Sunday, November 25, 2007

Vocabulary and rice

Check out FreeRice.com for an addictive vocabulary game with a twist: the more you play, the more rice is donated through the United Nations to help end world hunger.

FreeRice is a not-for-profit organization, but they do place advertisements at the bottom of the web site as you play the vocabulary game. Funding from the advertisers is what pays for the rice that gets donated.

An added benefit, according to FreeRice:
After you have done FreeRice for a couple of days, you may notice an odd phenomenon. Words that you have never consciously used before will begin to pop into your head while you are speaking or writing. You will feel yourself using and knowing more words.

11 comments:

Tom Myler (scoodog) said...

My highest score is currently 33. Please post your score!

Anonymous said...

Ha! 37 and 1,000 grains of rice! Thanks for the new addiction!

YL

Tom Myler (scoodog) said...

YL --

I'm racking my brain trying to figure out who you are! Do I know you?

Tom

Anonymous said...

This is adictive. My high score sits at 41, but today I couldn't get past 38.

Amy said...

Geez. I'm a writer, and I couldn't do any better than 35. My husband, on the other hand, is apparently a wordsmithing genius. However, he can't spell addictive. :-)

Anonymous said...

Your Lurker.....

YL

Tom Myler (scoodog) said...

Ah-ha... I should have known it was you...

Anonymous said...

Word•smith-noun-A skilled user of words.

I might be a genius, but using wordsmith and genius together is redundant.

Amy said...

A genius is defined as: a person of great intelligence, who shows an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in creative and original work.

And wordsmith is described as: A fluent and prolific writer, especially one who writes professionally. An expert on words.

The two are not the same thing. Therefore, not redundant.

Perhaps we should call a truce.

Anonymous said...

You're the one who referred to me as someone who "shows an exceptional natural capacity for intellect" and "an expert on words." And now you want to argue with me?

Perhaps "genius" was the more appropriate word for me. While I might be "an expert on words," I'm certainly not "fluent," "prolific" or a professional.

Anonymous said...

I just hit 43. Call me whatever combination of superlatives you want!