Places & cultures
- Explore countries, cities and regions through the stories connected to them
- Discover languages, art and books from around the world, with food to come
- Let the random cube introduce you to something you might never have searched for
Today on Hookito
New every day at 00:00 UTC. Daily feed · Permalink: /today
Two gold beacons on the globe mark today’s book and painting.
Mystery placeDaily #2One country, eight hints. Can you find it?
Video of the dayAbisko and the northern lightsNorthern Lights Around the World From YouTube, plays once you allow it.
What will you discover today?
Let the cube choose a country. Find it on the globe, guess its capital, then read a little about somewhere new.
More about a random country, with its capital and coordinates, in the random country generator.
A place to start wandering
A song can make you curious about a city. A dish can lead you to a region you’ve never heard of. A word in another language can send you across an ocean.
Hookito is being built around those little connections.
The globe is the starting point. Country pages, music, videos, books and art are open to explore today, with a random cube for the days when you’d rather be surprised. Radio, live TV and lessons are still in development.
Try the random country generator →Social media shows you what it thinks you want. Hookito shows you what is actually there.
Available now
What you can try today
Everything below works in your browser, free and without an account.
- The interactive 3D globe. Drag Earth in any direction, and click or tap a country to open its page. Its lit and dark sides are calculated from today’s date and the current time, so the night side shows where the sun has already set.
- A random country generator. Let the cube pick one of 208 countries and territories, see it on the globe and reveal its capital.
- Eight geography quizzes. Name a flag, outline, capital or painting, work out what connects three countries, pick the country with more people or land, guess a language from one word, or find the daily mystery place from eight hints.
- A list of countries by continent. Look up capitals, flags and coordinates, or put two countries side by side with the compare tool.
- 208 country pages. Each one has a satellite map, key facts, the largest cities, books and art, plus a “Learn it in 5 minutes” walk-through, for example Germany.
- Music by country. Curated album lists for each country and continent, with a two-click Spotify player.
- Videos from around the world. Playlists from almost every country; YouTube only loads after you agree.
- Languages. See one word in many languages, side by side.
- Books from around the world. Novels and non-fiction from almost 200 countries, each with a short description, the plot and a note from Professor Kogi.
- Art from around the world. Famous paintings and a gallery for each of about 50 countries, all public domain works from Wikimedia Commons.
- Maps and reading challenges. World maps for the #30DayMapChallenge, and Read the World 2027, one book from every country.
- A daily feed. One new mystery country, book, painting and word every day, in any feed reader.
In development
More ways to discover the world
More geography games
- Eight quizzes are open now, from flags and outlines to “what connects these three?”, “higher or lower” and “guess the language”, with a new daily mystery place every day
- Next: guess a place from a photo or a series of clues
Music, radio & a window on the world
- Browse curated album lists by country and continent, available now
- Watch video playlists from almost every country, available now
- Tune into radio and live cameras, still in development
- Find a new sound, a different perspective or a place to come back to
A Google Earth alternative for curious explorers?
If you enjoy looking around Earth, Hookito offers another place to begin. The focus here is on discovery: choosing somewhere unfamiliar and getting curious about the people, sounds and stories connected to it.
Right now, you can turn a sunlit 3D globe, pick a random country, play flag and capital quizzes, open country pages and browse music, videos, books and art. We’re developing radio, live TV and lessons next. This preview doesn’t offer zooming to street level, Street View, detailed 3D city views or route planning.
FAQ
What is Hookito?
Hookito is a free website for discovering the world and its cultures on an interactive 3D globe: countries, music, videos, books, art, languages and geography quizzes. You can try the globe, random country generator, country comparison, 208 country pages with a 5-minute learning walk-through, six geography quizzes, music album lists, video playlists, books, art, maps and languages now. Radio, live TV, lessons and the wider app are still in development.
What can I do with the interactive globe?
Drag to turn Earth, right in your browser. The day and night sides follow the sun’s current position, so you can see where it is daytime now. The globe turns slowly on its own until you drag it. Click or tap a country to open its page. To discover a country at random, spin the cube below the globe.
Is the preview free?
Yes. The globe, random country generator, country pages, quizzes, music, videos, books, art, maps, languages and the daily feed are free to use, with no account required. Pricing for the full experience has not been announced.
What does the random cube do?
On this homepage, the cube picks a random country, turns the globe to it and shows its name and flag. The random country generator adds the capital, coordinates and your recent picks. More kinds of random discoveries are on the way.
Do I need an app or an account?
No. The preview runs in your browser, with no download or signup. The interactive globe needs WebGL; if it is unavailable, you can still use the country generator and read the results.
