Internet sites for info and fun

AS A LIBRARIAN, I am always collecting a list of interesting and informative internet links, which are entertaining and educational for students and adults. The sites below can also help anyone interested in honing their research skills.

1. Real Life Lore – Geography has become one of the most neglected subjects in school, and yet it is one of those subjects that everyone can enjoy. Check out the site Real Life Lore on YouTube for exceptional geography features. This site offers fascinating videos with offbeat themes. My favourite one is called Why Blocking This Straight Will Cause World War III at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOd634GEyp0&ab_channel=RealLifeLore

Other Real Life videos include Why Japan is Shrinking Fast, What If You Were Stranded in the Sahara Alone? What’s the Safest Place on Earth? Why 94% of Chinese Live East of This Line, Why France is Secretly the World’s 5th Biggest Country, Why Planes Don’t Fly Over Tibet, Where’s the Most Difficult Place to Get to in the World? Why Nobody Wants This Part of Africa, Why North Korea is the Hardest Country to Escape, Why Switzerland is the Safest Place if WWIII Ever Begins. The list is endless.

2. Best Astronomy sites – On the link below you can find fun and informative links to amateur astronomy associations, news about outer space, astronomy sites especially for children and much more. Check out the latest research about outer space. Each site offers amazing videos.

https://armaghplanet.com/the-10-best-space-and-astronomy-sites.html

3. Best bird blogs – Follow the 20 best bird blogs for 2022. From All About Birds to the Audubon Society and the Ornithological Society, you can discover information about birds and see spectacular pictures and videos of birds in their natural habitats. Personal blogs offer a variety of perspectives at:

https://opticsmag.com/best-birding-blogs/

Also check out a site called birdgenie.com. Sign up for the telephone app, point your phone at a singing bird and the app will identify the bird for you.

4. audible.com – Everyone can use a little help developing their listening skills and audible.com provides that. Audiobooks are evolving into dramatic productions with sound effects. A monthly subscription to the site provides free access to Audible plus, which is a great way to discover new authors and books that you might not normally take a chance on.

5. Best book review sites – Some popular sites like Goodreads and Bookish can be found at this link along with Kirkus, a book review site, which is often used by librarians. There’s a fantasy review site as well.

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/decide-what-to-read-next-with-the-best-book-review-sites/

6. Best live cam wildlife sites – Here you can see a variety of animals in the wild and virtually visit places like the Warrior Canine Connection Puppy Cam, which allows you to watch newborn puppies grow into service dogs for retired service men in the US. The Channel Islands National Park Bald Eagle Cam offers hours of fun while the African Naledi Cat Eye Cam allows you to visit a secluded African waterhole. With patience, you can spot lions, leopards, rhinos and elephants. There’s also a Wildlife live feed in Transylvania, Romania. In all, there are 25 live links on this site.

https://parade.com/1015445/rachelweingarten/best-animal-live-cams/

7. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the World War II movie Casablanca starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. At this site, famous film critic Roger Ebert offers a frame-by-frame commentary on this romantic movie classic. This is a good exercise in movie watching and scriptwriting. Check out the link below to find out information about lighting, characterisation, dialogue, setting and general film-making. I found it fascinating to learn that the famous final scene at the airport was shot in the MGM movie lot – not at the Van Nuys Airport. The producers used a cardboard plane and midgets as extras to make the plane look bigger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMNodO6zP1U&ab_channel=M.B.Archives

It’s always a pleasure to discover some of the best sites the internet has to offer.