Top five websites of the week

The internet is full of great websites, articles and videos. Here are five we've been enjoying this week.

Flowing prose

The city of Melbourne was transformed into an art installation earlier this year, when 10,000 books formed a river of light across its streets. The Light in Winter festival commissioned Spanish art collective Luzinterruptus to create the work, which flowed through the Australian city. Each book was illuminated using a tiny light, creating a stunning effect when darkness fell. On the final day people were encouraged to come along and take books home with them.

Bad weather

The ‘What if?' section of the XKCD answers hypothetical questions about physics. In a recent entry someone asked what would happen if a rainstorm was concentrated into a single, giant drop. The answer is fairly catastrophic, as a "supersonic omnidirectional jet destroys everything in its path". The explanation of why this would happen is certainly intriguing.

A horrible future?

Virgin Media Business, the corporate arm of the popular cable TV and internet company, has created a terrifying vision of the near future. A future in which everything hovers, floats and whizzes around like a never-ending version of Minority Report. The video is supposed to show how we'll live our lives in the year 2025, but we can't imagine it happening any time soon.

Art attack

With the best of intentions, Cecilia Gimenez ruined a Jesus Christ fresco near Zaragoza, Spain. The woman, who is in her 80s, was upset at how much the fresco had deteriorated so decided to ‘restore' it. She didn't do a very good job. This website lets you have a go at the restoration job.

Gransnet

When we visited Age UK's ITea and Biscuits event in London recently we were introduced to a great new website. Gransnet is a social networking site for grandmothers, complete with articles, advice and a discussion forum. The community brings together grandmas online to discuss issues relevant to them. There's even a ‘shed' where granddads can hang out.