Cool Fun Things for Seniors to do When Bored
Nothing to Do? Chase Boredom with Funny Stuff Online
May 29, 2009
Bored seniors and Boomers with nothing to do will like these creative games. People who had to entertain themselves with their own imagination when they were small should check out this funny stuff to do online. Here are ideas for things to do when bored at work or home.
Some older people actually remember going to a library, pulling out a small drawer, and looking up Dewey Decimal numbers to find information. Well, the only thing that stays the same is change.
(Use this link to play the Random Wikipedia Game.)
Nothing to Do – Try Fun with Foreign Languages
This is a fun activity for people who are looking for things to do when bored at work. Americans and other monolingualists may, sometimes, wonder why there are so many squabbles over silly things on the international scene. There are other reasons, of course, for disagreements, but translating a sentence into a foreign language and back (to English) can be cool fun and give people a little insight into linguistic differences.
For an example, use a translator like Babel Fish:
- Pick a random phrase and type it into the white box. (Try typing "Just give me what you can and we'll call it even.")
- Use the little arrow to pick “English to Korean”, then click “Translate”.
- Highlight the Korean words with the mouse and copy.
- Paste the Korean words into the white box.
- Change the language to say “Korean to English” and click "Translate".
If done properly, the translation and re-translation of “Just give me what you can and we'll call it even,” will be, “Party shoes and we' What which is the possibility of doing only give me; ll even it shouting.”
This little game can have surprising results. Just type a phrase, translate it, then translate that phrase back into English.
Here are other examples:
- “All we have to fear is fear itself,” ceases to comfort when it becomes,“We all must fear fear itself.” (Russian)
- “Do you know where the can is?” becomes an insulting, “You know where the can you are?” (Portuguese)
- “Just suck it up,” unfortunately becomes, “Please suck it.” (Chinese - trad)
Sometimes a live person does a better job than a computer. One should hope so.
Another Fun Cool Thing to do When Bored: The Color Quiz
This is better than showing one's palm to a psychic astrologer. Take the Color Quiz. This little "game" is based on fundamentals in color psychology. Apparently, people have an emotional response to different colors. Results seem to change with different moods, so it is fun to take this test when bored, sad, or ready to give two weeks notice. The results are uncanny.
Funny Stuff to do Online: Plan a Fake or Unusual Holiday Party
It’s always fun to celebrate something unexpected. Make tomorrow, or any upcoming day, a holiday and plan it with a friend or two. To get ideas, type in a date on Wikipedia. The website will bring up a list of events, births, holidays, and Saints’ days for any day of the year.
For example, November 2, 1755 is birthday of Marie Antoinette, so have a party. Dress up with a scarf around one’s neck, sprinkle the day with common French phrases, and have friends bring cakes for lunch. While at work, act like everyone celebrates Marie Antoinette Day.
And, here's an article to teach seniors some better ways to use the internet by learning How to Google better. This teaches people how to make computers do the "reading" for them. Why not? That's what these machines are good for.
Create a Playlist at Pandora Internet Radio
Pandora.com allows anyone to make their own radio station by creating a cool playlist. Coordinate a great station for every mood. Pandora music-lovers can edit a playlist by giving a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” as each song is played. Create a station for special occasions, like these:
- Gregorian Chant Radio for white noise to combat annoying cell phone chatterers.
- Antonio Vivaldi Radio to increase creativity.
- Frank Sinatra Radio for cocktail hour.
- Guns N’ Roses Radio to surprise coworkers and family members.
Boredom can be banished with the help of a computer, but seniors shouldn't blow their eyes out by reading this tiny print. So, have a good time playing with these cool fun things to do when bored at work or home. There is some really funny stuff to do online for anyone, but especially for seniors who want to keep their minds active. What kind of music did Marie Antoinette like?
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