SomethingToDo2

If you’re a connoisseur of photography, or just need a visual distraction, life.com is well worth the time visiting. The site holds 10 million photos from the Life archive and you can peruse every one one of them without having to hunch over in a library with a photographer’s magnifying glass (a loupe).

Ranging from animals to zombies, this a photographic chronicle of history from the four corners of the globe — and beyond. The collection is often eclectic, sometimes sobering but always interesting. The brilliant photos are organised into broad categories or, if this doesn’t slake your visual thirst, a general search option is available.

If you have time to delve deeper into the site, the richer the visual treasures will be. From within the plethora of shots you can find and order framed photographs or just sign up to the Life newsletter for regular updates and new and archived photos.

Also on the site, there’s an interactive “real or fake” section where you can guess if the photo is, as the name suggests, real or fake. It’s often harder than you think. Who knew that electricity could shoot through someone’s fingers? Life captured it on camera for you.

Try using the site in tandem with the handy free iPhone app that can give you access to the archive wherever you might be. If you want to join the likes of Barack Obama, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne or any of many others, you can also mock up your own Life cover with a photo from your own collection. You can connect even further by joining Life.com on Facebook or Twitter.

The site has such an extensive collection that it is almost an exercise in what it doesn’t have. Need a picture of a chimp reading a newspaper in a hurry? It’s there. Need a photographic exposé of the Vietnam War? It’s there, too. Yet most of all, it is the sheer breadth of the collection (like an enormous global family album) that will keep you coming back to this site — even if you are the type who flicks through family photos in haste. If you’re a political tragic, try the “Obama The Dork” album or, if it’s more to your taste, “Jessica Alba Is Bored”.

If you have a fondness for a particular subject, life.com will likely be able to deliver visual stimulation. If the person is famous enough, say JFK, they are given an “All About” section with all related photos and information collected together. Try general terms such as “war” and you will find anything and everything on the topic — from soldiers getting haircuts to the heat of battle and the depth of misery.

So, if you’re bored on the tram or train or researching anything where a camera may have been present, try life.com.