Oh, you think you’re so perspicacious
Did I ever tell you that I got an 800 on the verbal part of my SATs? No? Well let me tell you this now: post-college-placement it has absolutely no relevance to normal life (well, okay maybe more relevance than the math section) — except now.
Now I can hone my mad wordsmithery skillz even further using this addictive website called FreeRice.com where you answer vocabulary questions, try to figure out what progressively harder words mean, and each success you have donates ten grains of rice to a hungry person through the United Nations. Pretty cool! But allow me to dispel two myths posited by a friend of mine in regard to this site:
1) He says you need to play all day to feed one person a decent meal. Not true. Will someone please guesstimate how many grains of rice make a hearty bowl next time you’re stir-fryin some dinner and report back to me how much of a dent 10 grains can make? It expands when you cook it.
2) Picking the wrong answer does not, in fact, take rice away from a starving family.
Name: Heather Browne
my 27-year old cousin got an 800 on her verbals, too. i think that’s super-impressive, HB. although, sadly, in her case, she is still living with her mommy. also, the internetz says 3500 grains of rice in a meal. that seems high, but it must be true, because the internet is never wrong.
c — November 16, 2007 @ 1:16 pm
I actually pondered recommending FreeRice to anyone I know who’s trying to study for the SAT or GRE – it’s a fabulous way to review vocabulary words. Do you find yourself guessing the right answer at higher levels, based on the classic trio of prefix, suffix, or root? I was astonished that I usually get those guesses right.
–Apium
Anonymous — November 16, 2007 @ 1:28 pm
too funny, I was on another blog this week and they were promoting the free rice website. Good deal.
kev in st. louis
Anonymous — November 16, 2007 @ 1:36 pm
I love that site! I’ve gotten so addicted, which may be the only addiction ever to be globally beneficial. Yea, definitely the only one. Thanks for spreading the word about it!
-Mary
Anonymous — November 16, 2007 @ 6:44 pm
Hilarity: “It expands when you cook it;” and the notion that anyone would take grains of rice away from people simply because someone got an answer wrong on a vocabulary website. I love it.
All my best,
Steve
PS- Note of randomness: I’ve always kept my love of the Dodgers to myself and never held it against you that you’re a Giants fan, Heather. To that effect, I will refrain from making any comments about recent developments. To be honest I’ve been looking forward to what happened for quite some time but I found it rather anti-climactic. I miss the game I knew as a little kid…
Steve — November 16, 2007 @ 6:46 pm
Hey,
I’m compiling a Top ___ of 2007 for my school newspaper and I want your input on good albums this year before I make and final decisions. Plus, I know there’s a lot of albums I’ve neglected to hear. Last year I missed some amazing albums and kicked myself for not including them. Leave a comment with your thoughts/picks.
Jon/Dance Hall Hips — November 16, 2007 @ 8:40 pm
Free rice! Nice.
Woodland Bear — November 17, 2007 @ 8:21 am
Yay! I love FreeRice.com! I got my school’s paper to run a blurb on it, and I’ve been telling everyone about it since I found out about it. It’s fantastic. I often have to explain to people point number 2 there, so I can understand your posting of it
Can you imagine if they did take food from starving families though?
Also, 3,500 grains in a meal (as posted above) does seem like a lot. Maybe that’s an American portion; it’s probably less in a meal for people who are going hungry.
John Larsen — November 17, 2007 @ 5:55 pm
Oh god, as a complete word dork who also got 800 on the verbal section of the SAT, this game is like crack for me. And, coincidentally, probably the only place I’ve actually put that 800 to any sort of use.
Oh, and, uh, it’s for a good cause. I guess that’s cool too.
Anonymous — November 17, 2007 @ 8:26 pm
Awesome site. I am a lover of words, so this sort of thing is fun for me, even if I only got something like a 670 on my verbal portion of the SAT…
I cranked out a quick 700 grains of rice for somebody while getting my score up to 41. Not sure how that compares to anyone else, but I figured I’d share. I’ll probably be spreading the word about this site in the near future.
The Duck — November 18, 2007 @ 9:10 am
ooh, this is so much fun! i’m hooked. thanks for passing this info along. i’m a fellow word geek, so hey, hopefully it’ll help someone (it hasn’t really helped me).
mychelle — November 18, 2007 @ 7:14 pm
God, my 740 verbal just feels so…average now. THANKS, Heather!
Lauren — November 18, 2007 @ 9:40 pm