If you're looking for an article full of advice on how to get ahead in the beginning of the semester, this isn't it. If you're stressed out about the beginning of the semester and need a breather, if you're in an intro class reviewing things you've known since high school, or if you just feel like putting off some work (already?), then read on.
The following websites are old favorites of mine. Some I still visit often. Others, I go years without thinking about, until they randomly pop into my head when I should be writing a term paper. Hopefully, they'll provide you with an enjoyable study break (you have started studying, right?)
1. Rinkworks
I was going to lead in by saying that I've been going to Rinkworks since W. was president, but it's entirely possible that I discovered it during the Clinton administration. This sort of website was totally my thing when I was tiny and first discovered the internet. Either way, I'm pretty sure this website hasn't changed its layout since I discovered it, but that's not a bad thing. In the age of multi-media everything, it's refreshing to visit a humor website whose content is mostly textual (there's no risk of loading a page and having an ad, or a self-amused Youtuber, scream at you when you're sitting in the back of a lecture hall). My favorite parts of the website have always been the (usually sorta depressing, as they warn) Lateral Thinking Problems and their 90-page archive of Really Bad Jokes, but there's something for everybody here. Every January they have an Oscar Predictions Game. This year's ends on January 22, so go sign up now!
2. Addicting Games
I don't know how I got into college, considering how much of my senior year of high school I spent on this site. I'm glad to see that the top games of all time haven't changed much in ten years - I'm now halfway through a master's program and the Impossible Quiz is as confusing as ever.
3. TV Tropes
WARNING: If there is a website that'll distract you to the point of flunking out, TV Tropes is it. The website itself has a page titled "TV Tropes Will Ruin Your Life" that features helpful hints on not letting the site take over every aspect of your life. It's like going down a Wiki-hole, except that every article is tons of fun (each one documents storytelling and world-building devices that are commonplace not just on TV, but in films, games, web outlets, even real life). If you get really into things, you, too, can contribute to the madness.
4. Lookbook
Want to feel inferior about your fashion sense and photog skills inspired to rethink your wardrobe? Even the most basic outfits on Lookbook seem so put together. Inferiority complex aside, it's a great way to not do your homework see how the cool kids dress all over the world!
5. Wikipedia's List of Unusual Articles
Since I mentioned Wiki-holes, I need to include this page. Want to learn about all the times it's snowed in Florida? I don't since such an event is happening a few hours north of me as I write this, but if you want to, the information's out there. Curious about the time that Indiana tried to change the value of pi, or what it takes to change the side of the road a nation drives on? Go for it. It would take days to read all the pages this list links to (I may or may not have spent days reading them), but the articles are split into categories and those that are exceptionally well-written are marked off. Sure, you might miss a few days of classes and really worry your roommate, but you just might find an interesting essay idea here as well!
6. Neopets
Your poor Neopets are dying of hunger. Go feed the poor things, and then forget about them for another decade. Then kick yourself for missing this year's advent calendar.
7. AmIAnnoying
AmIAnnoying started ages ago as a spoof of the website "Hot or Not?" in which visitors can vote on whether they are annoyed by various public figures. The website provides completely subjective information that might sway readers in one direction or the other, but usually, these tidbits just tell you completely useless information about celebrities, politicians, and random people that had a brief moment in the spotlight. After taking in all the factoids this site has to offer, you'll be pretty annoying, too.
Anyway, good luck this semester. Study hard, but don't forget to take breaks. Just don't let those breaks turn into days-long journeys through the internet!
