NEW BLOG LOCATIONS

I've moved to another two blogs, one on writing, and one on general stuff like this one. Please come visit! MY NEW BLOGS:

http://amydeardon1.blogspot.com

http://thestorytemplate.blogspot.com


Tuesday, December 2, 2008

A Fun Website that Helps Others Too

Here is a Win-Win website that I hope you try! It's called FreeRice.com Here's how you play:

You're presented with a vocabulary word and four possible definitions. Click on the correct definition, and you are then given another word. And so on. Each correct answer is worth 20 grains of rice.

How much do you need to play? Well, according to the site, there are approximately 48 grains of rice in a gram, and a rough rule of thumb is that one person needs approximately 400 grams of rice (mixed with other foods) per day for sustenance. This works out to 400 grams x 48 grains/gram = 19,200 grains of rice per day. If you're earning 20 grains per correct answer, you *only* need to answer 960 questions right to feed one person for one day!

OK, you probably won't get to do that many problems, but that's OK. You, along with thousands of others all playing, can still make a significant dent in world hunger while improving your vocabulary :-)

The rice is earned like this (from the FAQs on the website): When you play the game, sponsor banners appear on the bottom of your screen. The money generated by these banners is then used to buy the rice. So by playing, you generate the money that pays for the rice donated to hungry people...FreeRice does not make any money from this. FreeRice is simply a website committed to the cause of ending hunger around the world. While it is not a registered non-profit organization, FreeRice is run entirely for free and at no profit. All money (100%) raised by the site goes to the UN World Food Program to help feed the hungry. Sponsors make all payments to the UN World Food Program directly.

These vocabulary words are hard! Many weren't even in my pocket Merriam-Webster I keep near my computer (I'm not above cheating here :-) The program is good too, because if you get a word wrong it will reappear in a few more questions, allowing you to remember what it was.

The site is now adding other categories such as geography, math, and languages, but I haven't tried those yet. Still, it's fun to play, and heck, you're helping others AND improving your mind at the same time! Sounds pretty good to me.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've actually done that site before. It's fun. And for a good cause.

But yeah, 960 questions right....Oh boy. I'd have to quit my day job to get all that done. LOL

Thanks for sharing this.

Avily Jerome said...

I've been there too- it's in my favorites.

I don't get over there as often as I should, but it's cool.

Thanks for spreading the word!

Julie Gillies said...

Hi Amy,

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and sharing your writing story. Your testimony is amazing. It's a pleasure to meet you.

I've actually played the rice game myself...a worthy cause.

Blessings to you.

dmarks said...

Cool. I mentioned Free Rice several months ago. It's one of the few things like that I found to be worth supporting on my blog.

However, I first saw it mentioned on a political blog, and wondered for a second if "Free Rice" had to do with Condoleezza Rice.

Amy Deardon said...

Well, it doesn't sound like this site is *news* to anyone but me! Oh well, better late than never...

PS what is *avuncular*?

Brenda Susan said...

Amy, I never heard of it & I love word games. I'll go check it out right now! Thanks.

dmarks said...

Avuncular = uncle-like.

Example: Actor Wilford Brimley is quite avuncular. Pauly Shore is not.

Amy Deardon said...

Thanks Dmarks!

Anonymous said...

That IS a great site! In fact, I'm going to announce it tomorrow in the seminar that I'm doing... Not that it's at all on the topic of the seminar that I'm doing... Just because it's neat!

-- Sarah Salter