The internet is a big place. If you can think of it, there’s a website for it. Here are just a few of the funniest, most useful, most educational, most creative, and overall coolest websites across the web. Whether you’re looking to laugh, discover something new, or just waste time, there’s something on this list for you. Get your bookmarks ready!
Cool Educational Websites
These websites aren’t just cool for the sake of being cool. They also teach you something new.
Space.com is the place to read up on all things final frontier. Not only do the reporting staff all have science and science journalism backgrounds, but famous astronauts Sally Ride and Neil Armstrong have been members of the board.
How A Car Works is a comprehensive, practical guide to how cars work. The site is managed by one guy named Alex. It has no advertisers and he funds it through purchases of a video course.
At Zooniverse, anyone can contribute to real professional research on anything from frogs to black holes. Researchers in all kinds of fields who need volunteers for their studies post their projects on the site and visitors apply.
Histography is an interactive, visually striking, timeline where every dot is an event of historical significance from Wikipedia. The site updates daily for new events.
With Code Academy, anyone can take virtual, engaging coding courses for free.
Mental Floss is like Buzzfeed for trivia buffs. They’ve got quizzes, listicles, fun facts, and in-depth articles about historical figures and “Big Questions.” Some of my favorite Big Questions include
Why does Taco Bell keep taking nacho fries off its menu?
Why does my cat sit in sunny spots?
What’s the difference between a flapjack and a pancake?
See the real time locations of sharks and other marine animals that have been tagged by OCEARCH scientists.
See real-time animated maps of wind, ocean currents, and waves. This example shows wind. The green is where the higher speed winds are.
Cool Games
Got some free time and tired of the same games you always play? Change up your routine with these.
Start out with earth, air, water, and fire and combine them to create the whole world. You can also download the app on iOS and Android.
Think of a fictional character or celebrity and answer the game’s questions until it guesses. They also have an app for iPhone and Android.
The premise of the Wiki Game is simple enough: go from the start Wikipedia page to the goal page through linked pages.
You may not have the consoles anymore, but you can play retro video games including Pokemon games, Mario games, Sonic games, Legend of Zelda, and more online with this emulator.
Find the Invisible Cow is like virtual hot and cold. Turn on the volume and start moving your cursor across the screen. You’ll hear a voice repeating the word cow over and over again. The closer you get to the cow, the louder the voice gets.
Incredibox is a music looping game where you choose beats to layer on top of each other with fun animated characters. Once you've found the right mix, sit back and jam.
Cool Useful Websites
These websites aren’t quite “educational”, but they each serve a helpful purpose.
Apartment Therapy started as a weekly newsletter by interior designer Maxwell “the apartment therapist” Ryan. Since then, it has grown into a popular home and decor site with multiple people on staff.
The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine makes over 25 years of internet history accessible for free to the public.
Want to figure out what’s wrong with your car by the noise it just made? With My Car Makes Noise, you can do just that.
Ever wondered what a website is made of? Enter any website into Built With and it will tell you the ingredients.
Identify any font from the world’s largest font database.
A broad, exciting collection of DIY projects.
We’ve all called customer service and wanted to skip right to speaking to a rep, right? GetHuman is a database of phone numbers to talk to a person at large companies.
Giphy is the definitive source of animated gifs for any purpose.
A Soft Murmur is a popular natural sounds and white noise machine.
Want to find something that isn’t trending yet but will be later? Shop here for interesting, yet underrated gadgets, gifts, clothing, and more.
Cool Self-Improvement Websites
Whether you want to work out, cook at home more, get better sleep, or anything in between, these websites are here to help you meet your self-improvement goals.
Lifehacker’s tagline is “Do everything better” and they mean everything. You can find hot tips from their knowledgeable staff on food and drink, tech, money, parenting, and more.
Not sure what to make for dinner and don’t have time to go to the store? Supercook suggests recipes based on the ingredients you have at home.
Don’t you hate it when you sleep long enough but still struggle to get out of bed? The Sleepytime Sleep Cycle Calculator recommends times to go to sleep to wake up well-rested based on sleep cycle research from The Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Medical School, The Valley Sleep Center, and Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Next time you need to take a breather, try this 60-second meditation tool. Just type something that’s bothering you and follow the breathing prompts as you watch it get smaller until it disappears.
Find exercises to work out any muscle with videos and easy instructions.
Level Up Life is a motivational game that gives you points for accomplishing things in real life. For example, reading a chapter of a book is worth 70 points. Doing a good deed anonymously is worth 550 points. Riding in a hot air balloon is worth 1365 points.
Your playlists could use a boost. Discover new music with this self-described search engine for music you don’t know about. Start with three artists you like and go from there.
This movie recommendation site is run by a team of film buffs, not an algorithm. All of the movies and TV shows they recommend have a 70% or higher viewer and critic score. You can see each team member’s recommendations as well.
Now here are a few websites that are simply a good time.
This flight simulator uses real global satellite images and controls that react realistically. Basically, it’s the closest you can get to flying a plane without the risk of crashing.
Chrome Experiments is an eclectic collection of coding experiments from games to arts and culture.
Who doesn’t want to scream into the void sometimes? This website gives you a void to type your grievances into and release them into the cyclone.
If you like reality TV, you’ll love the popular subreddit Am I the Asshole (AITA). Read submitters’ drama that has nothing to do with you and decide who is in the wrong. This community has also inspired multiple podcasts.
Ever wondered how many airplanes are in the sky at this very moment? Flight Radar tracks them all in real time.
The Useless Web collects the most useless websites on the internet and takes you to a random one when you click the button. You might get a gif of raining corn dogs, “one square Minesweeper,” a shrine to a pug wrapped in a rug, or simply the word HEEEEEEEEEY! Give it a spin!
Not all of these websites have high-tech graphics or expansive teams. Many of them are just run by one person with an idea. With Sav’s website builder, your website can be cool too! Start building today!