Shelley Howells: Where to find that Twister duvet cover you've always wanted

COMMENT

Time for the end-of-year clearout of the favourites folder. There's an odd mix of useful, funny or bizarre websites that I've collected but not had a chance to use in the column so far. I hope that they'll make for good holiday rainy-day time-killers.

List-lovers and filing freaks will identify with Matthew McClintock's mind-numbing website, in which he records every item in his home, right down to digital photos of the contents of his underwear drawer. Why? "It comes down to an appreciation for documentation and lists, as well as a keen appreciation for the absurd aspect of "revealing" the contents of my home to the entire world," he writes. Each time he gets something new he updates, so I'm guessing that Christmas is a busy time.

Similarly pointless yet strangely engrossing is the Ticketstubs website, which invites members to send in photos of used ticket stubs and tell stories about the event they attended.

Stories range from reviews of events, through to tales of dates gone badly wrong.

Treasure Jar is an endearing family project which records found stuff. John, Cheri, Rena and Mac's online jar is full of banal bits and pieces - from coins to broken hooks and keychains - found on their travels. They keep tabs on who found what, and do a monthly update photo of the jar and contents.

Adult Christianity provides proof that Christians can have a sense of humour. The site, created as an "antidote to the Christian Right", has a fascinating portal (The pearly Gates) to the "wild world of popular Christianity", including articles with titles such as Abortion is Not a Sin, and a lot of fun is had with the chastity movement. Best of all is their association with Miss Poppy, online supplier of Christian curiosities such as Wash Away Your Sins liquid soap, Jesus bobble heads, Nunderwear (the finest in Christian underwear, perfect for inspiring chastity), Mother Teresa Breath Mist and a glow-in-the-dark St Isadore (the patron saint of the internet).

Another site for weird gifts, is I Want One of Those, a one-stop shop for "stuff you don't need but really, really want".

Kitsch items include a fart machine, flashing coasters and a handy Twister game duvet cover.

From the Good Works department comes Write a Senior Citizen, a pen-pals site that matches folk with seniors from around the world. There are more than 3000 older web surfers to choose from, and you can select by country, date-of-birth and/or interests. Cheer up an oldie today.

And from the Tremendously Useful Desk is Which Book, that describes itself as the "product of a creative synergy between the disciplines of reader development, psychology and computing". Simply put, it's an ingenious way of finding something new to read, that beats aimless wandering of library/bookstore shelves. All you need is to work out what kind of book you're in the mood for, move the sliding scale between options like happy/sad, funny/serious, sex/no sex, conventional/unusual, and the site will bring up a list of reads, including reviews and excerpts, to fit your state of mind.

Those too cash-strapped to travel these holidays may enjoy a virtual tour of a US maximum security prison. You won't get to see any prisoners, but there is a chance to have a prowl through the death row housing unit, gym, isolation cells, grim recreation yard and the deathwatch ward.

It's one of those rare sites that gets the sobering/surreal balance just right. Or, for another way to get away from it all - including yourself - David Sill has the site to head to. He calls himself an identity donor, and offers his life and identity to anyone who feels the need for a change. He even includes childhood memories and friends.

But wait, there's more to do these holidays: learn to whistle through your hands; improve your rock/paper/scissors strategy; listen to your audio files played backwards; interview Adolf Hitler or crack open a virtual (bad) fortune cookie.

Happy holidays.

* Email Shelley Howells