Oh, the dreaded mid-term season — the one of two times this semester where caffeine levels spike, sleep becomes increasingly elusive and your diet consists of nothing but pizza and Ritz crackers. Reading Week is approaching, but the stress doesn’t dissipate before or even after, and we know our professors love to book midterms after a week-long fest of alcoholic debauchery.
Procrastination isn’t that bad. Well, at least not all the time. After your eyes have been glued to a textbook and a computer screen for eight hours, you need some mindless and nonsensical fun; so you usually open up a new tab on your Internet browser.
Of course there’s BuzzFeed, Tumblr, Reddit and StumbleUpon, but there are a few hidden gems out there in the depths of the interwebs that can offer you a few laughs or a couple cool new facts. Here at The Cord, we often take many breaks during our ridiculously long production nights on Tuesday, so we decided to compile some interesting “time wasters” to give you that much-deserved five — or most likely 50 — minute break.
incredibox.com
If jazz, hip-hop and beat box enthusiasts joined together for an acapella group, this would be the result. In this track generator, you pick the beats, sounds and melodies.
You just compile some beats or sounds and listen to how it meshes together — zero musical knowledge is required. You’ll be surprised how long you could spend on this.
montereybayaquarium.org/efc/efc_opensea/open_sea_cam.aspx
Aquariums can be tranquil and relaxing — and probably your only opportunity to see a live shark. Well, they can also be expensive, but if you’re fascinated by the water underworld, then this live stream may be a quick fix. It’s 24/7 and live, so you can watch at 5 a.m. when you’re studying.
ustream.tv/channel/apl-puppies
This is the same thing as before, but just with puppies! Who doesn’t like puppies? If this one doesn’t work, we’re sure you can find another by just Googling it.
safestyle-windows.co.uk/secret-door
If you’ve ever wanted a random generator for Google Street View, then your wish has been granted. Just click on the door to view a random place in the world. Mountains, theatres, and islands — this “secret door” will surprise you with its numerous options. It really exemplifies the diversity of the world while you’re sitting in your little library cubicle at 9:00 at night.
weavesilk.com
You’ll never be quite sure of what you’re drawing, but it’s something and that something is really cool. Be really mindless for a few moments and draw some “digital art.” Just use your cursor and go nuts. Unless you have a talent for this kind of art, otherwise you shouldn’t be studying what you’re currently studying.
drunkronswanson.com
If you want something really — and we mean really — mindless, then there’s this GIF of Ron Swanson, drunk, dancing to a Flo Rida song. Like, it just fits. Need we say more?
giphy.com/gifdanceparty
If your roommates find you rocking to this at 4 a.m. while you should be studying, they will most likely judge you. Add in various GIF “characters” — such as a fat Spiderman, a cat or Carleton from Fresh Prince — and have them “dance” to the music of your choice. It’s hard to explain, just check it out for yourself.
writtenkitten.net
Okay, so this one isn’t much of a timewaster, but could be a good motivation for that essay you’re writing or the notes you’re taking. You wrote 100 words? Here’s a picture of a kitten! Did you write 100 more? Another new picture of a kitten! You get the idea.
what-would-i-say.com
If a computer was able to predict what you would say on Facebook, this would be it. Except it wouldn’t be coherent or make sense. This basic website just generates a status by randomly putting together your existing comments and statuses from Facebook.
badkidsjokes.tumblr.com
Children are natural comedians. They might not know it, but they can be super funny. So someone decided to hilariously compile a bunch of rejected kids’ jokes from his work’s website. No one else might find them funny, but when your brain ceases to function at 3 a.m. while you’re studying, you’re going to be laughing your ass off at the hilarious statements.