I know I’m not the only one who wastes as much time as possible when I actually have something important to do. I’ve procrastinated a lot in my lifetime, which means I’ve gone down a lot of weird rabbit holes online. So the next time you have a lot of work or deadlines to meet, I hope this list inspires you to neglect your responsibilities and discover a new interest or passion.

1. Atlantis

Researching facts about the ocean in general has always been one of my favourite past times, but I’ve recently discovered the lore about Atlantis and now I’m hooked. You can’t tell me you’re not at least a tiny bit intrigued by an ancient, highly advnaced civilization inhabited by demigods. Even though it’s widely believed that Atlantis is a myth, a small part of me believes it could still be real. I mean, there are so many theories about where the ruins of it are located, and just because we haven’t found them it’s automatically assumed to be imaginary? There is still so much of the ocean that has yet to be discovered. One day in the future when we actually find the ruins of Atlantis, I’ll have this blog post as proof that I was a believer this whole time.

2. Caving

This is the one rabbit hole that I love to hate watch. I saw one TikTok about caves and didn’t even interact with it, but now it’s been months and I still see them pop up. I only recently became aware of how many people willingly took up this hobby and actually enjoy it. For what reason? I’ll never understand.

I wouldn’t even consider myself to be particularly claustrophobic, but every time I see one of these videos when someone has to turn their head at a certain angle or suck in their stomach just to move forward, I feel sick to my stomach. Just the thought of being stuck in a cave, unable to move, and with no one able to save you is genuinely one of the most terrifying things I can imagine. But at the same time, I can’t stop watching.

3. Rug cleaning

Now rug cleaning videos are the complete opposite as caving videos for me. They bring me so much peace and I always feel so relaxed whenever I watch them. There’s nothing quite like watching a video in 3x speed of a rug COVERED in mud being cleaned continuously for a good 5-10 minutes. I always know I’m in for a treat when I see one of these come up in my recommended videos.

One of the reasons I love these videos so much is because there’s also an element of mystery to them. Like whose rugs are these and how do they get so dirty? How much time does it take to clean in real time? Do they actually ever use these rugs again? It honestly seems like a bit of a waste of time, effort, and water. They’d probably be better off just buying a new rug anyways because I can’t imagine the rug is even in that good of condition after going through this process.

4. Staircases in the woods

The stories of there being random staircases in the woods are a classic. They originated on the nosleep subreddit, which I didn’t know were fictional stories when I discovered it, so I simply refuse to believe they’re fake now after believing them for so long. I’ve read so many stories about people disappearing if they climb the stairs, and how they are actually portals that lead to other dimensions. And apparently if people even just see a staircase, they’re tempted to climb up them. There’s also theories that they are tied to aliens in some way, which only adds to their intrigue.

5. Google Maps

This one generally requires some imagination, but one of my favourite genres of YouTube videos are those listing weird sightings on Google Maps. They always have the most clickbaity titles, like “10 of the creepiest things on Google Maps. You’ll never believe it!” But it really adds to their overall charm, and I can never resist clicking on them. One of my recent favourites is Jeanette Island, an uninhabited remote island in the East Siberian Sea. At first, there was nothing suspicious about this island. It just looked like a block of ice that you wouldn't think twice about, until one day a few years ago it was mysteriously blacked out on Google Maps. There haven't been any solid conclusions as to why it was blacked out, but the fact that Google went through the effort to hide it makes me think they're hiding something juicy.