These cool websites arrive one at a time, one per day. An editor finds each one, opens it and checks that it actually works, then writes a short review of what's there and why it's worth a visit. The result is less a random link dump and more a shelf of corners of the internet you'll want to come back to.
The range is wide on purpose. myNoise has hundreds of adjustable soundscapes, from an Irish coast to a D&D dungeon, each with sliders to build your own mix. The Library of Babel turns a Borges story into code: search any sentence and it's already on a shelf. Musicmap draws popular music as one giant family tree from the 1880s to the 2020s, Itiner-e maps the roads of the Roman Empire so you can plot a route like an ancient traveler, and Learning Synths by Ableton teaches envelopes, filters and oscillators by ear.
The collection keeps growing as new sites are added regularly. Bookmark the page and check back when you want something new to explore, learn from or simply play with for ten minutes.
49 finds
Site of the dayAn open, volunteer-built collection of sentences and their translations: millions of examples in hundreds of languages, many recorded by native speakers. Free and weirdly addictive.
Site of the dayRed Blob Games explains algorithms through game examples — A* pathfinding, hex grids, map generation from noise — with interactive diagrams you can drag and tweak.
Site of the dayA fully searchable archive of London's central criminal court: over 197,000 trials from 1674 to 1913, told largely in the words of the witnesses and defendants themselves.
Site of the dayStitch Fiddle is an online chart maker for knitting, crochet, cross stitch, fuse beads and more. Draw a pattern square by square or turn a photo into a chart.
Site of the dayMark Smith's hobby site on getting almost anywhere by train and ferry: routes, tickets, what the trains are like and practical tips, from someone who's been at it since 2001.
Site of the dayMaangchi's site is all about Korean home cooking: recipes with videos, from kimchi and jjimdak to street food and vegetarian dishes, with Korean names and personal stories.
Site of the dayAn interactive International Phonetic Alphabet chart: click a symbol to hear the sound and watch MRI and ultrasound footage of the tongue and lips as it's made.
Site of the dayCameraSim offers free in-browser camera simulators: change shutter speed, aperture and ISO and instantly see the result. There's a 3D version for practicing full manual mode.
Site of the dayA volunteer project that turns public-domain books into carefully made ebooks: proofread against original scans, with real typography and new covers. Free, and free of restrictions.
Site of the dayIconic Houses is a global network of 20th-century house museums: homes by Aalto, Le Corbusier, Loos and others, artists' studios, and even a few iconic houses you can stay in.
Site of the dayA visual introduction to probability and statistics from Brown University: flip coins, drop balls and watch the rules emerge before you ever see a formula. Available in English, Chinese and Spanish.
Site of the dayMethod of Action is a set of free mini-games that train a designer's eye: kerning, Bézier curves, boolean shapes, color and letterforms, plus a simple web vector editor.