There's a story that people from Glasgow like to tell to show how different they are from other Scots. A man comes back from holiday and shows his photos to an Edinburgh friend. The friend looks through the pictures in total silence, admiring nothing. Finally he points at one and says, 'That's the worst'.

Why do we get so fascinated with the worst of everything? Because we do; type 'worst of' into a Google search box and see how much comes up. But actually, some of those 'worst of' sites can be quite useful to youth workers.

You've probably seen Tony Robinson's TV programmes about The Worst Jobs in History; there's now an excellent website which gives you all the detail, ready for use in a variety of ways. From quizzes (what did a spitboy, gong scourer or under sawyer do?) through to serious discussions (just how much will people put up with? What can any of us expect out of life?), there's arresting material to intrigue any group.

You could do much the same with The Worst Jobs in Science, where this year's top twenty features manure inspectors, human lab rats and orang-utan pee collectors. I could see a school assembly somewhere in there which might be slightly gross, but will keep your audience talking till morning break...

Or try Pick the Worst, where kids can choose between two unappetising alternatives (eat cereal without milk, or pancakes without syrup? Learning that you were stolen at birth by rich people, or that you were sold at birth by poor people?). As they debate whether it's better to run out of toilet paper in the bathroom, or have no tissue with a runny nose in public, you can inject one or two more serious ones: is it worse to leave your Bible unread for a month, or give up praying instead? Is it worse to ignore world poverty, or ignore environmental pollution? Is it worse never to share your faith, or to share it incredibly badly?

For light relief, investigate the Museum of Bad Album Covers, home of the worst music industry artwork in the world. There's The Reverend in Rhythm, gravely puffing on his pipe as he challenges Robbie Williams for world domination. Or the Ministers' Quartet, four beefy clerics who lean threateningly towards the camera on a record cover alarmingly entitled 'Let me Touch Him'. Hmmm, be careful who you show this one to.

More seriously, each year Open Doors compiles a list of the worst countries for Christians to live in. As an instant index to persecution, this can be a great means of world education for your group. It contains some surprises (the Maldives in the top ten?) but will fuel their prayers and concern. Predictably, top spot is taken by North Korea.

We could also mention Worst Case Scenarios, where problems of real-life survival, involving failing parachutes or sinking cars or hostile alligators, can launch discussions about surviving as a Christian at school; or Worst of the Web, where the most dreadful websites in the world are lovingly preserved - but instead let's spotlight For God's Sake Shut Up!, a Christian blog which devotes itself to an annual hunt for 'The Worst Christian Mouth of the Year'.

The idea will probably be more useful to you than the blog itself, which is pretty American (which of your fifteen-year-olds has ever heard of Tom DeLay?). The blog owner explains, 'Sadly, Christians often do a poor job of communicating... Sometimes I want to just say to those Christians: "For God's sake, shut up!" I don't mean that profanely. When Christians say dumb things it damages unbelievers' perceptions of our Lord and Saviour'.

Who would your kids shut up if they could? Which are the most embarrassing Christians in Britain today? And what do we do when our faith is being sadly misrepresented? (Just for the record, my personal hit-list would include Harold Bishop from Neighbours, Dot Cotton, and Ashley, that unbelievable awful vicar on Emmerdale...)

Other stuff? FunBrain has a massive collection of puzzles, online games and cartoons for older children - educationally motivated but none the worse for that. Cosmic Variance has a video clip which illustrates how not to defend the existence of God using a banana, which could start some interesting arguments in an older group. How to Clean Anything will tell youth workers recovering from a messy houseparty, well, how to clean anything. And Poetry Foundation will help you find quickly that elusive poem you need to illustrate a talk; it's all neatly categorized and searchable.

Right, that's it. Edinburgh-based youth workers can now write in and tell me which of these recommendations was worst.