Recommend short diversions on the web.

February 10, 2005 12:38 PM

What are good places on the internet to waste a short, pre-determined amount of time? (more inside)

Frequently, when I'm working, I like a short break (under 5 mins) to clear the old noggin. But MeFi, AskMe and other blogs tend to have entries that will have me potentially spending hours reading up on interesting topics. A good solution is web comics, but really, there are only two that I consistently enjoy, and starting on a new one usually means several hours of reading up on back-story.

posted by sid to Computers & Internet (18 answers total)

weboggle!
posted by u.n. owen at 12:44 PM on February 10, 2005

If games are viable, there's some that use Flash (or... whatever) on Yahoo and places like shockwave.com. Some are even multiplayer.
posted by DyRE at 12:49 PM on February 10, 2005

I like the Texas Hold Em rooms on Yahoo games.
posted by spicynuts at 12:57 PM on February 10, 2005

grab.com has some fun, short, and easy games too
posted by amberglow at 1:09 PM on February 10, 2005

Wasting five minutes on the Internet is easy. I think I've done it fifty times already today.

Shopping blogs like engadget or Cool Tools are good for a quick five minutes of interestingness without excessive linkiness.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 1:10 PM on February 10, 2005

Wiki or everything2 are good firsts. Bloglines is a good second, not direct but seductively tangential.

Make sure you don't become addicted, nature still exists.
posted by sled at 1:13 PM on February 10, 2005

Second Weboggle. The only problem is...it's so damn addictive that it's hard to play just one.
posted by Miko at 1:15 PM on February 10, 2005

fark.com of course.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 1:30 PM on February 10, 2005

Internet cafe. Once your pre-determined time runs out, that's it.
posted by AlexReynolds at 2:16 PM on February 10, 2005

Just tried weboggle, you evil bastards, that will be way longer than a five minute waster for me.
posted by Duck_Lips at 3:20 PM on February 10, 2005

5 in a row go (press the Gomoku button). I find it's easy to stop as I can only stand so much of getting my butt kicked...
posted by jasper411 at 3:37 PM on February 10, 2005

Jigzone. I blame it for my carpal tunnel.
posted by mygothlaundry at 3:57 PM on February 10, 2005

My StumbleUpon toolbar keeps me busy when I don't have anything to do... and when I do.
posted by ITheCosmos at 5:29 PM on February 10, 2005

Screenhead, you gimboids.
posted by dong_resin at 12:27 AM on February 11, 2005

Post a question to Ask Metafilter??

I've spent 15 minutes in here already and I'm only halfway down the page!
posted by snowgoon at 5:08 AM on February 11, 2005

The Kingdom of Loathing is an entertaining and very funny little diversion. You get around 40 turns a day, so it generally only wastes so much time.
posted by picea at 6:25 AM on February 11, 2005

w/r/t Weboggle: Mhu hu hah ha ha ha ha. Another soul claimed.
posted by Miko at 8:03 AM on February 11, 2005

A friend recently turned me on to Orisinal. Lots of games with high re-play value, but too sickeningly sweet to keep your attention for more than five minutes.
posted by Monk at 10:00 AM on February 11, 2005