the 941

This Web site, even if it sounds like an invention of the Stuff White People Like blogger, is pretty brilliant. Every time you correctly answer a vocabulary question, the site’s creators donate 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program. Your vocab level increases as you get more words right, as does the amount of rice you donate.

The concept hits all the right white-people buttons (the subculture, not the race). Wanting to be the smartest, making a difference, and a fixation on vocabulary/grammar. It perfectly manipulates that psychology to make something real happen.

In its first five months, FreeRice.com says it generated enough rice to feed more than one million people. To put the 20-grain earnings in perspective, in countries where rice is a staple, the UN World Food Program will give a person about 19,200 grains of rice a day. The game is pretty addictive, and it doesn’t take long to rack up a few hundred grains.

From FreeRice’s FAQ:

If FreeRice has the rice to give, why not give it all away right now?

FreeRice is not sitting on a pile of rice. You are earning it 20 grains at a time. Here is how it works. 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.

Bookmark to:

Posted in News | Leave a comment