When St. Edward’s University students aren’t writing that next paper or studying for the next test, they can often be found perusing some of the humorous Web sites that have become so popular on the Internet. They enjoy Lolcats, Webcomics, and everything in between. So when you’ve got some free time, surf on over to one of the many sites St. Edward’s students frequent.Icanhascheezburger.comAlmost everyone has come into contact with the “Lolcat” phenomenon. Cute cats, hilarious captions, what’s not to love? As junior Rebecca Bernstein said, “It’s a pretty universal opinion that cats are cute. Besides, anthropomorphism is funny.” Lolcats began on an anonymous imageboard, where users would post pictures of their cats with the now-famous, misspelled captions. Months later, Eric Nakagawa and Kari Unebasami created ICanHasCheezBurger.com, allowing users to create and upload their own Lolcats pictures.Failblog.orgFailblog.org chronicles great moments in the history of failure, from poorly devised church signs to painful physical injuries. The familiar “EPIC FAIL” written in giant letters across each picture can’t help but force a giggle from the reader. Sophomore Ryan Lester said, “It’s always fun to laugh at others’ misfortunes.”WebcomicsWebcomics are changing the way people look at comics, and there are thousands on the Internet. Here’s just a few that students follow:Explosm.net”Though the comic writers tell really base jokes, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t laugh at them. Therein lies their genius.” –Zane Goodwin, Junior.Questionablecontent.net “QuestionableContent has awesome characters that I actually care about, along with realistic situations that the author always makes humorous. Whenever I’m having a bad day, I reread it to remind myself that while life isn’t perfect, it can still be funny.” –Jill Potkalesky, SeniorRedvsBlue.com “The comics are hilarious, the videos are hilarious, everything is hilarious. It is your one-stop-shop for nerd humor.” –Jordan Flayer, Junior Xkcd.com and WhiteNinjaComics.com are also worthy of perusal.Cracked.comCracked was originally a humor magazine that duplicated MAD Magazine’s style. The Web site eventually became more popular than the magazine, and now focuses on videos and articles, usually mocking reality or referencing modern culture. Sophomore Daniel Delgado said, “Every time I go to Cracked.com they have something stupid—so stupid it’s funny.” Newgrounds.comNewgrounds started as a video game site, but they’ve expanded into flash videos, music, and art. They also have a forum and a strong community of regular users. Rian Lowe, freshman, said, “Newgrounds covers everything in pop culture. It’s basically Adult Swim to the Nth power, or SNL uninhibited.”Sites aboutPeople’s LivesThe lives of others can be very entertaining, whether they’re awkward, average, or in the process of being destroyed. Here are a few sites that follow that model:FMyLife.com”It rocks to know I’m not the only one that has crazy messed up days.” –Amber Brown, Junior.MyLifeIsAverage.com “It’s absolutely hilarious and it makes me appreciate the small things that happen to me. I suggest you check it out!” –Beverly Pappas, Sophomore.TextsFromLastNight.com “I’d have to say that Texts from Last night is my current favorite because it always makes me feel a little bit better about my day.” –Carli Werner, Junior.PeopleOfWalmart.com”I like it because if you’ve been at Wal-Mart after midnight, you’ve seen these people before: the ones without shoes on, or with crazy outfits, etc. It’s some of the greatest people watching ever.” –Lee Fitzgerald, JuniorAwkwardfamilyphotos.com”AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com captures the monster that can come out when people are around family, and gives me an excuse to laugh at other people’s misery.” –Heather Jackson, JuniorCollegeHumor.com CollegeHumor was started by a student in New York as an attempt to break into the advertising and film businesses. Now it’s a huge site with almost everything the everyday college student would find funny. They do a lot of parodies and comedy sketches, and their Originals section can often be characterized as pure genius. Arielle Epstein, junior, said, “I mostly like the music videos, and the fake movie trailers. The site is good if you have had a bad day and need a laugh.” The OnionThe Onion was a news publications started by two college students, who sold it for less than $20,000 a year after its creation. Today, the stories are stingingly smart, and altogether present a scathing critique of the modern media and politics. They’re often so clever that some readers often fail to recognize them as satire. As junior Raquel Harrison said, “The Onion always makes me laugh, but it really makes my day when people don’t know it is satire and talk about it as if it were real.”[email protected]