Get your word geek on and fight world hunger at the same time November 27, 2007 zuzu Via Julia, an addictive little obscure-word quiz that compensates for chewing up so much of your time by donating 10 grains of rice for every correct answer you get.
I’ve had wayyyyyyyyyyy too much fun with this, but I feel better killing time at work guessing vocab words for rice than say looking for lolcats.
Only downside is that I feel so dumb for not knowing a lot of words. Since it is a worthy cause..a bruised ego is so worth it…:)
Twenty minutes later . . . and 1280 grains of rice . . . I find myself at around a 39 – 40 vocab level. It was a good time, considering most games I play online are pointless.
And here I thought I’d never have to use obscure things I learned in English, chemistry, art history, and French ever again. This is fun! (I’ve also discovered that even when I don’t know what a word means, my brain still does. Or maybe I’m just lucky at guessing. :D)
I don’t know what the numbers mean per se, but by the time you hit 46 (my highest, I averaged about 42-43), they were into seriously obscure words – frequently highly technical or occupation-dependant words.
I try to get to 50 when I play, but I’ve only made it twice; at that level it’s 99% etymology and guesswork.
Impressive, all of you. My highest was 43. I love this idea! People learn while providing others with food.
addictive — all I need is another way to waste time. I’d rather be drinking a mazer of metheglin, anyways. I couldn’t break 50, but there are impossible words (for me) at 48 and 49, as well.
I’ve been loving this game! The best I”ve done is 46 but I’m mostly around 43. The site says that it is out of 50 and that the vast majority of people don’t get above 48. So all of you people above, feel very proud and smart!
I love this game! I can get to 50, but I can’t stay there. I usually level off around 48. (I are an English major.)
Oh man, I discovered this a few days ago, and it is definitely addictive. I can get to 50 but I drop out of it after maybe 3 words. Lots of it is guesswork (and repetition, of course). With some of them, even guessing right is no help. I’ve learned that a littleneck (I think) is a quahog. But what’s quahog? I’m convinced they’ve just made a lot of these words up. 😉
SOOOOO addictive! Just played for an HOUR! Fave new word is inanition… no morbid reason, just didn’t know it before. …I’m sending this to my mom and brother, who each routinely break 300 in Scrabble… I top out around 44, but then got on Merriam-Webster (cheated, but hey I’m donating more rice right?) and found out that you can’t go past 50 — that’s the best score. So kudos to you who made it there fair-and-square!
A great timewaster over Thanksgiving weekend. I bounce around 45-48, can occasionally push it up to 49, and then I hold my breath – can I make 50 (the top score)? Once in a while I get there, and even hold it for a word or two – as Sycorax says, lots of etymology (eg if you recognize the form that botanical descriptive words take – things that mean ‘stemmed’ or ‘serrated’ or ‘fringed’ – you’ll get words right even if you’ve never seen them before.)
I’m leveled off at about 44 but I haven’t been reading much lately. This is definitely a great way to exercise those old vocab muscles. I think donating 2000 grains a day is a worthy activity- now to get my son to do it.
Oh, god, don’t start me again. I did this all afternoon a few days ago when I was avoiding writing a paper. On the bright side, I hit 50 a few times and donated 20,000 grains of rice. And Nanette, quahogs and littlenecks are both types of clam. Clearly you’re not from New England. 😉
Oh wow, this is highly addictive. Great news: as of today, Nov. 28, for every word guessed correctly, 20 grains of rice gets donated, up from 10.
Wow. That’s hard. Steady in the mid 40’s, topped out at 47 and thought I was doing well, but I can’t get to 50. I do agree with the comment that sometimes when I don’t know the word, my brain seems to know it. That old test-taking trick of going with your first instinct if you don’t know the answer seems to work.
I love this. Got to about 44 and usually stay there. I hope somebody makes a new one like it! My idea: periodic table, because that would really stump everybody.
Hah, I would never have guessed a clam (very little necks, they have?). Thanks Colleen, and nope… a Californian here. Skwee, if something like this really does work well to provide food, I think they should make a few different game thingies, providing other food items, or maybe bicycles and stuff.
The first time I played this game, I kept getting frustrated because I couldn’t break 50. Then someone explained that there are only 50 levels. Heh.
Sophist, whoa! I didn’t even know such a creature existed. I just have to wonder who the first person was to come across such odd things (this and others) and say, “Hey! Let’s eat that!” It’s also hilarious how pr0nographic nature is sometimes.