The internet is full of hidden treasures that often fly under the radar, yet they pack incredible value for anyone who stumbles across them. Take Project Gutenberg, for example—a vast digital library offering over 70,000 free eBooks, from timeless classics to forgotten gems. Or WolframAlpha, a computational engine that doesn’t just search for answers but actually solves problems, making it a go-to tool for students, researchers, and the simply curious.
Then there’s the Internet Archive, a digital time machine that preserves everything from old websites and vintage games to movies, audio, and books. These sites may not make headlines like Google or Wikipedia, but they’re some of the internet’s most useful resources—quietly sitting in plain sight, waiting to be discovered.
| Site Name | URL | Brief Description & Usefulness |
|---|---|---|
| WolframAlpha | wolframalpha.com | A computational knowledge engine that answers factual queries, solves complex math, and computes expert-level data across many fields. |
| 10MinuteMail | 10minutemail.com | Provides a temporary, disposable email address that expires after 10 minutes (or more with an extension), useful for avoiding spam. |
| Have I Been Pwned? | haveibeenpwned.com | Allows you to check if your email address or phone number has been compromised in a data breach. |
| The Internet Archive | archive.org | Includes the Wayback Machine, which allows you to view archived versions of over 869 billion web pages from the past. |
| Photopea | photopea.com | A free, powerful, in-browser photo and graphics editor that supports Photoshop PSD, GIMP XCF, and other file formats. |
| Camelcamelcamel | camelcamelcamel.com | An Amazon price tracker that monitors millions of products and alerts you when prices drop. |
| remove.bg | remove.bg | Automatically removes the background from any photo in seconds using AI, perfect for quick graphic design tasks. |
| PDF Candy | pdfcandy.com | A free suite of online tools for working with PDFs, offering features like merging, compressing, converting, editing, and more. |
| Ninite | ninite.com | Allows you to select popular programs and install them all at once on a new Windows computer without toolbars or clicking “next” repeatedly. |
| JustWatch | justwatch.com | Helps you find where to watch any movie or TV show legally online (streaming, rental, or purchase) in your region. |
| Midomi | midomi.com | A search engine for music; you can hum, sing, or whistle a tune, and it will try to identify the song. |
| Every Time Zone | everytimezone.com | A visual and intuitive way to compare time zones around the world, making scheduling international meetings simple. |
| AutoDraw | autodraw.com | Uses machine learning to guess what you’re trying to draw and replaces your sketch with polished artwork. |
| JustDeleteMe | justdeleteme.xyz | Provides direct links to delete your account from various web services, rated by difficulty (easy, medium, hard, impossible). |
| Down For Everyone Or Just Me | downforeveryoneorjustme.com | A simple tool to check if a website is inaccessible for everyone or if the problem is just on your end. |
| AlternativeTo | alternativeto.net | Helps you find free, better, or open-source alternatives to popular software, apps, and websites. |
| Instructables | instructables.com | A community for makers and DIY enthusiasts, featuring step-by-step guides for a wide variety of projects. |
| Radio Garden | radio.garden | Allows you to listen to live radio stations from all over the world by spinning a virtual globe. |
| CloudConvert | cloudconvert.com | An online file converter that supports over 200 different audio, video, document, eBook, and archive formats. |
| MyNoise | mynoise.net | Generates custom, high-quality ambient background sounds (e.g., rain, white noise, engine noise) to aid concentration or relaxation. |
| GetHuman | gethuman.com | Provides shortcuts, phone numbers, and tips to help you reach a real human customer service agent at thousands of major companies. |
| Sleep Calculator | sleepcalculator.com | Calculates the best times to go to sleep and wake up based on sleep cycles to help you wake up feeling refreshed. |
| WhatFontIs | whatfontis.com | Helps you identify a font from an image by analyzing its characteristics and matching it to its database. |
| Namelix | namelix.com | Generates short, catchy, business names using artificial intelligence based on your keywords and preferred style. |
| Dictation.io | dictation.io | A free online tool that provides high-quality voice-to-text transcription using Google’s voice recognition technology. |
| A Soft Murmur | asoftmurmur.com | Mixes soothing ambient sounds (rain, coffee shop, fire, etc.) to create your perfect soundscape for focus or relaxation. |
| Flightradar24 | flightradar24.com | A global flight tracking service that provides real-time information about thousands of aircraft around the world. |
| Atlas Obscura | atlasobscura.com | A guide to the world’s hidden wonders, amazing places, and curious travel destinations that are often overlooked. |
| Eat This Much | eatthismuch.com | Automatically creates personalized meal plans and grocery lists for you based on your diet, budget, and desired calorie count. |
| GeoGuessr | geoguessr.com | A geography game that drops you into a random Google Street View location and challenges you to guess where you are. |
| Will Robots Take My Job? | willrobotstakemyjob.com | Analyzes your job title and predicts the probability of that job being automated in the future. |
| Typing.com | typing.com | Offers comprehensive typing lessons and games to help users learn to type faster and more accurately. |
| The Useless Web | theuselessweb.com | A button that redirects you to a random, often bizarre or entertaining, “useless” website. |
| Account Killer | accountkiller.com | Provides instructions on how to remove your account from major websites and online services. |
| Virustotal | virustotal.com | Analyzes suspicious files and URLs to detect types of malware using various antivirus engines and website scanners. |
| Skylinewebcams | skylinewebcams.com | Offers a vast collection of live, high-definition webcams from scenic locations and cities all over the world. |
| This Person Does Not Exist | thispersondoesnotexist.com | Uses a generative adversarial network (GAN) to create a photorealistic portrait of a person who is entirely fictional. |
| What Happened In My Birth Year | whathappenedinmybirthyear.com | Provides a summary of major events, pop culture, and news from the year you were born. |
| Futureme | futureme.org | Allows you to write an email to your future self and schedule it to be delivered on a specified date. |
| Noisli | noisli.com | A background noise and color generator that provides ambient sounds for working, relaxing, or sleeping. |
| How Long To Beat | howlongtobeat.com | A community-driven site that tracks how long it takes to complete video games, helping you plan your gaming time. |
| Fake Person Generator | fakepersongenerator.com | Generates a complete, random identity, including a name, address, credit card number (not real), and more, useful for testing or privacy. |
| Scribd | scribd.com | A massive digital library offering millions of documents, audiobooks, and e-books for a monthly subscription. |
| TasteDive | tastedive.com | Provides recommendations for movies, music, books, and games based on things you already like. |
| CodinGame | codingame.com | A platform for developers to improve their coding skills by playing fun and engaging games. |
| WeTransfer | wetransfer.com | A very simple tool for sending large files (up to 2GB for free) without needing to sign up for an account. |
| Ptable | ptable.com | An interactive online periodic table that allows you to easily view properties, orbitals, isotopes, and more for every element. |
| Rainy Mood | rainymood.com | Plays a seamless loop of thunder and rain sounds to help with relaxation or concentration. |
| Calmly Writer | calmlywriter.com | A distraction-free online text editor with a focus mode, useful for writers who need to concentrate. |
| My Live Signature | mylivesignature.com | Creates an elegant, realistic digital signature that you can use in emails or documents. |
My favorites:
- Gutenberg.org – 70k free ebooks
- StopOverpaying.org – saved me a stupid amount of money ($1,300 last year). It checks your car insurance bill and tries to find a cheaper provider for you.
- Rocketmoney.com – app that lets you find/cancel old subscriptions automatically
- Totaladblock.com – an ad blocker for phones. $2/month but worth it
- Remove.bg – a free background remover for images.
- Khan Academy – free lessons for basically everything (quality is actually amazing).
- Libbyapp.com – borrow ebooks + audiobooks free with your library card.
- Freecash.com – get paid to test games/apps. Not super high-paying but nice to do while you watch tv etc.
- Pluto.tv – Free movies + TV (with ads)
- RadioGarden.com : list of worldwide free streaming radio stations
http://www.radiogarden.com looks interesting