The best animal websites to waste time on
ONLINE animal clips are like Croc shoes. We don’t know why people like them so much, they’re weird, but we just have to accept them. Here are the best.
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EVER wasted time looking at funny photos or videos of animals online? Admit it, you have.
We’ve all been on time-wasting animal websites, whether it’s at your desk at work or while waiting for a train.
Some are better than others, but even bad sites are appreciated for their entertainment value.
More often than not, funny-looking animals are involved, while the best sites are light-hearted and don’t take their subjects too seriously.
And there’s money to be made from them — some cats even have agents to arrange special appearances. Hopefully they don’t get into catfights backstage.
At the inaugural internet Cat Video Film Festival in Minneapolis in 2012, more than 10,000 people attended, which was twice the number of people the organisers were expecting.
Best animal websites:
Canines don’t feel shame according to a recent US study, but you wouldn’t know it by the photos of badly behaved dogs looking very sheepish while wearing placards listing their crimes, as written by their aggrieved owners.
Its tagline is “people who play bass with their fingers look like they’re tickling hairy dogs,” and that’s exactly what you’ll see in these photo shopped photos of famous musicians.
Meet Maymo, a Lemon Beagle whose skulduggery is tolerated and hilariously filmed by his owner Jeremy Lakaszcyck from Boston, US. Inspired by the site Dog Shaming, there’s no end to Maymo’s poor choices, or Lakaszcyck’s decision to dress him in animal suits.
catsthatlooklikehitler.com, catsthatlooklikepinupgirls.tumblr.com, lolcats.com
Funny cat photos are da bomb. Especially ones where they resemble historical figures or iconic pop culture trends.
catshaming.com
No word yet on whether cats feel shame, but it would be a shame not to see Skinbles the fat ginger cat fail at jumping onto a window sill.
icanhas.cheezburger.com
This blog was instrumental in bringing animal-based memes into the mainstream. It features pictures, gifs and videos of cats and other animals — often paired with grammatically suspect phrases for comedic effect.
cuteoverload.com, emergency-kittens.tumblr.com
We dare you not to smile at these photos, or at least mutter “aww” under your breath.
thirdroar.com/journal
After dog and cat comes poultry shaming. For example, Turkish the midget white turkey looks contrite with a sign around his neck saying: “I tried to have sex with a pile of snow”.
What is it with the internet’s love affair with cats and other furry pets?
Is it because they are the perfect canvas for human projection? A catspiracy?
Pop culture and social media researcher Lauren Rosewarne says the craze can be explained by a range of factors that, combined, create the perfect social media recipe.
“There’s the cuteness factor and the fact that offline people love animals, so it’s no surprise we see animals taking a big role in videos,” she told AAP.
The internet has always been about sharing, whether it be emailed jokes, powerpoints with images of kittens, to funny animal memes and videos, says Dr Rosewarne.
But it’s the unusual clips that go viral.
“There also needs to be something more than cuteness. It gets us in, but what gets us to pass it on is something else,” she said. “We’re attracted to animals we find sweet and adorable, and when they do stupid, embarrassing or funny things, it adds even more value.” The researcher says she doesn’t think people go online to purposely look for animal photos.
“We’re not searching material out so much as we are continuing the ball rolling with a clip that has already been identified as funny.”
There’s no science to it, says Dr Rosewarne, or a clear explanation as to why items such as screaming goat music videos became so popular in 2012.
“It’s hard to imagine how that came about. You can’t sit down and design the next big thing on the internet,” she said.
“But these things are often short-lived. We’re not hearing goats now.” Dr Rosewarne says the popularity of animal websites has even resulted in its language appearing in everyday usage.
For example, the phrase “I can has cheezburger” has entered the lingo, after the name of a popular animal blog.
“It’s funny and disturbing at the same time.”
UK’s move to follow Australia’s social media bans
The British government is taking action that will likely see it follow in the footsteps of Anthony Albanese and implement social media age bans for children aged under 16.
Another social media platform to be banned
There has been a twist in Australia’s world-first reforms to restrict teenagers’ social media use after fears a messaging service could find a loophole.