I know what you're thinking right now... you wish you could do two things at once, such as expand your vocabulary and donate food, right? Of course that's what you want, and I have just the site for you! http://www.freerice.com Check it out! For each word you get right, the site donates 10 grains of rice to help the cause against world hunger!
(I liked this pitch so much I copied it from here)
[ November 06, 2007, 10:03 PM: Message edited by: esl ]
Posted by Miro (Member # 1178) on :
Funny timing. But cool site. It's fun to see how long I can go before it stumps me.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Hmm, I just guessed gimlet=auger. That's news. I made it 22 times straight, missing pennate = winged. Earlier I got 20 straight. It has a decent vocab list, and goes up and down appropriately to keep it challenging.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
I can't get past vocab level 43. Whenever I get there, I make a misstep.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
I think I've only gotten maybe three level 43 words correct. I'm about 15% on them, I think.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
1510 grains of rice, and I've reached my first word duplication.
Edit: at 1620, I hit my second word duplication.
I think they're just running out of level 41-42 words.
Edit again: w00t! Level 44 on only my 204th word!
[ November 06, 2007, 09:08 AM: Message edited by: FlyingCow ]
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
I went straight to level 45 with no mistakes, but then I got stuck.
Nice bowl of rice, though.
Edit: 46!
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Access denied by smartfilter, catagorized as games. Silly firewall not knowing I'm trying to donate food. . .
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
The words are really easy or really hard for me . Probably because I am only 18 and haven't even heard of some of the words, due to my limited experience on this planet.
Edit: Well, most are really easy, but occasionally (every 10 or so) there is a hard one.
Edit2: Alright, so it is really really easy then I get to level 30 and it gets harder for me. Damn you, limited vocabulary.
Edit3: Decided to start thinking about the origin of the word, and I am doing much better. Up to level 40, so far.
[ November 06, 2007, 11:18 AM: Message edited by: JonHecht ]
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
Yeah, word origins, prefixes, and roots came in very handy at higher levels.
I stopped at 44... had to actually get some work done today. Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
I got stuck on 41. What the hell is an ermine?
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
I got to 47 with a few singular misses, then missed three in a row. Most of the time I ranged between 43 and 45.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
I would feel bad, but then I remember that I am surrounded by authors, law students, etc.
I hope that by the time I have learned Latin I will do better. Try again in a few years, when I am not a mere freshman. Well, I suppose I'll continue to do it to help starving children.
I don't understand why we should have to get vocab right to have the UN help people... isn't that kind of arbitrary? Why not just... help?
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Every time you click the ads at the bottom change and the revenue from the advertising goes to buy the rice.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
Got up to 46... now hovering mostly between 42-43 area.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Made it to level 48, but am averaging level 44.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
Okay... so apparently, a reata is a lariat. Too bad I don't know either of those words.
Curse you level 46!
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
A lariat is a lasso... I learned two other ways to say lasso today. I don't know how I would have survived without this knowledge.
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
I bounced around awhile between 43 and 45, finally got to 46. How much is 1320 grains of rice, anyway? Like, a pound?
BTW Jon, you don't have to be an author, law student or Latinist to enjoy words (says the engineer).
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I'm averaging level 45, but have gotten up to 47.
Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
Forty-seven on the first try. I will admit to haveing guessed a couple of times. Latin helped. But, there were a few Saxon words there, and one nonsense word from good old Glibert and Sullivan.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
Years of experience with roleplaying games and magic cards certainly helped.
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
They seemed to have left the 'n' out of internment. For a minute there I thought that there was some bizarre word I had never heard of and then came to my senses and realized that it was more likely an error.
However, I still can't seem to get above 43.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
If it was the second n that was missing, it wasn't an error.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
I got to level 48. All those crossword puzzles landed up getting someone a bunch of rice. It is also helpful to have some medical vocabulary.
I pity the guy who has to sit there counting out grains of rice, though. Seems easier to measure it by weight or volume, no?
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
interment = burial
<--- been at lots of funerals
Posted by Tristan (Member # 1670) on :
Got to 45 with only one mistake. Not bad for a non-native speaker . However, when chosing what "chanticleer" could possibly mean the whole thing went white on me. I think I broke something with my clever answer.
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
dkw:
D'oh. I knew what it meant, but not how it was spelled. Well, there goes my master of all discourse credentials.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
All of my coworkers who have taken this have scored in the low 30s.
Posted by scholar (Member # 9232) on :
Thanks esl. Now instead of working on writing my progress review, I am donating rice. I beat Noeman's coworkers, but am on the low end for the hatrack group.
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
Isn't a chanticleer just a fancy way of saying a "dirty, rhyming song used to annoy fans of the opposing team at a football game"?
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
A chanticleer is a rooster. Before Rutgers' mascot was the "Scarlet Knight", it was the "Chanticleer"... this was pre-1955. I'm very glad they changed it.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
I'm really curious what the total will be for today with the burst of hatrack activity. Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
I hovered in the upper forties. I couldn't get to fifty. I'll keep trying...
Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
quote:A chanticleer is a rooster.
Or probably more accurately, "clear singer" in old french. The name of a rooster in numerous French stories and folk tales. I seem to remember a Esop's Tale type story within Canterbury Tales, from there into English meaning Rooster.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
I've got to 46, but I hover around 43. For me, I think that's not too shabby.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I tend to stay in the mid- to high-40s. I guess that's pretty Hatrack-typical.
No wonder I like you all. We speak the same language. Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: I tend to stay in the mid- to high-40s. I guess that's pretty Hatrack-typical.
No wonder I like you all. We speak the same language.
I don't know; I mean, we might be experiencing selective reporting. I don't think we can necessarily infer that "Hatrack-typical" is in the mid-to-high-40s given that most of those who choose to report their scores are at that level. There might be plenty of Jatraquerios who are getting lower scores, but simply not reporting. And who knows if we are all reporting accurately.
That said, Hatrack rocks, I love you all, and I'm sure we really are better at vocabulary than all those other forums. At least on average. For some definition of average.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
I can hang at 42-44. I don't last long at the 45-47 level-- they start whipping out all of these bizarre animals I've never heard of. Latin roots don't help much with those.
Posted by Fyfe (Member # 937) on :
Yay for seven years of Latin.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
I got up to 48, generally being in the 44-47 range. This is fun.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I only had 3 years of Latin, but it helps me plenty, as does the "root word" study we did in 9th and 10th grade. We learned not only Latin but Greek, French, and atypical roots. That, combined with a fair amount of medical terminology knowledge, makes it easier for me to figure out words both in and out of context. It's definitely something I'll be doing with my kids.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
I'm pretty pleased about how much my geology class helps.
I kind of take the Latin and Anglo-Saxon stuff for granted, but the geology is nice, as is the medical stuff.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
I've hit 50 a few times.
Posted by Liz B (Member # 8238) on :
can't...get...past...47...
even with STELLAR guessing.
Edit: 49! I quit!
(just kidding, of course. Am completely obsessed.)
Posted by Threads (Member # 10863) on :
I'm not nearly as good as anyone else here. I average around 34-35. Highest was 39 lowest was 29.
2240 grains of rice so far
Posted by Tara (Member # 10030) on :
Got to 38. This is so addictive. I'm leaving now.
Posted by esl (Member # 3143) on :
My girlfriend and I went up to 45 but probably average at about 43. There's a lot of guessing involved when we played.
Miro, I searched before I posted. Somehow the other post didn't show up. And sorry about the crazy linking. It's edited out.
Posted by steven (Member # 8099) on :
highest was 47, average 43.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
I started doing better, and made it to 45, then got the word disembogue... What?
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
I've gotten as high as 47, and usually hover in the 43-44 range at this point. There have been several repetitive words, though, that I did not know at first and do know now - so that's bumped me up a bit.
I've probably accumulated anywhere inthe 8,000-10,000 range for grains.
Doing a little searching, it seems that 1000 grains is about 25 grams or so. So, I've managed to donate in the 200-250 grams range, or about a half pound.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
I finally made it to 50! Way better than the 41 I was only able to get up to earlier today. Then I crashed, but oh well. Lot of guessing, and trying to determine word origins.
Posted by scholar (Member # 9232) on :
My top is only 41 so far.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
The best I've got is 42.
It's pretty interesting - around the 39-40 mark, I know all the words, no thinking involved. It gets to 41, I don't know some and have to start thinking about them.
42, I'm very much thinking, and often guessing. Though some of the definitions are... approximate. Once I figured out the way their dictionary worked I got more right (muscat = grape? Not really. Not as a *definition*. I got it right, but I don't think it is actually right. At least the way they ask it.)
I obviously don't have the vocabulary of many hatrackers.
It's a great idea though.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
On November 5th, the total for the website was 53,847,080 grains.
On November 6th, it was posted on hatrack.
On November 6th, the total for the website was 73,566,480.
Now, I don't think we accounted for 20 million grains all by ourselves, but... Posted by Jaiden (Member # 2099) on :
I average around 43.
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
quote:Originally posted by FlyingCow: On November 5th, the total for the website was 53,847,080 grains.
On November 6th, it was posted on hatrack.
On November 6th, the total for the website was 73,566,480.
Now, I don't think we accounted for 20 million grains all by ourselves, but...
For those interested, taking FC's number before of 1000 grains ~= 25 grams, 73,566,480 ~= 184 kG ~= 400 lbs. of rice.
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
I just got the word "ephemerid." Def'n "mayfly." Thank you Hatrack.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
I did so badly they're invoicing me for the rice.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
quote:Originally posted by FlyingCow: On November 5th, the total for the website was 53,847,080 grains.
On November 6th, it was posted on hatrack.
On November 6th, the total for the website was 73,566,480.
Now, I don't think we accounted for 20 million grains all by ourselves, but...
I saw this the same day at XKCD's forums so take that with a grain of salt.
Or rice.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
okay, so... xkcd accounts for 19.8 million, we account for the rest.
Posted by Liz B (Member # 8238) on :
I just got "grok."
I think it's my eclectic reading tastes that are helping the most. All of those words for Regency-era clothing: thank you, romance novels!
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
I just realized that FC's reported totals were only daily totals; i.e. the total for only Nov. 6 was 20,000,000 more than for Nov. 5. That's a bit more impressive, IMO.
Anyway, since it started on Oct. 7 the total donation from freerice.com is 856,444,020 grains of rice ~= 2141 kG ~= 4710 lbs. Never underestimate the power of the internet and boredom.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
That's probably about $1000 in donations total, maybe less. I can by rice for about $.70 a pound. Commodity prices (which is how the UN agency buys its food) is much less. Not sure how delivery costs factor in, but that $.70 a pound reflects delivery charges, too.
Still, it's pretty darn cool that they're generating this money almost effortlessly (on the margin, at least).
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Went to 48 but now am at 46. This is addictive! I did 3000 grains so far. I love this game! It's got lots of words I don't know.
I've been guessing really well, too, when I don't really know the word. Seems like several of them will be impossible choices so only one is left that just sounds like it.
Edit: Made it to 49 but can't seem to crack 50. I'm really addicted now. 6k grains and counting.
Edit: 8000 grains, level 50! I'm quitting for the night. This is fun.
But why are they donating rice and teaching us vocabulary words at the same time? Who is doing this and why? And is it for real? Will they really donate that much rice?
[ November 07, 2007, 11:48 PM: Message edited by: Tatiana ]
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
8,000 grains of rice really isn't much at all. Look at the weight chart posted earlier.
Edit: I don't mean to insult your achievement, my point is that that is how they do it so cheaply.
[ November 08, 2007, 02:14 AM: Message edited by: JonHecht ]
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
The figure I'm getting in my googling is 10.71 cents per pound. So that's less than $500 total. Still, it's a pretty fun time waster.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
My figures come out 10 times what Senoj's are: 1839 kgs and 21411 kgs total.
Assumes Flying Cow's conversion factor 1000 grains ~= 25 grams.
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
Nothing definitive here, but a look at the freerice.com model:
Thanks for the link, Zal. Although the site author said "The site doesn't appear to be officially affiliated with the UN at all", commenter 4 has a link to the UN's World Food Programme that says freerice.com is a way to donate to the UN. Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
Yeah, I'm not endorsing the take from ReadWriteWeb. He could also be wrong about his perceptions of the business model. And even if the creator is taking more of a cut from the advertising than one might be comfortable with...
If spending time on the site is something you are doing in addition to whatever other charity activities you might engage in, then I don't see the harm. It's better than playing on Yahoo Games or whatever.
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
quote:Originally posted by Morbo: My figures come out 10 times what Senoj's are: 1839 kgs and 21411 kgs total.
Oops. Factor of 10 error. Morbo is correct.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
From the readwriteweb link:
quote:At the very least, the site has an obligation to show us how much they are bringing in - not just how much rice they've donated.
I can't think of any good reason the site has such an obligation. Can anyone else think of one?
Posted by Liz B (Member # 8238) on :
Nope. Also...
quote:it's probably a scam
I see no reason to call it a "scam" or imply that it's not "legit." It's a scam if no rice is being donated. It's not legit if no rice is being donated. (Or if the amounts claimed on the website are false, etc. etc. etc.) Other than that...
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Is 50 the highest it goes? I notice that when I get 3 in a row right at level 49 I advance to level 50. Then I've gotten as many as five (I think) right at level 50 without advancing. Has anyone figured out how it works yet exactly? Does it take 3 correct answers in a row to advance to the next level? It seems to demote me to the level below with every word I miss.
Right now I'm at 18,780 grains of rice and counting. I like this because it's a fun mindless thing to do and it builds vocabulary. The rice donations are over and above that. The ads aren't annoying so I have no objection generation ad revenue for someone by clicking the button. I do hope they give a substantial cut of their intake to aid in world hunger relief. But if it turns out to be only a small slice, I'll be disappointed but it's still a fun game.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
20,000 grains. So addictive. Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
I wish you would get more grains for harder words. That would make it even more addictive, though. Posted by esl (Member # 3143) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tatiana: Is 50 the highest it goes? I notice that when I get 3 in a row right at level 49 I advance to level 50. Then I've gotten as many as five (I think) right at level 50 without advancing. Has anyone figured out how it works yet exactly? Does it take 3 correct answers in a row to advance to the next level? It seems to demote me to the level below with every word I miss.
You got it. Three to advance, one to demote, and 50's the highest. I don't think they expected Hatrack vocabulary levels.
I average around 39. This is such a great procrastination tool. I do need to get working though.
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
I still only very rarely end up in the 47-48 range, I seem to keep falling back into the 45-46 range.
It's gotten to the point that I've done so many 45-46 words that I have their answeres almost memorized. So, I breeze up to 47, then fall back into 46, then breeze up again.
Ironically, I now have a harder time with levels 42-43, since I've seen so few of those words. Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
quote:The program keeps track of how many people get each word right or wrong, and then adjusts each word’s difficulty level accordingly. So the words at the easiest levels are the ones that people most often get right. The words at the hardest levels are the ones that people most often get wrong. As more and more people have played the game, these levels have become increasingly more accurate.
It would be interesting to run the program only on the Hatrack subset. I probably wouldn't be able to crack 40.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
FlyingCow, that's my experience too, down to the number ranges. I've only made it to 48 ~3 or 4 times. Now that I have learned more of the 44-46 level words, I hope to get higher.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Some of the level 47 and 48 words are waaaay easier to me than the level 43 and 44 words.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
I'm glad it's legit!
I'm at 30k grains now and still addicted.
I hope they keep adding more good words. I wonder how the words are selected. It's fun to learn new words, and these are some good ones.
We used to play a game where you just read through the dictionary until you find an interesting word that you think the other person might not know, then ask it. Each word asked is written down with its definition, and at the end of the game, you go back and ask again to see how many you remembered.
With that game, though, you had to read a whole page of the dictionary usually to find one good word that wasn't so obscure and unusable that it wouldn't be of any interest, and that was arcane enough that it was likely to be new to the players (my family). It was quite hard to find good words. A whole lot of the dictionary is obscure botanical terms, or zoological, or terms from some other specialty that wouldn't be solidly useful in normal conversation.
These, however, mostly are. I wonder how they came up with the words and definitions. Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Do you have some words that you guess the same wrong answer every time they come up? I keep doing that! It's annoying.
Hey it worked! Next time I got monad I got it right!
[ November 10, 2007, 03:27 PM: Message edited by: Tatiana ]
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
The highest I've made it so far is 45. My question is: How many grains of rice are in an average bowl of rice? I'm trying to wrap my head around how much food I've actually donated by getting 1000 grains or so.
--Enigmatic
Posted by Threads (Member # 10863) on :
You can't go below level 1
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Enigmatic, I think 1000 grains would make a good sized bowl of rice. That's from picturing what 10 grains looks like in my rice bowl, and multiplying that times 10 and then times 10 again.
If I use 25g, though, and compare with a 16 oz bag of rice, it doesn't end up as much. It comes to only .88 oz. I'd say for a good size bowl you need to start with about 2 oz dry rice.
Is the 1000 grains = 25 grams a good conversion factor? Where did that come from?
I found this number: 20 g (ca. 600 grains) from an agricultural paper on rice grain size. That gives 33 g per 1000 grains, which is like 1/3 more. That seems like a better guesstimate to me. So I think 1000 grains about 1.2 ounces dry which ought to make one bowlful. Not a huge bowl, but a decent sized bowl.
[ November 10, 2007, 03:20 PM: Message edited by: Tatiana ]
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Now I know all the words at level 50. There are a few words I don't know scattered through the other levels, though. But it's not fun anymore. I hope they add more words soon. I can't be the only one.
I have done 40,000 grains so far, but unless they add some words soon, I probably won't do much more.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
First try level 43.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I am averaging 45-46.
Hmmm....
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
So I'm totally a 12 year old boy, but this made me giggle.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
I'm so glad that it turns out that it caps at 50. I thought it capped, like, at 100 and I was just hammering myself against a vocab ceiling.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
I wish it went to 100! I'm disappointed that I've topped out so quickly.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
I went straight to level 44 without a mistake, and then started getting about 1 mistake every 15 words or so. But I take no credit for it. I read Stephen R. Donaldson books, and their vocabulary list sounds like it's extracted from the Covenant books.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Lisa, I learned a lot of words from the Thomas Covenant books! That was one of the things I liked the most about them, how many cool new words I learned. I started underlining any words I didn't know in my paperbacks and making a mark on the edge of the book so I could find them again later and look them up when I was at the computer.
Coruscated was one I remember from there. What are some of the others you saw on freerice? That's the only one I can think of.
Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
[edit: I didn't see page 2! D'oh.]
Has anyone gotten higher than Shigosei's 50? I've been competing with some friends and I'm curious how high the levels go.
Though my current record is still 47 and I'm finding it extremely hard to even get that high again, so it probably doesn't matter.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
50 is definitely the highest level. I got to the point that I stayed on 50 almost continuously, so that it became quite tedious. I would love to see them add some higher levels on it, and many new words.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
50 was the highest I've reached, but I don't stay there for long.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
. Probably because I am only 18 and haven't even heard of some of the words, due to my limited experience on this planet.