Welcome! "What The Hell Are People Doing?" (WTHAPD) started not as a grand project, but from a moment of simple, human curiosity. This page shares a little about its origin and the journey so far.
It all began at a local tech meetup. I was struck by the sheer number of people present, all engaged, all active. It led to a bigger thought:
"What the hell are billions of people doing, right now, across the globe, every single moment?"
This question – about the collective, simultaneous activity of humanity – became the seed for this project. I wondered if it was possible to visualize this vast, unseen symphony of daily life.
Fueled by this curiosity, I returned home and began experimenting. The initial concept was explored with the help of AI (specifically, Gemini), iterating through prompts to develop the core logic for a dynamic simulation. The goal was to create something engaging, all within a single HTML file – a testament to what can be achieved with focused iteration and modern web technologies.
The development process was an exploration in itself, refining the activity categories, balancing the statistical approximations, and designing a user interface that could present this "live-ish" data in a compelling way.
After some development and some days, a thought emerged: "Hell, I have to publish this stuff on Reddit to see what people think." The response, particularly on subreddits like r/webdev, was unexpectedly positive, garnering significant attention (around 1,000 upvotes) and valuable feedback.
This community engagement highlighted a key aspect: while sites like Worldometers provide raw global statistics, there wasn't really anything offering this kind of dynamic, activity-focused visualization with a more modern aesthetic. WTHAPD aims to fill that niche, offering a more visually engaging and, frankly, more fun way to ponder global human activity.
WTHAPD is more than just a counter; it's an attempt to create a "global mood ring" of sorts – an artistic and illustrative snapshot. While the methodology involves statistical simulation, the core aim is to spark curiosity and provide a moment of perspective on our shared human experience.
The positive reception naturally leads to the question: "How would you turn this into an app?" Transitioning from a single HTML file to a more robust application would involve several key steps:
For now, WTHAPD remains a passion project born from a moment of curiosity, brought to life with modern tools, and shared with a community that seems to enjoy pondering the same big question.
Back to the Simulation