We all love working, don’t we? I’m sure none of you reading this would have it any other way than to sit at a desk for hours with little to show for it other than a meager wage. Those long hours spent in an office working on a computer never get tiresome, dull, or frustrating, do they? Or am I wrong in this assumption?
Yes, yes I am. Even the best jobs have their bad points, those moments when boredom sets in and there is nothing you’d like more in the world than head home and drop into bed. Or possibly out for a few beers. Thankfully there are alternative ways to relieve the boredom at times such as these. As long as you have access to the Internet and a way of bypassing the firewalls and filters your company has likely installed.
What follows are 20 (and many more besides) fun things to do online when you’re bored at work. Just don’t get caught by the boss.
Read
The Onion
The Onion labels itself as America’s Finest News Source. And it is, assuming you like your news to be funny yet wholly inaccurate.
The Daily Mash
The Daily Mash is the British version of The Onion, providing laughs and made-up news with a UK bias.
Literally Unbelievable
Literally Unbelievable exists because some people are too dumb to realize stories from the above sites aren’t based on the truth. Society is screwed.
Damn You Auto Correct!
Damn You Auto Correct! logs all those times when your smartphone auto-corrects your messages to make you look like a fool. Intentionally, of course.
You could also read comic eBooks.
Look
Garfield Minus Garfield
Garfield Minus Garfield does what it says on the tin – removes Garfield from the old Garfield cartoon strips. Which leaves Jon Arbuckle talking to himself. And looking slightly deranged as a result.
People Of Walmart
People of Walmart is a site dedicated to the store everyone shops in but no one wants to be spotted in. The sights on offer will leave you permanently scarred but laughing like a drain at the same time.
Awkward Family Photos
Awkward Family Photos captures those moments most of us would like forgotten. It was bad enough having these images locked away in an album under lock and key. Now they’re on the Web for all to see.
Scrolldit
Scrolldit pares Reddit down to just the images people are sharing. In other words, the good stuff you don’t want to miss. Perfect fodder for sharing on social networks when you’re bored.
You could also play picture games based on Flickr.
Watch
Talking Animals
Talking Animals is a YouTube channel which anthropomorphizes household pets. Your cat or dog isn’t as dumb as it may sometimes appear to be. At least if you believe these guys.
Quirkology
Quirkology is the perfect YouTube channel for those bored out of their minds at work. These are experiments anyone can do, most without any kind of special equipment.
The Gregory Brothers
The Gregory Brothers are a walking YouTube video factory. Thanks to Autotune The News and Songify This, this comedy troupe have become insanely popular. The Bed Intruder Song is still a must-see.
Jonathan Mann
Jonathan Mann is the man of just one voice, but 1,000 songs (and counting). Most of us would struggle to write even one song, while this guy has managed to write a new one every day for the past three years.
You could also visit video sites better than YouTube.
Play
Google Pacman
Google Pacman is perfect to play for five minutes when you’re bored at work. This is Pacman built around the Google logo. It started out as a Google Doodle before being archived to its own domain.
Bastion
Bastion is a perfect slice of indie gaming that is now available to play directly in Google Chrome. The full game needs to be bought but the Chrome extension offers a highly-playable demo.
Minecraft Classic
Minecraft Classic is free to play directly in the browser. And it’s well worth doing so, as Danny discovered last month.
Zynga
Zynga is the current leader in the social games sector. Its website therefore offers a portal which will offer simple pleasures for those with five minutes to spare.
You could also play Facebook Games and/or Google+ Games.
Laugh
Animals Being Dicks
Animals Being Dicks features gifs of animals being, well, dicks. Updated daily, this Tumblr-powered site is pretty much guaranteed to make you laugh. Unless you’ve had a sense of humor bypass.
Fail Blog
Fail Blog features videos, images, and stories all with one thing in common – someone, somewhere has failed in an epic manner. Part of the Cheezburger Network so more laughs can be had with very few clicks.
Criggo
Criggo is an online compendium of mistakes found in newspapers and magazines. Unlike with their online versions, these will remain forever, haunting some editor or another.
Dilbert
Dilbert is Dilbert, the same comic strip that has been appearing in multiple publications since 1989. Corporate culture and the technology which shapes it has changed, but Dilbert remains as funny as ever.
You could also laugh at these geeky websites.
Lest We Forget…
And finally let’s not forget MakeUseOf.com itself. Need I say more? OK, just a little. As you’re already here and reading this article you will know MakeUseOf is the best place on the Web to find things to make use of. And that includes links to websites and apps which will prevent boredom setting in whether at work or at home. Also, don’t forget our Geeky Fun section if you want a few laughs.
Conclusion
With many of us being connected to the Internet most of our waking lives, there is really no need to ever be bored. There are roughly 200 million websites online at this moment in time. At least a few (million) of them will appeal to you personally and help to kill time at work.
The ones outlined above are just the tip of the iceberg. Explore! And then come back and let us know what you found. Just keep it clean, please.
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