"Hungry Hungry Hippos" Did Not Make the List

I guess some toys really are educational. Po Bronson, who co-writes a very good parenting blog despite having a face I inexplicably want to punch, reports on a experiment that proved that certain games were able to make kids smarter.

Or, to be more precise, playing the games raised their IQ points. And these weren't gifted kids to begin with — they were the bottom of the educational barrel. The results are encourgaing because not only does this method help the kids who need the most assistance, but also the games that were used in the study are cheap.

Check out the blog for the full list, with links — some games were classic, like a deck of cards or Perfection (I was always more partial toward Superfection), others are PC or Nintendo DS games; the average price is 13 bucks! That's cheaper than a tutor!