5 Internet sites where it gets pretty weird

MANILA, Philippines — “Oh no, I’m  in the weird part of the Internet again.”

You know it’s way past your bedtime when you’re watching your 5th Romanian pop song on Youtube and you can’t even pronounce its title.

If you tend to spend an indeterminate amount of time prowling the World Wide Web, you’ve probably experienced going down this rabbit hole. As strange as the Internet may be, it can get much stranger than you think.

Here are 5 common sources of web weirdness: 

YouTube

When it comes to video site Youtube, you’re bound to find a few stragglers from “the weird side” lurking around.

Start listening innocently to a music video or two, and you can end up hours later watching playlist after playlist of exercising cats and who knows what else.

You probably can’t even remember how you got there. All you know is that there was an interesting cat video listed on the side, and before you knew it, you were watching a sassy British man ranting about personal space.

This cycle goes on and on until you eventually quit cold-turkey and plop on your bed – dead tired and with an annoying tune stuck in your head for at least a week.

From funny, banned commercials to 10-hour remixes of “ain’t nobody got time for that,” YouTube truly knows no bounds when it comes to the kinds of videos you can watch.

Tumblr

With all the rabid fangirls and boys who inhabit this website, it’s no wonder that Tumblr has a weird side.

When you first start out with this blogging platform, you’re going to see all the usual stuff: inspirational quotes, breathtaking scenery, funny photos, corny memes, and the occasional personal rant.

Then you’ll see it: a short and unassuming text post. You’ll be tempted to scroll past it but your curiosity tells you to give it a chance. It turns out to be one of the most profoundly absurd things you’ve ever read in your life.

These are called night blogs, the gateways into the truly weird part of Tumblr, named as such because these ramblings are attributed to people who are up way past their bedtimes. 

Also, nobody in their right state of mind would post any of these in the light of day.

Facebook

Yes, even our beloved Facebook has its strange side, and no, we don’t mean your strange friends. Facebook has pages that feature the most random memes, and somehow they always find their way to your news feed. You’ll look at it, hesitate before clicking it open, laugh, and then never repost it.

These pages were created specifically to feed the craving we all have for the strange and the funny. A lot of them get their content from video or create them from scratch, but either way, they are usually the funniest things you’ll see all day – not that you’d ever admit to it.

Twitter

Twitter is no stranger to all the weird fun. With the ease of creating an account and the speed with which a person can post, there is always bound to be those who will use this net-given gift for purposes out of the ordinary.

What, specifically, makes it a good fit for this list? Gag accounts. 140-characters of ridiculous mayhem – easily and temptingly retweetable, dedicated to bringing mirth and a bit of sass to your Twitter feed.

Since the nature of Twitter is quick-paced, it’s sometimes hard to catch them in the act, but when you do, you’ll wonder how they come up with this stuff.

So far, we’ve shown you the strange sides of certain social media platforms. Now, we’re talking about the weird side of the Internet as a whole. All the previous examples seem like babies when compared to this next website.

4chan

Among other very colorful definitions, 4chan has been described as “the place where integrity goes to die.”

Seemingly normal at first glance, the homepage has a very cutesy feel to it. Do not let this fool you: beyond the peach background lies a whole new world that gets very dark, very fast.

From silly text call outs to images you’d pay to have erased from your memory, you’ll never know just what you’re going to get when you’re on this website. Cringe-worthy and beyond the scope of decency, you will definitely not want to visit this if you want your dignity intact. 

For what it’s worth, 4chan does seem to take the cake as one of the Internet’s darkest, strangest, and most surprising websites.

Do not visit this site if you are not prepared to suffer the consequences of mental scarring. Content is not safe for work.

The truth is, most of today’s popular websites are just like people: they have a decent side that you wouldn’t be ashamed to show your parents, and they have a strange side that comes out only once you’ve spent an entire night together.

Sometimes, this “dark side” is endearing and it truly cements your relationship. Other times, it would be best to just get up and go far, far away. Either way, as long as the Internet exists, weirdness is sure to show up. – Rappler.com

If you’ve spotted a strange side of the Internet, share it with us in the Comments section below! (Keep it clean!)