Welcome to this week's selection of Picks where, with great interest, we've been watching the public reaction to The Modern Library's list of Top 100 Books of the 20th Century. Apparently, the recently announced list is whipping up a bit of a furor. The problem, as we see it, is that the folks on the Modern Library committee didn't actually explain why the books were ranked as they were--a mistake our panel here at Picks is committed not to repeat as we reveal the long-awaited Eight Best Web Sites of ALL TIME...
Here goes.
Making of America, a vast digital library of primary sources in United States social history from the Antebellum Period through Reconstruction, is undoubtedly the Eighth Best Web Site of ALL TIME. This outstanding resource features over 1,600 books and 50,000 journal entries with 19th Century imprints. Besides the woodcuts, what cemented the site's immortal status? T.S. Arthur's stunning 1877 classic "Grappling with the Monster; or, The Curse and the Cure of Strong Drink." Nuff said.
Coming in at number seven is Who Would You Kill?, a delightful look at ensemble television. The site offers regular polls that list characters from your favorite TV shows--The X-Files, Ally McBeal, Saved by the Bell--and ask the rhetorical question, "Okay, who gets it?" While the results are always fascinating, the linked messages boards are alternately hilarious and frightening. (They're also probably quite therapeutic for the "very angry" web surfers out there.) Add it all up, toss in a couple of pics of the Dancing Baby pierced like a po-mo Saint Sebastian, send it to Gore Vidal, and you've got yourself the Seventh Best Web Site of ALL TIME. Sans doubt.
We know what you're thinking. You're thinking, it can't be done. You're thinking, in order to come up with a "Sixth Best Web Site of ALL TIME" they're going to have to find something entomological. Six-legged critters and all that. And you're thinking, no way no how. Well, ladies and gentleman, introducing our very best number six, Class: Insecta, a site "devoted to insects, with photographs and information culled from the Spencer Entomology Museum, University of British Columbia." Thoughts? Comments? Give it your best shot.
Number five on our humble list is Web Math, which simultaneously teaches the fundamentals of solving complex arithmetic and provides a handy tool for frustrated students to cheat on their homework. Of course, the twist comes as the students realize that they're actually learning the methods used to solve quadratic equations and the like. Java-based animations take budding mathematicians step by step through the various solutions. Kudos to Web Math! Our panel was unanimous in selecting it as the Fifth (10x-2y+pi) Best Web Site of ALL TIME!
They say that in some ancient South American cultures the number four was regarded as having "dark powers" used to "bring destruction upon neighboring villages." Didja know that? Betcha didn't. That's cause we made it up! It's completely false, just like four of the five facts in every day's Didja Know? Visit the site and try to spot the truth among the whoppers. You can also browse past quizzes and see how others fared. Finally, and perhaps best of all, you can submit your very own wacky facts or outrageous fables. See if you can stump the world with your fakery. Of course, our esteemed panel of experts had no problem spotting the truth--that this site should be named the Fourth Best Web Site of ALL TIME.
They also say that bad news comes in threes, which might explain our Third Best Web Site of ALL TIME, the International Black Sheep Society. The site celebrates those "dastardly, infamous individuals of public knowledge and ill-repute" found in everyone's family but your own. Visitors are invited to post stories about whimsical relatives past and present, such as "Uncle Andy," busted for hawking military base steaks to a local Denny's, and "Uncle Thomas," a ninth great uncle executed for bestiality in Plymouth Colony, 1642. It's all about airing skeletons in the proverbial family closet. (Look for upcoming postings about our very own Uncle Chester.)
Mostar Gallery, a virtual tour through an ancient Ottoman town in Bosnia, is the Second Best Web Site of ALL TIME. While ninety percent of the town of Mostar was reduced to rubble during the Yugoslavian Conflict, your wearily ironic host Fedja (ex-Bosnian refugee, currently a mathematics student at Oxford) displays several ornate landmarks as they appeared pre-1992. Explore the Old Bridge built in 1557 (bombed), gaze at a lapidary Ottoman mosque (burned), or stroll through the cobblestone town square (shelled to pieces). Mostar Gallery is an immortal classic, thanks to Fedja's wry take on heavy artillery and historic architecture. Hats off, Fedja, we're proud to see you on the list.
And the Number One Best Web Site of ALL TIME? The Ben Chapman as Creature from the Black Lagoon site. Why? Maybe it's the cool Creature graphics. Maybe it's the trivia. Who knows? Who cares? It's number one cause we say so and NO ONE CAN CHANGE THAT, unless of course they make their own list... Nah, that would never happen. Take your pick(s).
If you know of any timely, informative, or wacky web sites, please drop us a note. Also, feel free to send any general thoughts or comments about Picks.