With a growing number of Americans working on computers or doing school work on computers, no doubt the number of people who play online games has increased. I’m not talking about World of Warcraft or Dungeons and Dragons, but the games that you play when you’re bored…or procrastinating. In fact, it’s probably both.

When playing Brick Breaker gets old, here’s 10 Web sites that you can waste your time on and possibly actually do something productive.


1. Craigslist – If you’re not familiar with Craigslist, you really should be. Basically, it consists of local classified ads for everything from random hookups to buying a car, and it’s for places all over the world. There are thousands upon thousands of posts for your little heart’s desires. I like it much more than Ebay since it’s local, and if you see anything you want, you can go and pick up or arrange a meeting instead of paying $10 for shipping.
2. Woot – Woot sells one product a day on each of its Web sites. There’s Woot, Shirt Woot and Wine Woot. Each has one product for sale every day. It’s at a cheap price and whatever you buy, regardless of the size, they ship to you for only $5.
3. Snopes – Do you wonder if “facts” like: birth rates increased nine months after the New York City blackout in 1965 are really true? Well, Snopes has the answers for you. They have the answer to any Urban Legend you can image. Even if you think you know all the answers there are some that are just funny.
4. The Onion – I suggest the Onion to anyone and everyone. If you’re taking the news too seriously, this will either make you really mad or laugh hysterically. The Onion makes news out of things that isn’t exactly “news worthy.” They make a joke about everything and look really professional doing it.
5. Post Secret – Post Secret isn’t quite as lighthearted as The Onion. You might have heard of the book where people are encouraged to send in their deepest secrets on postcards. For the most part, these are really shocking, but it’s become an incredible therapy for many people. They are sent to Frank Warren who then either posts them via blog or puts them into one of his books. A new book is expected to come out soon.
6. Texts from Last Night – Text from Last Night is much like Post Secret but a bit more….raunchy. It was created in February of this year and it features the “the text you shouldn’t have sent last night.” Basically, it’s a collection of text messages that are sent into this Web site because they’re either downright hilarious or downright unbelievable.
7. Soul Pancake – This Web site is much more spiritual than the rest. Not that it’s necessarily religious, because I don’t think it is. Soul Pancake asks some questions that you may never think of like “What Single Work of Art Speaks to You?” It makes you think a little bit — which is a good thing, right? — about the more artsy and spiritual aspects of life. My favorite aspect of this group is that Rainn Wilson (Dwight Shrute from The Office) is a large component. Just with that you should know that it’s not too bad.
8. Etsy – Etsy is basically the Ebay of homemade stuff. Sure, you have to pay for shipping, but the stuff is more artsy and creative than traditional Ebay stuff. They have everything from recycled Grey Goose glasses to all kinds of jewelry. Because everything is homemade. It’s a bit more expensive, but it’s fun to look at the incredible stuff that people actually make.
9. Virtual Tourist –If you’re anything like me you can’t really afford to book a vacation in Paris. Still, Virtual Tourist gives you everything you would want to know to do it. There’s travel guides, hotel reviews and trip planners. The forum also provides a place for people to get connected. It’s a cool place to go when you’re looking to book a vacation but it can also be fun to dream!
10. Project Gutenberg – This, hands down, is my favorite Web site ever. Project Gutenberg is the largest collection of e-books you can find. They have all kinds of books; I’m talking thousands. You can get them all for free by downloading them from the Web site. They can be read online or can be sent to your Smart Phone. This is especially handy for students who are asked to buy tons of books to read in class.