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Single Serving Sites

   March 31st, 2009

The internet is endlessly innovative and entertaining. My current favorite phenomena is Single Serving Sites - websites that do only one thing.

In stark contrast to the "be everything to everyone" mentality, these one-off'ers are kind of refreshing. Most of them can't even be called "websites," because they consist of only one web page - but, for a fraction of a minute, they serve a purpose. Here's a list of my favorites:

Useful Sites

Weather Sites

Silly Sites

Once you start looking for these, it almost seems that they outnumber regular websites. Check out longer lists of single-serving sites here and here. Also, IsThisYourPaperOnSingleServingSites.com is worth reading - I hope he got an A.




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14 Responses to “Single Serving Sites”

  1. Brad Czerniak Says:

    Just for sharin’
    http://www.isitoppositeday.com/

  2. walt crawford Says:

    Unless “Is it Tuesday” is in the UK or Australia or somewhere like that, it’s even better: a SWSS–Single Wrong Serving Site, as it firmly says “No” on what appears to be Tuesday in California, at least.

  3. Brian Herzog Says:

    @Walt: I noticed when I was working on this Monday that the site said that Yes, it was a Tuesday. It made me laugh, but I chalked it up to server mislocation too. Whois implies the site in Las Vegas, where I suppose anything is possible.

  4. Laurel Eby Says:

    Brilliant! I’ve already posted about four of these on Facebook. Ironically, when I went to KeepMeOut.com, it already had facebook.com filled in the blank. I must not be the only person with that particular addiction!

  5. Pennsylvania Librarian Says:

    Gotta love the comment in the html at the bottom of the Large Hadron Collider page! It’s not often that someone promises a refund if their web site is in error.

  6. Brian Herzog Says:

    @Penn: Nice catch – I like it.

    And here’s another one I should have posted: as a compliment to DownForEveryoneOrJustMe.com, DingItsUp.com (also NotifyMeWhenItsUp.com) will email/text you when a site is available again. I signed up for email notification on chelmsfordlibrary.org to keep tabs on us.

  7. Matt Says:

    e.ggtimer.com is pretty neat too.

  8. Chris Says:

    > whattimeisit.com

    I really like Google for this.

    Need to know what time it is in Cleveland?

    Google for time cleveland
    http://www.google.com/search?q=time+cleveland&btnG=Search

    or for timezones?: time GMT
    http://www.google.com/search?q=time+gmt&btnG=Search

    or Sweden? time sweden

    I loves me some Google.

  9. Dan Says:

    Here’s a big list of them. Funny stuff and a great way to waste some time!

    http://singleserved.com

  10. Jason Says:

    How could you leave out Abe Vigoda Status?
    http://www.abevigoda.com/ffb.php

  11. Julia Says:

    http://theresablankforthat.com

    Because we all love/hate those iPhone App Store commercials.

  12. amortization Says:

    Another huge list of single serving sites:
    http://www.singleservingsite.info

  13. Swiss Army Librarian » Repairing Books with The Book Doctor :: Brian Herzog Says:

    […] go. Incidentally, I learned of Is It Old? via Lifehacker's recent single-purpose website roundup (I like single-serving websites). Tags: bindery, book, book doctor, Books, gutman library, harvard, libraries, Library, repair, […]

  14. Snappy pants Says:

    http://www.ishouldhavesaid.net/ This is a great site for snappy comebacks for all situations.