If you are looking to get directions, count calories, or learn a new language, there’s an app for that. Actually it seems there are apps for everything. Downloadable to your device and accessible every day. But what if you only need something once in a while? There’s a website for that. Here are 12+ of our favourites that you’ll probably want to bookmark.
For Education
Free courses.. for everything.
There are many institutions (like MIT) that offer free courses online. The No Excuse List has compiled all of these sites (including most popular sites Ted Talks, Code Academy, Khan Academy). If you want to learn about something new, check here first.
Learn to code
Of all the coding sites, I believe the best is still Code.org. It’s a not-for-profit committed to digital literacy for everyone. They have coding lessons for pre-readers through to adults. They also list coding classes offered in your area. Anyone can code, give it a try.
Elementary school skills for all ages
I was helping my daughter label countries in South America and I realized I didn’t actually know where most of them are. Lizard Point has simple and fun quizzes on basics in geography, flags, and math. A time waster and educational too.
For Online Safety
Check if your email has been breached.
Security breaches in websites have become common place. When the emails are taken, they are frequently released in lists in the dark web, or where they are hard to find. Lucky for us the amazing people at Have I Been Pwned? have an easy way for you to check yours. Just enter in an email address and the site will tell you if it appears on *any* breached lists. The only exception is sensitive websites, like the 2015 Ashley Madison breach. If the email you are searching appears on this type of list then they do not display the results but rather send them to that email address ensuring prying eyes can’t figure out who is a member of the site.
Terms of Service Coles Notes
Do you actually read the entire Terms of Service before you agree to them? Most people don’t. Terms of Service;Didn’t Read summarizes the warnings and risky elements in the terms that you probably agreed to without knowing.
Find out what your browser knows
If you are curious about how much personal data your browser has, and what it could be sharing with their site, visit the Browser Knows About You site and scroll down to see your information.
For Health
The simplest muscle guide
If you want to know how to strengthen a particular muscle, Muscle Wiki‘s easy site allows you to select a muscle and then gives you a photographic guide of the exercises you can to build that muscle. Ridiculously easy to follow and includes safety guidelines, which many online workouts do not.
Fitness explained by science
I’ve always said if there was a one diet that worked for everyone, we’d all be on it! Every body is different but the science behind getting and staying healthy can help you figure out your path. Simple Science Fitness is a site (and a free program you can join) that is full of charts and explanations about fitness and nutrition.
Holistic Health
Meditation apps are tops sellers because people are recognizing the need to take care of emotional and mental health as well as physical. For holistic health, the Daily Om site covers inspirational messages as well as inexpensive courses. Their pictures alone should make you zen!
For Entertainment
Any calculation you ever need
In case you wanted to know how many days since the your favourite football team won a game, or how fast the largest hurricane was, Wolfram Alpha is a computational engine for all things numbers and stats. It can also help you settle bets.
Measure your binge before you commit
I am staring at the entire book collection of Game of Thrones that I haven’t read. If I decide to read it, How Long To Read This tells me it will take about 75 hours for the first 5 books. If I decide to watch it instead, this TV Binging website tells me it will take 2 days 19 hours, or 67 hours, for all 7 season. Check all of your reading and watching indulgences.
The ultimate rabbit hole
My go to website when I want news or entertainment is Reddit. Though popular, most people I speak to have not heard of it. It is a forum of posts with a global and diverse audience. The “front page” shows the most popular posts but there are subreddits for just about everything. There is Funny or Crappy Design if you need a laugh. My kids love Aww for adorable animals. My favourite is Ask Reddit which crowd sources ideas, stories, and answers to questions. You can find fan sites for shows/books, groups specific to your city, amazing scientific explanations, and lots of first hand reports of current news. There is some unsavoury stuff to but you only need to visit what you like. Check it out but be warned it will suck your time.
Did we miss a lesser known site that is your go to? Let us know in the comments below.
Happy surfing!
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