Update! FreeRice Releases Beta of New Layout

The site we know and love - FreeRice - has released a new beta version for users to test out. The new beta site is for everyone to use. It has some new features that will definitely impress anyone who has used the site before the beta (as well as those who lamented the lack of a leader board!) and even a new, fancier layout.

Among the new features is the ability to create an account. With the creation of accounts, one has access to joining, creating, and playing for new user groups, and keeping track of their total scores (either individually or for an entire group). Also requiring an account is the friends system. Having an account may be integral to accessing all of the new goodies on the site, but it's not necessary to play the game.


Save for the necessary addition of account creation, groups are perhaps the most important update to the FreeRice game in the beta. Groups allow users to compete in rice count; competition will surely raise the rice count. Players can join multiple groups, but can only play for one at a time. To "play" for a group, simply click the double arrow button next to "Groups" on your info bar, and then select the group you wish to play for. The top 5 players will be featured on the group's information.

In addition to receiving recognition through groups, players can show off by sharing on Facebook and Twitter. Such information such as totals earned per group, overall, etc. can be posted. Extensive information on totals can be viewed on the user profiles, which can also feature a website, some personal information, and a description.

Go to the FreeRice beta now!

FreeRice - For Each Answer You Get Right, We Donate 10 Grains of Rice

FreeRice

"For each answer you get right, we donate 10 grains of rice through the World Food Programme to help end hunger"

FreeRice is one of the most ingenious, easy, and helpful sites I have seen on the internet in quite a while (if not in my entire time on it!). It donates many, many billions of grains of rice to the hungry people in third-world countries, where local inhabitants would not normally be able to feed themselves. It also doubles as an excellent device for learning or practicing such subjects as English vocabulary, foreign languages, geography, and more.

The idea at FreeRice is very simple -- in fact, it is so simple, you might not believe I am being 100% genuine until you try it out for yourself. Essentially, when you go to the site, you will immediately be presented with a question; answer it correct, and you will instantly be told that you have donated 10 grains of rice.

Answer as many questions as you want on any subject you want (you can click "Change Subjects" at the top right corner of the question box or the "Subjects" tab at the very top to change subjects) and for each correct answer, the site will donate 10 grains of rice instantly, guaranteed.

How can they do it? Well, this is where the ingenuity comes in (and for this, I think the creator, John Breen, deserves a medal or something!): each time you get a question, a banner appears at the bottom of the screen. This banner is not obtrusive at all (in fact, it is quite out of the way), but the advertisers pay for each time their banner is viewed. The current owners of the FreeRice site (the World Food Programme of the U.N.) use all of the money earned by advertising to pay for the rice.

Win-win!

Just by clicking the correct answer to a question, and perhaps even learning something, you can feed children and families all around the world! The World Food Programme says that 20,000 grains of rice provide enough caloric intake to sustain an adult for one day. That means it takes 100 people less than 2 minutes of consistently answering questions at a normal speed to feed an adult for the whole day!

The site also has a free FreeRice toolbar that's quick and easy to download. Once downloaded, use the search bar as you normally would your default search bar. For every 5 searches you do, FreeRice will donate 2,500 grains of rice, up to 5,000 grains per day. Search naturally, though; apparently "fake searches" to simply raise the rice donations will result in disabling of your rice donations for using the toolbar.

It is absolutely free, it is incredibly simple, and it is a really great thing to do. If you happen have some spare time, or if you are feeling a bit generous, go on there and do some good for your world, at FreeRice.

World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide

World Food Programme

Fighting Hunger Worldwide

The World Food Programme is a branch of the United Nations that addresses the problems of world hunger. From the organization headquarters in Rome, the WFP aid those who cannot obtain enough food for themselves or their families. According to their 'About page', the WFP claims:

"The World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide."

The World Food Programme has clear, well-stated goals, as expressed on their 'Our Work' page in the 'Objectives' section:

"WFP's strategic plan lays out five objectives and all our work is geared towards achieving them. They are:

1. Save lives and protect livelihoods in emergencies
2. Prepare for emergencies
3. Restore and rebuild lives after emergencies
4. Reduce chronic hunger and undernutrition everywhere
5. Strengthen the capacity of countries to reduce hunger"

The WFP has clear direction, and is integral to saving lives all around the world by feeding those who are hungry. Donate and save lives all across to the globe, too, with the World Food Programme.