StoppingPoints.com Launches Free Widgets

May 21, 2009 - PRLog -- StoppingPoints.com (http://www.stoppingpoints.com ), a guide for finding historical markers and points of interest throughout the U.S., launched the first in a series of free widgets today which are intended to provide historical trivia and educational games and information. The first widget launched was The Devil's Dictionary(http://www.stoppingpoints.com/free-widgets/Devils-Dictionary.html ).

The Devil's Dictionary was originally a set of satirical definitions first written by American author Ambrose Bierce and published in serial format in newspapers in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The word definitions were later collected and published altogether in book format. Witty, erudite, and irreverent, the dictionary was much-immitated and republished many times over.

Examples of word definitions which resonate today include the one for "Debt" which states: "An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slave- driver" and another is the one for "Congress" which states: "A body of men who meet to repeal laws".

A few of the definitions are fairly esoteric and harder to understand from a contemporary perspective, including the ones for "Acephalous", "Alderman", "Infalapsarian", and "Pickaninny".

The new StoppingPoints.com Devil's Dictionary widget takes those same humorous word definitions and returns them to a modern-day serial equivalent by delivering them up individually, a new one each day. Webmasters can easily copy the code provided and paste it into blog page templates and webpages in order to have the definitions begin displaying on their sites and changing out automatically each day.

Bill Lawson, Editor-in-Chief for StoppingPoints.com, stated "We believe we can help to further educate today's youth by providing up historical content in new and unique ways. The Devil's Dictionary was a perfect subject for us to use initially since it not only amuses and encourages thought and discussion about English word meanings, but it also conveys historical opinions and atmosphere from a hundred years ago."

StoppingPoints.com is beginning to emerge from "stealth mode" -- the startup company has slowly been introducing point-of-interest content for a few states while essentially beta testing technology and innovative display presentation techniques. The company has begun quietly assembling a board of directors comprised of some of the top entrepreneurs from the Web 2.0 internet industry as well as search engine optimization experts, historians, and travel writers. StoppingPoints.com is also beginning to entertain discussions from venture capital firms as they explore options for rapid expansion of services.

The company intends to continue to expand its free widgets offered in coming weeks and months. (See http://www.stoppingpoints.com/free-widgets/ )

"We will likely introduce some more quote-type widgets," said Bill Lawson. "History is rife with content that lends itself to this sort of format, and it integrates well with certain blogs and educational websites, depending upon the topic focus."

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About StoppingPoints.com:

StoppingPoints.com is an innovative startup company providing local travel guide information, points of interest, and guides to historical markers throughout the United States. Built on proprietary methodology and local search marketing tactics, StoppingPoints.com is using open-source code to mashup content from a number of sources to provide easy-to-use point-of-interest guides.