Whether you’re team PC, Mac, or even ChromeOS, it’s not always easy to figure out exactly which version of your operating system is running at any given time.
Operating systems are updated both in small increments that are hard to notice and in giant leaps that can change their names on a regular basis. If you’re not actively following the tech news cycle, it can be easy to fall behind on knowing which OS is powering your computer. Allow us to help.
Using these simple steps, you can find out exactly which OS you have on any computer in a few seconds.
How to find out which version of Windows you have
Windows 11’s start menu. Credit: Alex Perry / Mashable / Microsoft
The first step to learning more about the current version of your OS is establishing what your OS is to begin with.
Let’s start with Windows.
If the keyboard your desktop or laptop came with has a Windows key on the lower left and an “Enter” key instead of a “Return” key, chances are you’re using Microsoft’s iconic Windows OS. Another way to find out is to simply look at the bottom of the screen; if there’s a start button in the lower left corner, it’s probably Windows, though if you have the newer Windows 11, it’ll now be in the bottom center.
Microsoft has very simple instructions for finding out precisely which version of Windows you have on its support website. The following instructions apply to both Windows 11 and Windows 10. If you’re not sure which one you have, a helpful point of reference is that pretty much any Windows machine released from 2015 on runs Windows 10 at minimum.
Hit the start button
Click “Settings”
Click “System”
Click “About”
Click “Device specifications” and then “System type”
Find where it says “Windows specifications” to see the version of Windows you have
See? Very simple!
How to find out which version of MacOS you have
Apple’s method is the easiest. Credit: Screenshot: Alex Perry / Mashable
We’re going to hazard a guess and assume you know whether or not you’re running MacOS, the desktop and laptop operating system built by Apple. It’s the only OS that runs on Apple devices and only Apple devices run MacOS. If there’s that famous Apple logo anywhere on your laptop, you know the deal.
Apple’s instructions for finding out more about which version of MacOS you’re running are even simpler than those on Windows. Simply click the Apple button in the upper left corner of the screen and then click on “About This Mac” directly underneath it. Seriously, it’s the first option. You can’t miss it.
In big text right at the top of the box that pops up will be the name of the MacOS version you’re running and the version number right underneath it. Kudos to Apple for making this easy as can be.
How to find which version of ChromeOS you have
A Pixelbook Go running ChromeOS. Credit: Zlata Ivleva / Mashable
Let’s talk about ChromeOS.
In case you’re not familiar with the newest of the three major operating systems we’re covering today, ChromeOS was created by Google and runs on any device with “Chromebook” in the name. If you’ve got a Chromebook, you have ChromeOS.
As for which specific version of ChromeOS you have, finding that is pretty painless per Google’s instructions. It just takes a few quick steps:
Click on the time on the bottom right corner of the screen
Click “Settings”
Click “About ChromeOS”
This should open a page with information about your machine’s version of ChromeOS, with the option to check for and install any updates there might be for it.
SEE ALSO:
5 things to know before jumping into Windows 11
Hopefully, you were able to find the help you needed with these simple but not necessarily self-explanatory steps to figure out which operating system you’re using.
Spot, the dancing robo-dog from Boston Dynamics, will make a Super Bowl appearance alongside with its robot friends.
In a Super Bowl ad that will air during the Feb. 13 game we see the yellow, quadruped robot crack open a cold one, chug it, and burp loudly. An after-hours party ensues at the Boston Dynamics headquarters, with Spot joining a crew of Atlas robots and two human security guards.
The full 60-second ad for Boston-based beer company Sam Adams includes plenty of “wicked” jokes and thick accents. The founder of Boston Dynamics, Marc Raibert, makes a brief cameo.
During the Rams-Bengals matchup, a shortened 30-second version of the ad will air with fewer office shenanigans, but with a steady supply of beer-fueled robo-dancing.
The iconic Magic Wand vibrator has inspired art for decades, from dangly earrings to a shout out on Sex and the City.
Given that the toy has long sparked creativity from its users, Vibratex — the only North American importer of Magic Wand — decided to hold a contest aptly called “Pleasure As Art.” The winner, Miami-based artist Dafne Blade, designed and crafted a sculpture made of over 100 decommissioned wands that’s not only stunning, but evocative of Game of Thrones.
Dafne Blade sits in front of their Pleasure as Art sculpture. Credit: Vibratex
The Pleasure As Art contest called on creators to create “magic” with 100 wands that were unsellable, like if they were damaged in transit or defective. Vibratex believed the challenge would illustrate customers’ broad and artistic love for the Magic Wand, according to its CEO Ken Herskovitz.
He and others at Vibratex were floored by the entries. “As we reviewed the submissions, the varied interpretations of pleasure and intimacy made it clear that we’d underestimated the power of what we’d started,” he said.
The submissions proved that the Magic Wand wasn’t just a physical product to consumers, Herskovitz continued. It was an immediately-recognizable symbol of individuality that inspired passion. Other entries envisioned the wand as a life force — some as a living being, and even one as a three-dimensional DNA strand.
Blade themself found out about the contest just five days before submissions closed, and was so enthralled they created a concept and submitted it before the deadline.
Concept drawing of Blade’s sculpture. Credit: Vibratex
Their submission stood out primarily because of how they communicated their vision, Herskovitz explained. Although they hadn’t yet built the sculpture, Blade submitted sketches, pages of images that inspired them, design details, and an in-depth written narrative in which the Magic Wand was reimagined as a living being.
Beyond the amount of work Blade sent, it was that story that impressed the judges. Herskovitz called their concept amazing. “Despite reviewing several other powerful entries, our panel of judges agreed that Dafne was the one,” he said.
Once declared the winner, Blade went to work on bringing their concept to life. Vibratex sent them 120 wands — over the original 100 they thought they’d have to work with — and ended up incorporating all but three in their sculpture.
First, they constructed a base made from wood and foam. Next, they sculpted out the foam into a throne-like shape and attached the wands with screws. The final step of the arduous process was adding in the details, like painting in the crevices.
The creation was very much a challenge, Blade told Mashable. Along with their team — their parents — they worked tirelessly through Thanksgiving and Christmas to complete it. “I ended up dedicating 12 to 15 hours every single day of December just to pump out this work,” they said.
Through it all, however, Blade kept the meaning of the sculpture, pleasure as art, in mind to keep going. Given this symbolism, they found it important to give it their all. “There was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into it,” they said.
One side of the piece has a “portal” that Blade painted, containing a genderless entity made of the Magic Wand. This figure is not only in control of their sexuality, Blade explained, but is also giving consent to be seen by others by turning their chest — vibrator buttons — “on.”
“Portal” side of Blade’s Pleasure as Art sculpture. Credit: Vibratex
The other side, meanwhile, has a seat for people to be the center and in control of their own sexuality as well. Blade didn’t intend this to have Game of Thrones vibes, but they’re not mad about it. “It was a happy accident,” they said. They’re most looking forward to seeing people’s expressions and how they interact with it.
The sculpture was Blade’s first foray in somewhat-explicit art (though this piece isn’t fully explicit), and they hope to continue to portray sexuality and sensuality in their work going forward.
It takes vulnerability and strength to touch on these subjects in art, Blade said, especially coming out of an academic environment (they recently graduated from the School of Visual Arts). “It’s kind of like eye opening that I can go in that direction and to also ask myself, ‘Am I okay with being perceived in that way?'” they said.
Ultimately, yes, they said. Seeing other non-binary artists of color helped them come to terms with who they are, and that’s a direction they want to go in.
“It’s…important for me to give my own voice,” they said, “and also be able to make art from my perspective.”
If you follow Mashable Shopping’s coverage, you know that we live to bring you the best product recommendations we can find based on countless hours of online research. But what about the stuff that we buy for ourselves? The stuff that made it into our shopping carts? Well, we’re here to tell you about those things, and we’ll be back every month to do so again.
Here’s what the staff bought in January 2022.
The dress
“I rarely buy clothes for myself, but after seeing so many people on social media wearing Selkie puff dresses, I finally decided to splurge on one myself. Considering the price, it’s definitely an investment piece, but it’s flattering on pretty much everyone. I wore it to an art gallery opening with heels and tights, but I’d just as soon wear it dressed down to a picnic or to a dinner party.” —Jae Thomas, Shopping Reporter
Credit: Selkie
Selkie Puff Dress
$295 at Revolve
The cutest dog sweater you’ve ever seen
“I previously bought my dog the cloud-printed sweater from Little Beast and loved it, so I immediately bought this heart-printed one when it came out (I simply couldn’t resist dressing up my dog as a little Valentine). The sweater itself is very well made, and my dog looks like a goofy little kid wearing pajamas when I put it on her, which is the cutest thing ever. I honestly wish Little Beast made human versions of these knitted sweaters — I’d totally buy one to match with my dog.” —Jae Thomas, Shopping Reporter
Credit: Little Beast
The Love Sweater
$65 at Little Beast
A more supportive pillow
“I came to the revelation this past month that the ultra-soft pillows I once loved simply do not offer me the support I need. I first pivoted to a memory foam pick, thinking I wanted a pillow that was fully firm. I was wrong. In the most Goldilocks moment of my life, I realized I really needed a true medium-firm pillow, and I found that in the Coop Home Goods Premium Eden pillow. It’s expensive, but it lives up to its name, in that I believe it was created in an environment free of original sin to work as well as it does. Also, you can adjust the amount of stuffing (and thus, firmness) if you want, which is pretty cool.” —Bethany Allard, Shopping Reporter
Credit: Coop Home Goods
The Premium Eden Pillow
$96 at Coop Home Goods
Benson the Duck’s nameless cat counterpart
“During my journey to eliminate the need for overhead lighting in my apartment (I want atmospheric vibes only), my friend recommended this child’s night light named Benson the Duck to me. Benson is extremely cute, but I’m more of a cat person, so I nabbed this cat night light (no name given) with a remote control, so I can change the colors or enjoy its warm glow from the comfort of my bed. The vibes in my room are now both immaculate and adorable.” —Bethany Allard, Shopping Reporter
Credit: GoLine
Cute cat lamp
$59.99 at Amazon
Some sophisticated shopping bags
“I’m trying to be a little more sustainable in my daily life, and one thing I’ve been late to the party on is reusable grocery bags. I have two that are made of that tarp-like material, but they are really beat up and it’s time to lay them to rest. I always thought the net-style grocery bags were so cute and I wanted to look like a sophisticated European (imagine one of these with a little baguette hanging out of it!), so I bought a few to get started. So far I’m loving them, and they hold a lot more than I expected.” —Dylan Haas, Shopping Reporter
Credit: Togetrue
Togetrue mesh bags
$12.99 at Amazon
Some new mitts
“I’ve been kickboxing for a few years now, but have been using the same cheap gloves I bought when I first started (they’re in pretty rough shape, and not in the good “seasoned” way). I figured that I should treat myself to a more high-end pair since I’ve been consistent about training, and the Hayabusa T3 gloves have always been on my radar for their enhanced wrist support. Being a person who has already sustained wrist injuries from boxing, I didn’t need much more to sell me on snagging them. I can confirm that they are fantastic” —Dylan Haas, Shopping Reporter
Credit: Hayabusa
Hayabusa T3 boxing gloves
$149 at Amazon
A more WFH-friendly monitor
“If you saw me staring solely at a tiny MacBook screen for the past two years of working from home, no you didn’t. Something about the new year randomly possessed me to upgrade my workspace to a dual monitor setup. I can’t believe I was squeezing all of my tabs into 13 inches before. I love the thin bezels and silver scheme of this one from HP — I didn’t feel the need to go all out on a QLED or curved display, but this one feels more expensive than it is.” —Leah Stodart, Shopping Reporter
Credit: HP
HP IPS monitor (21.5-inch)
$144.99 at Best Buy
Some seriously strong tights
“I’ve been wanting a pair of Sheertex tights since my colleagues and I tested them a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, these indestructible tights are very expensive compared to the $5 ones I usually buy at Target. And I just couldn’t justify dropping $100 on a pair of tights. But this month, Sheertex was having a sale in honor of the brand’s 5th birthday, and I was able to grab a pair of sheer tights for only $29. They’re obviously still a little pricier than standard tights, but I won’t have to throw these ones away because of snags or holes after three wears.” —Miller Kern, Assistant Reviews Editor
All those super yachts aren’t going to pay for themselves.
Amazon announced Thursday that the price of its Prime subscription service is set to increase. It’s the first Prime cost increase since 2018, and comes at a time when people are more reliant on deliveries than ever following two years of pandemic life.
Paris Martineau, a reporter at The Information, broke down the price hike, noting that the monthly cost will jump from $12.99 to $14.99, and an annual membership will shoot up from $119 to $139.
Tweet may have been deleted
According to CNBC, new customers will see increased Prime prices beginning Feb. 18. Existing members will see the change starting after March 25.
SEE ALSO:
I quit Amazon Prime a year ago. I don’t miss it.
Amazon stock was up almost 15 percent Thursday, reports Yahoo news, following the day’s positive earnings report. The new Prime price increase is sure to only add to those jaw-dropping numbers.
Notably, canceling a Prime membership still costs exactly the same thing: nothing.
SAVE $46: The Bose Frames, Bose’s open-ear audio sunglasses, are 23% off at Amazon: just $153.29 (original price: $199).
Ever wish your sunglasses could be more like headphones? Check out the Bose Frames. They won’t replace your earbuds, but they do have the novelty factor.
These audio sunglasses feature scratch-resistant lenses that block up to 99% of UVA/UVB rays, but their selling point is the open-ear audio system that delivers sound right to your ear, so you can enjoy your music without disturbing those around you.
It should be noted that while impressive, the sound is no match for a loud environment — Mashable’s review of the Frames notes that “Bose Frames simply can’t compete with a noisy city” — but that means that with nothing in your ears, you’ll be able to pay attention to what’s going on around you.
Plus, there’s no need to whip out your phone every time you want to switch up your audio. Press & Turn volume control lets you toggle audio settings from the sunglasses themselves, and you can stray up to 30 feet from the audio source before the Bluetooth connection starts struggling. Did we mention the integrated microphone? You can take calls or summon Siri without bothering with your phone.
On the whole, the Bose Frames are an interesting option. They’re not the best of the best in either sunglasses or headphones, but if you’re looking for a handy gadget that combines both to an impressive standard, you can check them out at Amazon for $153.29.
Credit: Bose
Bose Frames Alto M/L – Audio Sunglasses with Open Ear Headphones
$153.29 at Amazon (save 23%)
Explore related content:
First look: Facebook’s Ray-Ban smart glasses
Now you can put Amazon’s Alexa assistant on your face with sunglasses
Years after Nancy Lublin founded Crisis Text Line in 2013, she approached the board with an opportunity: What if they converted the nonprofit’s trove of user data and insights into an empathy-based corporate training program? The business strategy could leverage Crisis Text Line’s impressive data collection and analysis, along with lessons about how to best have hard conversations, and thereby create a needed revenue stream for a fledgling organization operating in the woefully underfunded mental health field.
The crisis intervention service is actually doing well now; it brought in $49 million in revenue in 2020 thanks to increased contributions from corporate supporters to meet pandemic-related needs and expansion, as well as a new round of philanthropic funding. But in 2017, Crisis Text Line’s income was a relatively paltry $2.6 million. When Lublin proposed the for-profit company, the organization’s board was concerned about Crisis Text Line’s long-term sustainability, according to an account recently published by founding board member danah boyd.
The idea of spinning off a for-profit enterprise from Crisis Text Line raised complex ethical questions about whether texters truly consented to the monetization of their intimate, vulnerable conversations with counselors, but the board approved the arrangement. The new company, known as Loris, launched in 2018 with the goal of providing unique “soft skills” training to companies.
It wasn’t clear, however, that Crisis Text Line had a data-sharing agreement with Loris, which provided the company access to scrubbed, anonymized user texts, a fact that Politico reported last week. The story also contained concerning information about Loris’ business model, which sells enterprise software to companies for the purpose of optimizing customer service. On Monday, a Federal Communications Communications Commissioner requested the nonprofit cease its data-sharing relationship, calling the arrangement “disturbingly dystopian” in a letter to Crisis Text Line and Loris leadership. That same day Crisis Text Line announced that it had decided to end the agreement and requested that Loris delete the data it had previously received.
“This decision weighed heavily on me, but I did vote in favor of it,” boyd wrote about authorizing Lublin to found Loris. “Knowing what I know now, I would not have. But hindsight is always clearer.”
SEE ALSO:
21 reasons to keep living when you feel suicidal
Though proceeds from Loris are supposed to support Crisis Text Line, the company played no role in the nonprofit’s increased revenue in 2020, according to Shawn Rodriguez, vice president and general counsel of Crisis Text Line. Still, the controversy over Crisis Text Line’s decision to monetize data generated by people seeking help while experiencing intense psychological or emotional distress has become a case study in the ethics of big data. When algorithms go to work on a massive data set, they can deliver novel insights, some of which could literally save lives. Crisis Text Line, after all, used AI to determine which texters were more at risk, and then placed them higher in the queue.
Yet the promise of such breakthroughs often overshadows the risks of misusing or abusing data. In the absence of robust government regulation or guidance, nonprofits and companies like Crisis Text Line and Loris are left to improvise their own ethical framework. The cost of that became clear this week with the FCC’s reprimand and the sense that Crisis Text Line ultimately betrayed its users and supporters.
Leveraging empathy
When Loris first launched, Lublin described its seemingly virtuous ambitions to Mashable: “Our goal is to make humans better humans.”
In the interview, Lublin emphasized translating the lessons of Crisis Text Line’s empathetic and data-driven counselor training to the workplace, helping people to develop critical conversational skills. This seemed like a natural outgrowth of the nonprofit’s work. It’s unclear whether Lublin knew at the time but didn’t explicitly state that Loris would have access to anonymized Crisis Text Line user data, or if the company’s access changed after its launch.
“If another entity could train more people to develop the skills our crisis counselors were developing, perhaps the need for a crisis line would be reduced,” wrote boyd, who referred Mashable’s questions about her experience to Crisis Text Line. “If we could build tools that combat the cycles of pain and suffering, we could pay forward what we were learning from those we served. I wanted to help others develop and leverage empathy.”
“I wanted to help others develop and leverage empathy.”
But at some point Loris pivoted away from its mission. Instead, it began offering services to help companies optimize customer service. On LinkedIn, the company cites its “extensive experience working through the most challenging conversations in the crisis space” and notes that its live coaching software “helps customer care teams make customers happier and brands stand out in the crowd.”
While spinning off Loris from Crisis Text Line may have been a bad idea from the start, Loris’ commercialization of user data to help companies improve their bottom line felt shockingly unmoored from the nonprofit’s role in suicide prevention and crisis intervention.
“A broader kind of failure”
John Basl, associate director of AI and Data Ethics Initiatives at the Ethics Institute of Northeastern University, says the controversy is another instance of a “broader kind of failure” in artificial intelligence.
While Basl believes it’s possible for AI to unequivocally benefit the public good, he says the field lacks an “ethics ecosystem” that would help technologists and entrepreneurs grapple with the kind of ethical issues that Crisis Text Line tried to resolve internally. In biomedical and clinical research, for example, federal laws govern how research is conducted, decades of case studies provide insights about past mistakes, and interdisciplinary experts like bioethicists help mediate new or ongoing debates.
“In the AI space, we just don’t have those yet,” he says.
The federal government grasps the implications of artificial intelligence. The Food and Drug Administration’s consideration of a regulatory framework for AI medical devices is one example. But Basl says that the field is having trouble reckoning with the challenges raised by AI in the absence of significant federal efforts to create an ethics ecosystem. He can imagine a federal agency dedicated to the regulation of artificial intelligence, or at least subdivisions in major existing agencies like the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the FDA.
Basl, who wasn’t involved with either Loris or Crisis Text Line, also says that motives vary inside organizations and companies that utilize AI. Some people seem to genuinely want to ethically use the technology while others are more profit driven.
Critics of the data-sharing between Loris and Crisis Text Line argued that protecting user privacy should’ve been paramount. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr acknowledged fears that even scrubbed, anonymized user records might contain identifying details, and said there were “serious questions” about whether texters had given “meaningful consent” to have their communication with Crisis Text Line monetized.
“The organization and the board has always been and is committed to evolving and improving the way we obtain consent so that we are continually maximizing mental health support for the unique needs of our texters in crisis,” Rodriguez said in a statement to Mashable. He added that Crisis Text Line is making changes to increase transparency for users, including by adding a bulleted summary to the top of its terms of service.
“You’re collecting data about people at their most vulnerable and then using it for an economic exercise”
Yet the nature of what Loris became arguably made the arrangement ethically bereft.
Boyd wrote that she understood why critics felt “anger and disgust.”
She ended her lengthy account by posing a list of questions to those critics, including: “What is the best way to balance the implicit consent of users in crisis with other potentially beneficial uses of data which they likely will not have intentionally consented to but which can help them or others?”
When boyd posted a screenshot of those questions to her Twitter account, the responses were overwhelmingly negative, with many respondents calling for her and other board members to resign. Several shared the sentiment that their trust in Crisis Text Line had been lost.
It’s likely that Crisis Text Line and Loris will become a cautionary tale about the ethical use of artificial intelligence: Thoughtful people trying to use technology for good still made a disastrous mistake.
“You’re collecting data about people at their most vulnerable and then using it for an economic exercise, which seems to not treat them as persons, in some sense,” said Basl.
If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Contact the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI, Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. ET, or email info@nami.org. Here is a list of international resources.
The internet turned its collective head Thursday at news that a “solid gold” cube had been installed in New York City’s Central Park as part of some bizarre cryptocurrency promotional stunt. Photos strategically shot from low angles made the cube seem imposing, and Twitter was briefly impressed by The Cube.
That is, until everyone realized the cube is actually pretty small. And hollow.
That’s right, according to Artnet, the $11.7 million gold cube isn’t — despite a misleading tweet suggesting otherwise — solid at all.
Tweet may have been deleted
“The cube measures over a foot and a half on all sides and has a wall thickness of about a quarter inch,” reports Artnet.
Reactions were swift.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Notably, the hollow cube isn’t even in the park anymore. Artnet notes that on the evening of Feb. 2, it was moved to “a private dinner on Wall Street, where numerous celebrities are said to be attending.”
If you’ve spent any time on the internet lately, you know that Wordle has taken over.
Our obsession has been endlessly analyzed and dissected. We’ve shared strategies and tips. It has been meme-ed and shared all over Twitter. It was even bought by the New York Times. And of course our insatiable appetite for the simple puzzle game has been the catalyst for multiple Wordle clones. Here’s a roundup of our favorites.
1. Absurdle
If Wordle isn’t enough of a challenge, this one will have you stumped. It’s even hard to understand how it works, but a previous Mashable article breaks it down: “Instead of starting with a secret word that players work their way towards, Absurdle doesn’t have a single word up its sleeve,” Sam Haysom explains. “The game starts with 2,315 possibilities and responds to each of your guesses by keeping the maximum number of potential secret words in its back pocket, forcing you to narrow its options down until you essentially trap the AI into only having one word left.” Truly diabolical.
For those who just want to watch the world burn. Credit: Screenshot: qntm / Absurdle
2. Dordle
If you’re one of those gifted people who needs only a few guesses to get it right, Dordle is for you. The rules are the same (five letter words, six guesses, green if the letter is in the right place, yellow if it’s in the word) but there are two words you have to guess. Think of it as the ultimate form of multitasking
For the ambidextrous mind. Credit: Screenshot: Dordle / Zaratustra Productions
3. Lewdle
It was only a matter of time before someone came up with a NSFW version of Wordle. For those of us who instinctively jump to an inappropriate five-letter word, welcome to Lewdle, you need not get your mind out of the gutter.
A safe space to act out your ‘Wordle’ fantasies. Credit: Screenshot: Lewdle
4. Primel
This is technically a game, but for the mathematically-challenged, it’s an instrument of torture. With Primel, the goal is to guess a five-digit prime number instead of a five-letter word. The mere thought of a five-digit prime number is panic-inducing, but to each their own.
I already hate this. Credit: Screenshot: Primel / Onverged.Yt
5. Sweardle
Similar to Lewdle, Sweardle zeroes in on the human tendency to be inappropriate. The major difference is that it uses four-letter words instead of five. It may sound easy, but you’ll soon realize that the the lexicon of colorful language is quite extensive.
Nailed it. Credit: Screenshot: Sweardle
6. Queerdle
Self-described as the “yassification of wordle,” Queerdle challenges your knowledge of LGBTQ+ vocabulary. Everything is basically the same as the original Wordle, except the words vary between four and eight letters and is sometimes two words. Why? “Because queerness can’t be contained,” according to the instructions by creator Jordan Bouvier.
Queerdle also takes suggestions for new LGBTQ+ words to include. Credit: Screenshot: Queerdle / Jordan Bouvier
7.Taylordle
Making a Wordle clone is now becoming requisite for any stan community. And Swifties are nothing if not the ultimate stans. Using the same rules as the original, Taylordle is played with album titles, song lyrics, or really any Taylor Swift trivia, i.e. “scarf.” IYKYK.
If there’s a “Blank Space,” you know what to do. Credit: Screenshot: Taylordle
8. BTS
Not to be outdone by the Taylor Swift fandom, there’s also a version for K-pop band BTS, and the Army is already hooked. The rules of the game are the same, except with BTS-themed vocab. The tiles turn purple instead of green, which is of course a reference to the phrase “I Purple You.”
Put your BTS knowledge to the test. Credit: Screenshot: hannahcode / WORDLE-BTS
9. Wordle Unlimited
If you’ve tackled the original Wordle, and all the Wordle clones, there’s Wordle Unlimited. It’s just like the game we know and love, except with unlimited words, so you don’t have to wait an entire day to play again. Plus, this version has a feature where you can enter a custom word and play with friends. Wordle purists might scoff, but we won’t “JUDGE.”
Play to your heart’s content. Credit: Screenshot: Wordle Unlimited
