How BoredomBash works, how we curate, and what the categories mean.
BoredomBash is a hand-curated directory of internet destinations worth visiting when you have nothing to do. 352+ sites across 22 categories, reviewed and selected by a human editor. No paid placements, no AI-generated selections, no algorithmic ranking. Est. 2013.
Three ways. Browse by category — all 22 categories are on the homepage and categories page. Surprise Me — the yellow button at the bottom of every page picks a random destination weighted toward higher-heat entries. Search — press / anywhere on the site to search by name across the full catalog.
Every destination is reviewed and selected by the editor. Criteria vary by category — Useless Websites are selected for pointlessness, Hidden Gems for being quietly excellent and underrated, Internet Classics for genuine historical significance. The overall bars: free or substantial free tier, works in a modern browser, safe to visit, not actively harmful. We run quarterly editorial reviews and monthly link checks to remove anything that's gone dead or changed substantially.
The vast majority are free or free-with-optional-account. A small number are freemium — we list these where the free tier is genuinely substantial (e.g., Coursera free audit, Canva free tier, Drawpile FOSS). We don't list sites where the interesting content is behind a paywall.
Trending is an editorial signal updated weekly based on what's getting clicked and shared. It's not real-time analytics — it's a weekly editorial call. The heat score (1–3) attached to each destination is the core signal. Heat 3 entries appear in trending blocks; heat 1 entries are "hidden gems" in filter terms; heat 2 is the middle. The Surprised Me button weights toward heat 3.
About 14% site-wide. Higher in Hidden Gems (22%) because that category's value is surfacing things we haven't found yet. Lower in well-stocked categories like Pointless Games and Useless Websites where we already have strong catalogs. Submissions go through quarterly editorial review — we read every one but can't reply individually.
Three main reasons: (1) it's on the review queue but hasn't cleared editorial yet, (2) it didn't meet the category criteria for quality, longevity, or safety, or (3) we haven't found it yet. If you think a site belongs in the directory, submit it here.
No. No destination has ever been listed because someone paid for it. The site displays contextual advertising through Google AdSense (the banner slots on category pages) but that's separate from editorial — advertisers don't influence the directory listings.
Yes. Every listed destination has been manually reviewed and is safe to visit. We don't list sites that install software, require credit card numbers, serve malware, or have consistently harmful content. A small number of destinations have NSFW risk tags — these are flagged explicitly and aren't included in the default "Surprise Me" weighted pool for that reason. We run monthly link checks and remove anything that's changed status.
Use the contact page with the site name and URL. We do monthly link checks but reader reports help us catch things between cycles. If a listed site has started serving malware, ads, or harmful content we take that seriously and will delist or flag immediately.