Mindlessly amusing myself with curiosity
July 9, 2013 10:36 AM Subscribe
I want to go about finding entertaining, engaging, intelligent things I can read about subjects I know nothing about. Ideally, I want a source of these things which will reliably send me off in directions I'm completely unfamiliar with, rather than just new sources which cover individual specific subjects. But it has to be enjoyable, even somewhat mindless reading – think Cracked or Buzzfeed. Does anything like this exist? Are there good places online for me to stimulate myself when I'm in that mindless time-killing mood?
I find that PBS's idea channel vlog series is the best thing ever to send me into a research hole.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 10:46 AM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 10:46 AM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
It seems like StumbleUpon might provide you with some interesting surfing when the mood strikes.
posted by DrGail at 10:47 AM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by DrGail at 10:47 AM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
Mental Floss magazine is pretty fun for this.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:48 AM on July 9, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:48 AM on July 9, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Dark Roasted Blend does this for me.
posted by BlooPen at 10:48 AM on July 9, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by BlooPen at 10:48 AM on July 9, 2013 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: I'm looking for text rather than videos; something about text is more comforting to me when I'm in that infoglut mood. And I've never been able to get reliably quality stuff on StumbleUpon.
TvTropes is too subject-specific for me. I mean, I love it and get hooked every time I visit, but it's very dedicated to one particular type of media analysis.
Dark Roasted Blend is EXCELLENT.
posted by Rory Marinich at 10:56 AM on July 9, 2013
TvTropes is too subject-specific for me. I mean, I love it and get hooked every time I visit, but it's very dedicated to one particular type of media analysis.
Dark Roasted Blend is EXCELLENT.
posted by Rory Marinich at 10:56 AM on July 9, 2013
Best answer: Futility Closet
It is dishearteningly brief in its posts for someone like me who wants a bit more of the platter service, but I imagine for a sprightly mind like yours, Rory, it will be a delight.
posted by carsonb at 11:23 AM on July 9, 2013 [8 favorites]
It is dishearteningly brief in its posts for someone like me who wants a bit more of the platter service, but I imagine for a sprightly mind like yours, Rory, it will be a delight.
posted by carsonb at 11:23 AM on July 9, 2013 [8 favorites]
This is why we have Beachcombing's Bizarre History Blog.
It's history, yes, but I promise it will lead you to some strange places.
posted by Think_Long at 11:55 AM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
It's history, yes, but I promise it will lead you to some strange places.
posted by Think_Long at 11:55 AM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
Now I Know is a daily email newsletter that sends you info on random interesting things every day. Last email was about the first, and so far only, jockey who won a horse race after his death. Archives are here.
posted by nooneyouknow at 11:59 AM on July 9, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by nooneyouknow at 11:59 AM on July 9, 2013 [2 favorites]
Atlas Obscura
Laughing Squid is sort of like this too.
posted by plastic_animals at 12:05 PM on July 9, 2013
Laughing Squid is sort of like this too.
posted by plastic_animals at 12:05 PM on July 9, 2013
I like The Feature (formerly called Give Me Something to Read). I always find very interesting, substantive, in-depth articles there on a wide variety of topics.
posted by Dansaman at 12:25 PM on July 9, 2013
posted by Dansaman at 12:25 PM on July 9, 2013
Neatorama
posted by PJMoore at 12:37 PM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by PJMoore at 12:37 PM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best of Wikipedia
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 12:45 PM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 12:45 PM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'd recommend TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee") - "Things You Wouldn't Know If We Didn't Blog Intermittently."
posted by mark7570 at 12:46 PM on July 9, 2013
posted by mark7570 at 12:46 PM on July 9, 2013
Brain Pickings is consistently very very interesting.
posted by slightlybewildered at 1:21 PM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by slightlybewildered at 1:21 PM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
Reading the hardcopy of New Scientist remains a major source of my interesting conversational topics.
posted by Elysum at 9:22 PM on July 9, 2013
posted by Elysum at 9:22 PM on July 9, 2013
(Futility Closet, by the way, is kept stocked by none other than Metafilter's own futility closet.)
posted by Iridic at 10:34 AM on July 10, 2013
posted by Iridic at 10:34 AM on July 10, 2013
Stellar's "interesting" feed is usually full of great stuff.
Andy Baio's links page is short, and has one of the highest stuff-I-find-interesting ratios anywhere.
posted by schmod at 9:43 AM on July 11, 2013
Andy Baio's links page is short, and has one of the highest stuff-I-find-interesting ratios anywhere.
posted by schmod at 9:43 AM on July 11, 2013
Maybe "Endlessly amusing ourselves with curiosity" is more appropriate.
Mindless - such a boring state. ;P
posted by mkteku at 8:29 AM on July 13, 2013
Mindless - such a boring state. ;P
posted by mkteku at 8:29 AM on July 13, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by logicpunk at 10:46 AM on July 9, 2013