5 Links to: Cool Collections

These websites host interesting collections of things. Check these out!

ASCII Art Archive

Thousands of ASCII art pieces. Nicely categorized and comes in sizes large and small. They are also launching some ascii art making software soon.

   ___     ___
  (o o)   (o o)
 (  V  ) (  V  ) 
/--m-m- /--m-m-

Personally, I’m a great fan of these birbs.

The Measure of Things

After inputting a measurement, this website lists ways to describe it in other easily-visualized units. It’s the meme of “0.56 big macs per football field” realized in a useful way.

Most of us are terrible at connecting measurements to real-life phenomena, it’s absurd. How much is 76 grams? Can you imagine holding 76 grams? Well, now I know it’s lighter than a deck of cards, but heavier than a tennis ball.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Well-written articles on concepts in philosophy and philosophers. More specialized than wikipedia searches. Has a random article button, so you can binge it (if you’ve the heart).

Tarot Heritage

Overview of historic tarot decks, with historical details and personal commentary. The website also has more articles about tarot reading and similar topics.

In an increasingly platform-based (read: oligarchic) web, these sites can be hard to come across, yet they inspire a unique joy, like reading an obscure book or taking a fun class on a highly specific topic in college. Do you know any cool sites like these?