Spin The Wheel

Incredibly addictive and marginally SFW, Web 2.0 gets surreal with snowballing webcam hub Chat Roulette. Oh, nameless geniuses behind the minimalist site, we're dedicating our next productivity slump (and IT blush) to you.

 

Like an amped-up, delinquent version of MTV's Next, the idea is simple: Click “Start” and you're instantly connected with a random cam around the world. Click “Next” and test your luck with a new chat. The results are alternately hilarious and terrifying, voyeuristic, exhibitionist and, above all, bizarre. 

 

A plump girl wears a cat mask. A Japanese dude flashes a peace sign. Now there's a random puppet show. A shirtless Brazilian earnestly asks about gay life. Whoops, there's a guy wacking off. There’s a boob. Now a group of drunk college kids. And a tween who should not be up this late (take note, To Catch a Predator). Like the text-only Omegle, the anonymity of Chat Roulette brings out the freaks, straddling a line between old-school AOL chat rooms, an SNL comedy sketch and XTube. It’s like the Internet's unfiltered id and all you need to play is a Web cam and an open mind.