Nolen Royalty’s Website with a Million Empty Check Boxes Takes the Internet by Storm
Last week, Nolen Royalty, a game developer in Brooklyn, unleashed a website with a million empty check boxes onto the world. What started as a simple project shared on X with low expectations quickly turned into a viral sensation.
Rows of unchecked squares sat against a pale gray background, inviting visitors to check them off. Each time a box was checked, it was instantly filled in on everyone else’s screens, creating a collaborative experience accessible to anyone with a phone or computer.
In just seven days, over 700,000 boxes have been filled in, turning the free website, named One Million Checkboxes, into an unexpected hit. Users describe it as “strangely compelling” and “torture for people with OCD.” The Washington Post even called it “the most pointless website on the planet,” meant as a compliment.
Mr. Royalty has been scrambling to keep up with the site’s popularity, renting additional server space to accommodate the check-happy fans. Despite some technical difficulties due to the overwhelming traffic, the website continues to attract users from all over.
What started as a collaborative effort to check as many boxes as possible quickly turned into a creative outlet for some users, while others engaged in all-out war, with bots and human mischief-makers undoing each other’s work.
As the website continues to evolve, Mr. Royalty remains a distant observer, watching the chaos unfold. He never intended for the site to make a profound statement about human collaboration but simply wanted to create something fun and silly.
While some users have used the platform to create lewd drawings and spell out profanities, others see it as a microcosm of the internet’s joys and horrors. As the battle between checkers and uncheckers rages on, the future of One Million Checkboxes remains uncertain.
For now, the website stands as a testament to the unpredictable nature of online communities and the endless possibilities of digital interaction. Love it or hate it, One Million Checkboxes has captured the attention of thousands, proving that sometimes the most pointless websites can be the most captivating.
