Oreos, balloons...the list goes on. Why bother with figuring out how physics works when you can watch conveyor belt after conveyor belt of beautiful symmetrical items?
8. Yourself
There's no better time to see what information from your Facebook profile shows up on Google's front page than when you have a midterm to study for. The best part is seeing which pictures of yourself pop up (and how much you wish they had never been posted) and realizing that there are a lot of people who have the same name as you.
