A CURE FOR THE INTERNET BLUES

There was a time when surfing the web meant something beyond scrolling through Facebook and Instagram. All different kinds of interesting websites and blogs were popping up everywhere, and dare I say, it added to a level of diversity on the internet.

Neal.fun is such a site that really struck that chord of nostalgia in me. It was created by Neal Agarwal, a computer science graduate, who was aiming to produce something that infuses creativity and technology.

The website at first looks suspiciously simple with just a list of buttons that will redirect you to a variety of pages. Granted not all of these pages are a lot of fun or revolutionarily informative, however, some of them could really give you some quirky insight on random topics. A personal favourite of mine was The Deep Sea.

The Deep Sea is probably one of the most creative and beautiful things I have seen this year so far. Once you click on it, you are redirected to a page that takes you on a deep-sea adventure. As you scroll down, you are taken deeper into the ocean where you find out how the waterscape changes with increasing depth. It felt nothing short of an interactive encyclopaedic adventure, except you are scrolling on a screen instead of turning the pages to see the wonders of the deep blue sea. I will forever be grateful to this page for showing me what a Japanese spider crab is. I never would’ve Googled it on my own accord.

Other pages include The Size of Space, where you get to reveal the sheer vastness of the universe starting from the size of an astronaut. Another page titled Life Stats shows you facts about your life based on the year you were born in. One really intriguing page you should look into goes by the name Spend Bill Gates’ Money. Yes, you have to find a way to spend all of Bill Gates’ money by purchasing random things listed on the site. It will always be a hoot to see the length of your receipt once you’ve theoretically depleted all of his funds.

If nothing else, this site will surely feel like a nostalgic retreat to the 2000s and it is definitely something to share and bond over with the young ones in your family. Visit neal.fun for the experience.