Whenever I fantasize about winning a lottery or striking it rich in some other, non-hard-working fashion, I always set aside $3.2 million of my imaginary booty towards buying a single comic book.
That’s how much a mint condition edition of Action Comics No. 1 will set you back... if you had the money and a wife who wouldn’t murder or divorce you for buying it instead of an ocean-view home in Hawaii. The book marks the first appearance of that dude in the red and blue tights, Superman, and pretty much launched the superhero comics and assorted geek-ery industry that we (and by “we,” I mean “I”) know and love today.
However, since statistics say I’m more likely to be struck by lightning while dancing the two-step in a Lady Gaga outfit than win the lottery, I’ll probably never own a copy of Action Comics No. 1. But that doesn’t mean I can’t see the pages of an original mint 1938 edition any time I want, thanks to the Internet.
Yes, as I continuously try to explain to my 11-year-old daughter, the World Wide Web offers far more than just funny pictures of cats, YouTube videos of something called “Annoying Orange” and tweets from Selena Gomez.
Don’t have the cash handy for a Da Vinci drawing but still want to take a stab at creating your own self-propelled helicopter thing based on his ideas? Well, there are a ton of sites dedicated to sharing the master’s artwork and inventions with the world.
Haven’t saved up enough for that trip to Paris to wander the Louvre and soak in all those masterpieces? No need, as the French museum offers a virtual online tour where you can visit the many exhibition rooms and galleries.
Sure, you’ll miss out on all the gourmet food and French culture, but on the other hand, you’ll never have to worry about waiting in line or getting your pockets picked.
“But what about the Eiffel Tower?” you may well ask. Or you may not ask, but I’m going to talk about it anyway.
Even if you can’t make the trip to Paris, you can still check out the city’s famous landmark through a live web cam. Heck, name any tourist destination in the world you would like to visit, and chances are, there’s a live feed pointed right at what you want to see or visit while there.
I’m partial to visiting a few online sites that offer different views of Hawaii’s famous Waikiki Beach, both because it’s my favourite place on the planet and it’s also really fun to torture myself watching people enjoying a perfect 30-degrees and surfing nice waves while I’m stuck inside on a rainy, cold and wet Squamish work day.
But much like Da Vinci’s works, a Waikiki sunset is indeed a masterpiece.
So spend some time away from funny felines and bothersome citrus fruits, and discover some of the rare sights found in the online world.
It’s already saved me $3.2 million and a divorce.
