Saturday, November 17, 2007

A gauntlet ...

I've just been testing my vocabulary (not, I must admit, for the first time) on this site, to which I was directed by Mr W earlier in the week. Childishly, I'm currently engaged in a competition with myself to see how soon I can reach the top possible score of 50. This is not really the point, in a way, as the site donates 10 grains of rice to the UN food program for every work you get correct, so if you keep making mistakes and go on playing, more rice is donated. However, as I still haven't reached the minimum possible time (ie make no mistakes at all) I shall play my part by persevering. The game ups the ante by increasing the difficulty each time you're correct.

I was reasonably pleased with my score today - reaching 50 after 490 grains of rice - and gratified to note how a knowledge of Latin and of Shakespearean English seems to help. I'm sure my erudite and competitively driven readers will soon be telling me how much better they've done - especially if they also know some Greek ...

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:39 PM

    Ooooh! I love a glove! I'll pick it up when I have the time to spare. I've bookmarked the site, and, in my OCD way, will spend ages on it, I'm sure. Consider yourself defied.

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  2. Anonymous5:12 PM

    50/1020.

    Got to go to a concert. Back later. This is seriously addictive do-goodery.

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  3. Anonymous9:30 AM

    What a terrible thing to unleash upon your unsuspecting readers, Chris! After a couple of truly horrible and seemingly eternal rounds, I finally got a decent score. There seem to be an inordinate number of anatomical and medical terms, a help to me. I do wonder what has been pushed out of my fading knowledge base to make room for the new words I have learned from this exercise.

    Anyway, thanks, I think, Chris. I am sure I will be donating more rice during the next week or so.

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  4. Anonymous12:20 AM

    50 after 420. Now I know what to aim for in any competition (heaven forfend!). It helps not only to know Greek, but Scots, American and, at least in one case, an Australian aboriginal word. This game is definitely not a site of last risotto.... Sorry.

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  5. Glad you're having fun, chaps! I expect to be soundly beaten by you two...

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  6. Anonymous6:16 PM

    Now this thicko hadn't even picked up the fact that 50 was the top score and kept going...trying to better it and donated around 2000 grains. Sno eezy! But I will pick up the glove next time and note at which point I actually got to the 50.
    I'm sure it wouldn't be as low as that though, I had errors.

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