Did You Know?
- People generally shed 40 lbs of skin over their lifetime.
- There are no English words that rhyme with month, orange, silver, or purple.
- America's first public library opened 1698, in Charleston, S.C.
- Left- and right-footed shoes were first created in Philadelphia. Before that, shoes for both feet were identical.
These fun facts were brought to you by the online homework help services website Fact Monster. More specifically, they came from the randomly generated facts that grace the upper tool bar for the site. And the rest of the site is just and fun and informative.
Fact Monster is a free website manufactured by Infoplease, a division of the Pearson Education publishing company. The colorful and interactive site is designed to attract and hold children’s attention. Advertising on the site makes Fact Monster a free service, offering:
- World news (updated daily)
- Trivia, games and quizzes
- Reference sources (atlas, almanac, dictionary, encyclopedia)
- Tips on writing, research and studying
Children ages 8–14 will benefit most from Fact Monster. As children narrow down their searches, they are connected to articles, interactive tutorials, games, quizzes and animated lessons. Fact Monster connects students with dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases and maps, almanacs and other online resources. Most of the information on Fact Monster comes from reliable and solid educational resources, such as The TIME for Kids Almanac, The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, the Infoplease Dictionary (based on Webster's Unabridged Dictionary) and the Infoplease Atlas (featuring maps from Magellan Geographix).
Fact Monster provides educational resources for grade K-8 in:
- Math
- Language Arts/English
- Science
- Geography
- Social Studies
- People
- World News
- Sports
Navigation is straightforward and simple. Navigation bars are located on the left and top of the screen as you click through links. The top navigation bar has a search box and links to the atlas, almanac, dictionary, and encyclopedia resources. The left navigation bar shows specific major subjects and also "Fact Monster Favorites"—links to particularly informative, interesting or topical content within the site. Each major subject's page is divided into specific topics, and includes separate boxes for links to related Special Features and Games & Quizzes. A search feature also makes it simple to find information on almost any topic.
Unlike some of the other online homework help services we reviewed, most of the information on Fact Monster is hosted on the site itself. In other words, for the most part when you click a link, you stay on the Fact Monster website rather than being redirected to another site.
Fact Monster is a free website, part of the Pearson Education publishing company. There is no installation or special equipment required, other than an internet connection.
There's a help button, which directs you to a FAQ page with a surprising amount of information about Fact Monster's service and content. You may also contact them with comments and suggestions via mail or email.
Fact Monster's content is not quite as visually interesting or varied as our top online homework help services website, Cosmeo. Additionally, the site is limited to content mostly appropriate for elementary and middle school students. But these are small drawbacks to an otherwise fantastic online resource for homework help. You're sure to uncover some interesting facts every time you visit the Fact Monster site.
