The Principality of Sealand

The Principality of Sealand is a small nation located on a derelict sea fort of the coast of Great Britain. Maybe. It depends on who you ask. If you ask the folks on Sealand they will tell you that they are a sovereign nation, and that England has even implicitly recognized their sovereignty in the past. If you ask every other nation on Earth they'll tell you that those guys are crazy. Sealand is the most well known micronation, a small entity that claims to be a nation but that is generally not recognized as such. Sealand arguably has a better claim to sovereignty than most micronations but I doubt they'll be getting a seat in the UN any time soon.

Anyway that link up there is their official site. It's got info on Sealand's history and buy stuff. They sell coins, stamps, and even titles of nobility. The perfect birthday present for the royalty in your life. Check it out.

SurLaLune Fairy Tales

Did you ever read fairy tales when you were a child? I certainly did. I'm still fond of them. They follow their own unique logic, but it's a logic instantly recognizable to children. SurLaLune Fairy Tales is a site that takes forty-nine fairy tales and annotates them, telling you about the cultural elements in them that might not be familiar to twenty-first century readers. If like me you find fairy tales fascinating you should check it out.

Strange Maps

Strange Maps is a website dedicated to showing you the strangest and most interesting maps they can find. There's a map of what the world would look like if the planet stopped spinning, a map of Libyan dictator Muammar Gadaffi's plan to carve up Switzerland's land among it's neighbors, a map of the United States made entirely out of pumpkin peels, a map of heaven, and much much more. You'd never have thought there were so many cool maps, but there you are.

Check it out.

Frontline Online

Frontline is a television show on PBS that take a critical look at issues of the day, from global warming to the financial meltdown. It's very good and quite informative. If you've ever wanted to know exactly what Bernie Madoff did wrong or why someone with a terminal illness would want to end their own life, Frontline has the answer. And now you can watch all of their shows for free on the internet! Frontline Online has a complete list of all Frontline episodes ever, and you can watch them online for free with no ads. Isn't PBS great?

Check it out.

Nova Online

If you're like me, and I suspect that you are, you love the PBS television series Nova. For the uninitiated, Nova does in depth reports on various science and history-related topics and airs on America's Public Broadcasting Station. A great site to visit is Nova Online's video section, where you can view tons of Nova episodes online for free! It's pretty cool. Note that I do not know if these videos are available to viewers outside of America. If they are not, sorry guys. Go check it out!