With all the recent controversy surrounding the lead-based paint and recalls of Chinese toys, something tells me that toy safety is going to be a huge issue this Christmas 

A group called World Against Toys Causing Harm (or WATCH–heh, clever) has released its list of the 10 Worst Toys this Year.  By “worst,” what they really mean is “most dangerous.”  And that’s cool and all, but I definitely think there should be a list of the 10 Lamest Toys to go alongside this as a companion piece. 

Anyway, some of you no doubt have children, and you likely try and do what you can to help those kids avoid injury.  If so, you might want to check out the list so that little Johnny doesn’t poke his eye out this Christmas with the Jack Sparrow Spinning Dagger.  Or the Rubber Band Shooter from Simple Toys LLC (a rubber band shooter is, indeed, a simple idea for a toy…simply dangerous!).  There’s also the extremely dangerous Dora the Explorer Lamp, which apparently has the potential for shocks and burns (oooh, fun!). 

Go here to read the whole list and the MSNBC article about it. 

A new free word game online has already helped the U.N. feed over 50,000 hungry people.  The concept is brilliantly simple:  put a word game on the web, offer people the chance to feed the hungry by playing the free word game, underwrite your good deeds with advertising revenue. 

The game is called FreeRice.  It’s a multiple choice word game where players choose the correct meaning for obscure words.  For every correct selection, 10 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Program. 

So the next time you’re looking to waste some time with an online game (and let’s be honest…we all know you’re going to), why not try FreeRice.  You’ll get your fix relieving the boredom, with the added benefit of making a tangible difference in the lives of hungry people all over the world.