20 Interesting Reddit Communities to Get Lost In

Found yourself stuck in your flight, daily commute, or a friend is running late? Or perhaps you have been too productive last month and you want to balance things out by being, well, less efficient – I’m just kidding, don’t do that – then you need to get lost in the myriad of Reddit communities.

A lot of subreddits get a bad rap but there are certain subreddits that would simply pull you in because they are totally engrossingly interesting and fun to read. Here, I have listed 20 subreddits that would totally hook you in. (Warning: You will lose hours of your every day life. Producitivity will take a hit. Do not attempt if you have a deadline to hit.)

If you have been a redditor for some time now, most of these might be familiar to you already, so don’t be shy and share with us what other subreddits will trump the ones found here.

Read more: Getting the most out of Reddit – Tips, tricks & tools

1. /r/WritingPrompts

/r/WritingPrompts is a place filled with doors leading to hundreds and thousands of worlds created by redditors who are more than fond of writing. It is probably one of the most diverse and entertaining subreddits, as stories span from regular and overused tropes down to the most bizarre of stories.

And often, when a story from a user gets popular enough, the story gets their own subreddit and further develops for loyal followers. In fact, several prompts landed their writers actual publishing deals, and hundreds more self-published their stories on Amazon.

Here are some interesting prompts:

• God created thousands of worlds in thousands of galaxies.
• Two nomadic tribes isolated on each side of the planet begin to find the 500 year old relics of the other.
• You swerve to avoid a squirrel. Unknown to you, the squirrel pledges a life debt to you.

2. /r/PhotoshopBattles

Interested in laughing at crazy Photoshopped images or Photoshop fails, or perhaps you are a master in Photoshopper yourself? No matter which is it, this subreddit is a great place for creatives to show off their image editing prowess.

Contests can span anywhere from a simple photo of a kitten being photoshopped into an intergalactic cat emperor to just about anything.

3. /r/EducationalGIFs

/r/EducationalGIFs is a community where users submit GIFs of how things work, from engineering marvels to how the human body works. They usually feature clippings from documentaries that are edited to show only the essentials.

What is more interesting is the discussion that thrives with every submission, providing more information on what is happening on the GIFs (while, others are just downright hilarious commentary). It is a great place to procrastinate in and yet still learn something new, much like /r/ExplainLikeImFive (#11). Here are a few spots to get you started:

• How crayons are made
• WiFi signal intensity in an apartment
• 21 day timelapse of honeybee larvae transforming into adult honeybees

4. /r/LifeProTips

This subreddit is a great place to learn how to become smarter in life, and to make the most out of things efficiently. It offers tips from anything from personal finance, technology, down to child-minding tricks.

But the tips listed here aren’t your regular common sense or common courtesy tips, they are more in line with how to calm a crying newborn or recover a stolen vehicle.

• Use the phrase “My understanding was…” instead of “I assumed…”
• When starting something new, search for “Things I wish I knew when starting X”
• Looking for an apartment? I used to lease them, and I’ll clue you in.

5. /r/TodayILearned

Visit /r/TodayILearned if you are interested in learning about new things every day. This subreddit features interesting articles about uncommon knowledge about certain events, things, and many more. This subreddit is an interesting way to learn more about the world, plus the things you learn here make for good casual conversation during dates or group gatherings.

• TIL most Japanese schools do not employ janitors or custodians.
• TIL who CEO of YouTube, Susan Wojcicki, is.
• TIL China has a telescope on the moon.

6. /r/Astrophotography

We’ve all seen astrophotographs of outer space, comets, asteroids, stars, planets, and nebulae, and they are all spectacular. But most of these picture-perfect images were taken using multimillion-dollar equipments.

In /r/Astrophotography, amateurs and astronomers alike use their own telescopes (which cost anywhere from $150 to $15,000) to take photos of the moon, planets in our solar system, and distant nebulae. If you are interested in space photos, head over there and you might just find yourself a new hobby!

7. /r/DataIsBeautiful

This one is for lovers of statistics, charts, maps, and other forms of data visualization. The submissions in this subreddit span from just about anything that can be quantified and presented in a visually-appealing manner. Perfect for stats nerds and bar trivia hoarders (because someone’s need to be the life of the party).

• Loss of life visualized from WW2
• Heart rate (bpm) during marriage proposal
• 51% of Millennials have $1,000 or less in savings, survey finds

8. /r/ChangeMyView

/r/ChangeMyView is the perfect place for you to challenge your views about many things in life by explaining to the community that you believe in certain things, and that they are free to explain why your thinking is incorrect or lacking or needs more polishing.

It is a wonderful place to actually have a great conversation with anonymous people on the internet and expand or polish your way of thinking or life principles.

• I believe the government should be allowed to view my e-mails, tap my phone calls, and view my web history for national security concerns.
• If Women have the right to be Pro-Choice then Men deserve the right to decline fatherhood.
• It should be illegal for American companies to outsource to factories with conditions that would be illegal in America

9. /r/LearnUselessTalents

Looking for party tricks to impress everyone? Well, this subreddit has you covered. As the name implies, this subreddit links to tutorials on how to do certain things that aren’t much practical to learn, but you can still do for fun.

Anywhere from how to walk like a ninja down to how to speak in morse code. It’s an entertaining subreddit meant for light-hearted conversation and sharing.

• How to fold a napkin to fit three pieces of silverware
• Learn how to communicate tactically
• Great way to make pancake art.

10. /r/IfYouLikeBlank

Looking for people to recommend you a book, movie, music, and others based on your previous interests? This is the perfect place to start asking and discover more out of the things you enjoyed, and of course answer recommendation requests too.

• If I like movies like; Identity, Shutter Island, and Inception. What other thought provoking movies might I like?
• Elliott Smith, St. Vincent, Nick Drake, and Sufjan Stevens what ultra happy music would I like?
• Films or books where a person enters a strange town such as The Castle and The Wicker Man, what else will I like?

11. /r/ExplainLikeImFive

/r/ExplainLikeImFive literally attempts to make people understand things in the most simplest of ways, from answering simple cooking questions down to the most bizarre world of quantum physics. If there is a concept that you are having trouble getting, ask or search this subreddit and you’ll leave a little bit wiser.

• How does a touchscreen work?
• Stephen Hawking’s new theory on black holes.
• Why does it take 5 seconds for credit card/debit card companies to take money out of my account but 5 days for them to refund it?

12. /r/UpliftingNews

Everyday news can be pretty much tiring and stressful, since the media is mostly focused on bad things that are happening worldwide. If you ever find yourself "losing faith in humanity", go over to /r/UpliftingNews and recharge your zest for life with your fellow humans.

It’s a great way to start and end the day, and with a hopeful smile!

• College student uses coupon-clipping skills to donate over $110,000 to charities
• Bill Gates thinks the 1% should foot the bill for renewable energy, and he’s offering the first $2B
• Victim of arson who lost her father and siblings only wants cards for Christmas. Let’s deliver!

13. /r/Entrepreneur/

Business-minded people gather in /r/Entrepreneur to share their experiences and tips to the community, and individuals who are interested in starting their own business also flock there for advice. If you are thinking of starting a company, or looking for advice for your own, this is the best place to go for reading.

• 37 Tactics I used to grow my company to $50k/month in sales without spending a penny on marketing.
• How I literally started an Amazon business in about 1 month for about $1K
• 5 years of working online and these are the things that actually work in terms of Marketing.

14. /r/Motivation

Feeling down and devoid of any motivation as of late? /r/Motivation has you covered. It’s a wonderful place full of enthusiastic people who are trying their best to infect others with the motivation bug. It’s a place where people share tips, tricks, articles, memes, stories, and whatnots on what keeps them motivated.

15. /r/FanTheories

/r/FanTheories explores books, television series, and movies at a different level by introducing a brand new perspective about their story, thus shedding new light on how certain elements and characters are viewed. This is a breeding ground for crazy theories like the Simpsons are all geniuses or that Jar Jar Binks is a sith lord. Some theories are convincing while others are downright hilarious.

• Joker is the Hero in The Dark Knight
• The reason why Vegeta will never beat Goku
• The reason Dementors are so interested in Harry is because he has 1.125 of a soul

16. /r/Frisson

Have you ever shivered with emotion from a movie or TV scene, or even while listening to music? That’s called frisson. It’s an involuntary response to something that gives you “goosebumps”. This subreddit features submissions from users about the things they experienced frisson from. Submissions come in various forms from photos to quotes, videos, and stories.

Important Note: triggers for frisson differs from person to person, so while others might feel goosebumps from a submission, others might not.

• “If love could have saved you…”
• The final Calvin & Hobbes comic strip
• A Dog’s Purpose

17. /r/FoodForThought

/r/FoodForThought is a subreddit where thought-provoking discussions, articles and videos are submitted for further discussion. If you are into matters of deep discussions, this is the best place for you to go. You can also start your own discussion for other people to pitch in their opinion on or challenge your views.

• Why diamonds are a sham and it’s time we stopped getting engaged with them
• “Flipped schools”, where students watch video lessons at home and do “homework” in class, are showing early promise in improving learning
• An unarmed white teen was shot dead by police. His family asks: Where is the outrage?

18. /r/GetDisciplined

The year has just started and it’s not too late to discipline yourself for a “new” you. I know that it’s pretty much cliche to have a new year’s resolution, but who cares if it’s for your own self-improvement? If you need support from a community that seeks the same thing, visit /r/getDisciplined and start changing yourself.

• [Method] How I gamified my life using Google Docs (+ blank template)
• Screw motivation – what you need is discipline.
• Were you one of the “smart kids”?

19. /r/Showerthoughts

Ever had a brilliant spark in your mind while you were in the shower? Humorous thoughts like “Losing 200 pounds is a lot better in the US than in England” thrive in this subreddit. While some are downright hilarious, others are actually thought provoking. It is a great place to post your on-the-fly thoughts and get a good laugh!

• Waterboarding at Guantanamo Bay sounds super rad if you don’t know what either of those things are.
• Last night my friend asked to use a USB port to charge his cigarette, but I was using it to charge my book. The future is stupid.
• There should be confetti in tires so when there is a blow out it’s still kind of an okay day

19. /r/OffMyChest

No matter how many close best friends you have, you just can’t tell them about everything. That is what /r/OffMyChest is for. When you find yourself in need of an outlet to rant on things or praise someone but you don’t have the means to, just post it on this subreddit!

Warning: This subreddit will make you joyful, livid, morose, and other extreme feelings.

• The 8 year old girl next door just broke my heart
• I am NOT proud of my son.
• My son is a straight A student in life

20. /r/IWantToLearn/

If you are looking for guidance on how to start to learn something, just search /r/IWantToLearn for similar questions or submit your own. Usually the hardest part of learning is actually starting it and having a concrete roadmap to follow. With this subreddit, people who are in the know can help you and give you proper advice.

• IWTL how to observe details like Sherlock Holmes
• I want to secretly learn ASL to surprise my deaf sister as a gift on her wedding day. Help!
• IWTL advanced Excel skills

Are you still there or has Reddit already sucked you into its orbit? Well, no matter, I hope you are having a great time now! If you have interesting subreddits to share, please do post them in the comments section below. We’d love to know!