It’s probably no secret to anyone on this website that I enjoy researching strange topics. Heck, most of the reason why I started this blog in the first place was because I realized that I was starting to annoy my friends/relatives/co-workers/fellow passengers on the bus with the blatant random factoids.
But the hardest thing by far is narrowing down just what I want to research. I love history and folklore, but I’m also a big fan of how things work (including the brain, body, and random gadgets), and enjoy weird things in general. Since I’m out of the country today (I’m writing this in the past and hoping against hope that the update scheduler works properly) this week’s update will just be about how I find interesting topics, and some of the strange places on the internet my search usually takes me.
 |
| Oh the wild and woolly places you will go… |
But first, I would be amiss if I didn’t note some of the other excellent blogs and websites that write about weird things out in the world as well. My biggest problem when researching is getting right in the entrails and depths of a topic only to find out that someone else has already written about it… and has done a very very good job at it already. After all, if I look at an article and find out everything I need to know about a topic presented in a well-written, informative fashion what purpose is there for me to write about it again?
There are a couple of websites that I’ve found I really enjoy that scope me on a regular basis. They are:
Skeptoid. Run by Brian Dunning, Skeptoid presents a hard scientific look at phenomenon, psuedosciences, and urban legends. Mr. Dunning is a computer scientist and consulting engineer who got into writing technical articles about strange phenomenon after getting banned from several Fortean forums.
The great thing about his articles is that he goes after primary sources, seeking to actually understand (and explain to the layperson) the reality behind many supposed unexplained phenomenon. And, as the website’s about page says, the reality is often “way cooler.”
Salon. There are so many great articles and columnists at Salon that it’s difficult to pick them all out. Salon was founded back in 1995 by David Talbot and- like big trees and fine wine- has only gotten better with age. Everything on it is intelligent and interesting, although I’m a particular fan of How the World Works and Ask the Pilot.
Cracked. There are no words to describe how wonderfully awesome Cracked is, but I’ll try. It’s a humor site that I originally stumbled upon because of this xkcd strip’s alt text (if you don’t know what an alt text is, just hover your mouse over the picture and see what appears) and because I was in an awesome club in college with one of their columnists. But I am now woefully addicted. Hardly a day passes before I find my way back to their darkened halls for a fix of comedy, lists, and strange history.
The only good thing about a topic appearing on Cracked.com is that, given the format, they usually don’t cover any individual idea in too much depth. So usually I can still write about things I find there.
But where do I go when I’m actually looking for a story? Well, there are a couple different places. The first, and by far the nicest, is stumbleupon.
 |
| Must… keep… clicking… |
As I’ve mentioned before Stumbleupon is a great way to find new websites. I use it a lot just for fun, but I’ve created a special research channel for it that has subject matters I tend to write about, things like science, paranormal, bizarre/oddity, psychology, and cognitive science. Unfortunately it sometimes sends me some strange places. Places like…
Fortean Times. If you have heard about something strange it’s probably on here. Everything from weird news and historical oddities to conspiracy theories or psychic phenomenon. Some of the articles are a little dense and difficult to get through, but there’s a treasure mine of interesting weirdness embedded in the site.
If ghost stories are more your cup of tea, you should check out the Shadowlands. Chock full of stories and myths about ghosts (including some supposedly true ones submitted by readers) this website is fascinating fun. The gallery is especially fun to waste time in- even though a majority of the pictures seem to be orb-related (le sigh).
A couple other random weird sites: Beyond Weird, Unexplained America, and Unexplained Mysteries.
But one of the best places to find random interesting things is the Something Awful forums. They cost about $10 for a lifelong membership but that’s what makes it such a wonderful place: cost = less trolls. It’s one of the few forums that I’ve been on that are truly enjoyable about 75% of the time.
So there you are! Widdershins will be back Monday with a new article, assuming I get back across the border in time.