Linux offers freedom and choice, the choice to use whichever distro out of the hundreds out there, and the freedom to create your own Linux distribution if you want! And because of this freedom, several developers from across the world have created a lot of Linux based distributions according to their needs. Some are functional, while some of them were created just as a joke and later shut down because no one used it!.
In this guide, we will take a look at some of these type of Linux distributions and discuss the philosophy behind each one of them, so let’s get started!
Hannah Montana Linux
If you remember the famous Disney show starring Miley Cyrus, then your childhood was awesome. As the name of this Linux Distribution suggests, it is heavily inspired by the Hannah Montana show, and the icon and desktop themes are purple to match the aesthetic of the same show. The distro even features a wallpaper which is basically a poster of Hannah Montana.
As of 2024, this Linux distribution is quite old, as it was released in 2009. It is basically a reskinned theme on top of Kubuntu, but obviously not maintained for the users and therefore is not recommended for anyone to use.
Bebian
Bebian is another ‘joke’ Linux distribution, but instead of Miley Cyrus, you get a Justin Bieber themed desktop and an icon pack. It is based on Puppy Linux, which we have covered on this site before, and hence very lightweight and looks ancient.
Their website is still up, however, once again I would not recommend using this distribution for your main machine at all.
Red Star OS
This Linux distribution is the most non-free and restricted version of Linux out there. Red Star OS was developed by the government of North Korea and is available in only the North Korean language. It is based on the RedHat Linux distribution, but the government of North Korea has put a lot of spyware and restrictions on the OS.
Whenever you plug any USB drive to the PC containing any form of media, Red Star OS automatically adds tracking data to the media’s metadata, which can be used to track that media file wherever it is copied. And if you make any changes to the OS, it will brick your entire PC.
Suicide Linux
While this is not a Linux distribution, this is worth it to include this in this list. Suicide Linux is a package that can be installed on any Linux distribution. What this package does is that whenever you mistype any command in the Terminal. This package will detect that wrong command and automatically run sudo rm -rf /.
If you don’t know what the above command does, then you should know that this deletes everything on your PC, even the operating system! You should never run this command on your machine, otherwise you will lose your data.
Obviously, this package is meant as a challenge or joke, to see how long it takes you to brick your PC.
Temple OS
Temple OS is not based on Linux, but it features in this list nonetheless because of its unique nature. The entire OS is based on a biblical theme and is designed to be the Third Temple prophesized in the Bible.
After developing this OS for a decade all by himself, Terry Davis claimed that this OS is designed according to the explicit instructions from God.
Written in HolyC (A variation of C and C++ languages), this OS also features a flight Simulator, Compiler and the Kernel. Chekcout the Wikipedia page for this operating system because the development of this OS gets really interesting.
Writing an entire operating system from scratch can definately be regarded as the work of a genius, Terry Davis was definately special.
By the way, a modern fork of Temple OS is in active development known as Zeal OS, and you can check out their GitHub page.
Uwuntu
Uwuntu is another Linux distribution which is meant to be taken just as a joke. Of course, the Uwu in the name here refers to the cute way few Anime characters talk, and Anime fans would often repeat while trying to act cute.
While initially started as a joke, this Linux distribution actually featured pre-installed applications like Steam and the LibreOffice Suite to get you going. However, the latest release mentioned on their site seems to be 22.10 which is two years old as of now.
It featured wallpapers having dogs and cats with the logo of the OS spelled out, which, to be honest, looked quite good. The developers were just two students from Spain who wanted to have fun and develop their own distro, and they did a good job!
Wrapping Up
These Linux distributions must not be used on your main device because they are either outdated, or not maintained and therefore are really bad for your privacy. It is really interesting what the community around the world does with the open source nature of Linux, some try to steal the freedom by taking away all the features of Linux, while others make something for humor and entertainment.
What do you think about these Linux distributions? Let me know in the comments down below.
