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8 Niche Blogs to Liven Your Day
With millions of people keeping blogs on the internet, I am faced with a never-ending treasure hunt for the strangest and most specific ones. If a topic is interesting to one blogger, it will probably be interesting to some readers. Or maybe none at all, but that never stopped us from posting them anyway. Here are the latest blogs focused on very specific subjects that are updated for your pleasure.
1. We Put a Chip In It!
If you read the story about how easy it is for hackers to take control of your newfangled computerized car, you probably thought about the good old days when cars made it down the road without any computers at all aboard. If that’s the case, you’ll probably love the blog We Put a Chip In It! It’s a collection of the new hi-tech products that don’t need to be high-tech. Do we really need a trash can with sensors that tell it when to vacuum up what we’re already sweeping? Should our sex toys have apps? Must a herd of sheep be wifi-enabled? It’s to the point now where our simplest possessions are “smart,” which is a bit unsettling. The gadget pictured is a smart plate that analyzes the food you place on it.
2. The Well-Appointed Desk
The Well-Appointed Desk is a blog that focuses on pens and pencils, and sometimes other office supplies. It’s not a corporate blog, although it gets advertising from some office suppliers. There are reviews of pens and pencils, history and trivia, links, and earlier this year, a glorious trip to the Atlanta Pen Show.
3. Dogs That Have Their Tongues Sticking Out a Little
The Tumblr blog Dogs that have their tongues sticking out a little is just what it says on the tin. You’ll find tons of dogs, all sizes and breeds, with their tongues sticking out a little. There are actually a few that have their tongue sticking out a lot. If you have such a picture of your dog, you are invited to submit it.
4. Feminist Lisa Frank
The content of the Tumblr blog Feminist Lisa Frank is artwork by ‘90s pop culture artist Lisa Frank (and occasionally other artists) overlaid with feminist thoughts and quotes. The image above contains a quote from Alice Walker. I heard that the artist, or her corporation, to be exact, is not all that happy with the site.
5. Encyclopedia Of Hypothetical Police Procedurals
From the TV cop shows we’ve actually seen, Miami Vice, 21 Jump Street, Alien Nation, Law & Order: SVU, Axe Cop, etc. it appears that any police procedural will get on the air if it has a strange and different hook. The Encyclopedia Of Hypothetical Police Procedurals is a blog where such ideas run wild. For example, Low Self-esteem Cops centers around Detective Byron Thurber, who solves 95% of his cases but feels terrible about the rest. His partner leaves encouraging notes for him to find, pictured, while they continue to solve crimes. I'd watch it.
6. Asshole Parents
Parents get blamed for every problem a kid has. Even when the problem is completely beyond our control. Even when the problem is completely caused by the child. Even when the problem is no problem at all. Parents have a place to vent, on a Tumblr blog called Asshole Parents, which was shared on my private parents group. Our kids are mostly teenagers, but believe me, we came up with a long list of reasons they consider us such. If you’ve ever expected your child to drink his favorite beverage from the wrong cup, you may be an asshole parent, too. The caption to the picture here is
Took my daughter on an African safari but I won’t let her play on her iPad so I’m an asshole. #assholeparent via @kristenhowerton
There are 181 submissions so far, and you are welcome to add yours. Some of my favorites are here.
7. Power Lines in Anime
Power Lines in Anime may be the most narrowly-focused blog I’ve seen yet. It consists of screenshots of power lines seen in the backgrounds of anime cartoons. The subject may be overly specific, but it’s not a small collection. There are already seven pages of such images.
8. 11 Foot 8
There's a railroad trestle over Gregson Street in Durham, North Carolina, that has a clearance of only 11 feet, 8 inches. Truck drivers have been crashing into it since as early as 1956. In 2008, Jürgen Henn mounted a camera near the overpass to record any crashes. Despite warning signs and flashing lights, he didn’t have to wait long to record his first. The site 11 Foot 8 Videos is a repository of those videos. There have been between five and 15 new accidents each year caught on video in that one location. The above video shows the ten crashes that were recorded in 2010. Thirteen videos have been added in 2015 alone, and the year is only half over!
See more niche blogs in our previous posts.