5 Surprisingly Wholesome Things I’ve Found on the Dark Web

By Emily Wilson

The last thing you might expect to come across on the shady digital underground is a book on origami. But there it was, on the virtual shelves of the dark web, wedged between the edibles, the LSD, the stolen credit cards, and the counterfeit passports: Mind Blowing Modular Origami, just $2.

Not familiar with the dark web? Never fear, I’m here to help. The dark web is a mix of eBay for criminals, the weirdest flea market you’ve ever been to, and a bad guy meet-up. It’s a strange place, and it’s never quite clear what you’re getting yourself into when you show up.

In practice, the dark web allows you to browse the internet privately and anonymously, which is great if you need to circumvent censorship laws (or if you need to sell some stolen credit cards). The dark web has a reputation for its criminal activity, but there’s a lot more to it than that.

As someone who spends a lot of time on the illicit side of the dark web, I have to tell you: it can take a lot to make you look twice. When you spend years scrolling through listings for stolen tax documents, porn accounts, fake bank…