# Anyone fill in the XKCD survey? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 2, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712 "2015-09-02T15:47:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/101 "2015-09-03T13:21:53Z")
cat dog whale pangolin aardvark Humphrey Bogart 37 and 38 cat I don’t remember my random words. No walls, I was at the beach last evening. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/102 "2015-09-03T14:02:37Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > The five animals was strange. The first animal to pop into my head was otter, and I have no freakin’ idea why. Otter was one of mine as well. I got on an ‘O’ tear after that, adding ostrich, opossum, and ocelot. 67 and 38. Paul Newman “cat” ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/103 "2015-09-03T14:40:20Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > cat dog whale pangolin aardvark I’m going to guess that aardvark is going to be overwhelmingly over represented in the poll. I think it was also on my list. As was giraffe and wombat. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/104 "2015-09-03T15:06:13Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Wow. You all would hate me because I typed a line and a half of nonsense and then C and Ped it until the box started scrolling and called it a day. I did the same thing. For the rest, I’m afraid I didn’t read carefully enough. I typed cat without quotes, and typed five random words instead of the phrase “five random words” ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/105 "2015-09-03T15:08:56Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > I did the same thing. > > For the rest, I’m afraid I didn’t read carefully enough. I typed cat without quotes, and typed five random words instead of the phrase “five random words” These were the correct responses. An instruction to type cat _with_ quotes would (actually be a little difficult in normal written english but would) look something like this: > [@](#): > > Type ““cat”” (Note the quotes within quotes). And an instruction to type the phrase “five random words” would put the phrase “five random words” in quotation marks. Without the quotation marks, it is an instruction to pick five random words, then to enter each of those words into the input field via keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/106 "2015-09-03T15:26:05Z")
To do it in English, you’d need to use two different sorts of quote marks for the different layers of nesting, like ‘“cat”’. That would also work in some programming languages, though for others you might need to escape them, like ““cat””. And my preceding paragraph is actually incorrect, because I was referring to the string including the quotations marks, and so should properly have included yet another layer of nesting… but that would have just been even more confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/107 "2015-09-03T17:32:36Z")
What’s this about “correct” answers? ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/108 "2015-09-03T17:44:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > To do it in English, you’d need to use two different sorts of quote marks for the different layers of nesting, like ‘“cat”’. That would also work in some programming languages, though for others you might need to escape them, like “"cat"”. > > And my preceding paragraph is actually incorrect, because I was referring to the string including the quotations marks, and so should properly have included yet another layer of nesting… but that would have just been even more confusing. I’m pretty sure Randall is familiar with many styles of escape characters in various programming languages. That said, I entered cat (unquoted), as I figured to get the quoted cat you’d need a construct similar to this - Type the following: “cat” - Then you’d need to type the quotes. I typed 5 random words which I don’t really remember now since I did this survey yesterday (oh wait, one word was skookum); my 5 animals included wombats and robins (birds are animals, you know) but no aardvarks or cats; I cut and pasted two lines into the box (and ended when the scroll bar shifted); and I chose Harold Lloyd for the movie star because I’ve been watching some silent-era comedy shorts on YouTube recently. (“Sammy In Siberia” - one of the few silent era comedies about the Russian Civil War); I did know most of the words, but the several I’d never seen, I told the truth and didn’t check them off. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/109 "2015-09-03T17:55:09Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > What’s this about “correct” answers? I took my time and got all the correct answers. Randall emailed me within maybe five minutes with his congratulations. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/110 "2015-09-03T18:26:49Z")
Yeah. I got an email too, saying I had 2 wrong. Damn you Tom Cruise! ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/111 "2015-09-03T19:16:26Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I typed cat and then considered adding the quotes, but I didn’t because I thought it’d look like I was too literal. I also just typed the word. > [@](#): > > I thought Tom Cruise too, but for some reason I typed Tom Hanks (I left it that way) I thought of Harrison Ford, but for no special reason. I’d have likely come up with another name on a different day, or even at a different hour. > [@](#): > > My two numbers were 37 and then 73 - is that weird? My first was 73. My second was 56, which I later typed again, as it’s my current age, even though that fact wasn’t in my mind when I picked 56 as “just” a number. > [@](#): > > Necessary. I think I typed that right this time. “Supersede”, which I didn’t check then, but did just now. Wonder how many of the surveys contained answers to the “problem word” question that were actually misspelled… ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/112 "2015-09-04T02:47:16Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I took my time and got all the correct answers. Randall emailed me within maybe five minutes with his congratulations. > [@mr.jp](#): > > Yeah. I got an email too, saying I had 2 wrong. Damn you Tom Cruise! 😕😕😕 I thought this was a survey; what determines whether an answer was correct? ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/113 "2015-09-04T10:23:24Z")
I think you’ve been whooshed, Lumpy. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/114 "2015-09-04T11:14:46Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > “Supersede”, which I didn’t check then, but did just now. I also put “supersede”. It just doesn’t look right. I could’ve chosen others, though. I get Sherrif wrong a lot. Like just then. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/115 "2015-09-04T12:12:03Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > 😕😕😕 I thought this was a survey; what determines whether an answer was correct? All I know is Randall emailed his congrats. Later he emailed me laughing that a “mr pj” (I’m certain he meant mr jp) almost matched me until he answered Tom Cruise. Of all the questions to miss!! ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/116 "2015-09-04T13:20:39Z")
> [@Critical1](#): > > did anyone else type five random words I almost did, but it would have been inconsistent with my cat answer: Type “cat”: cat Type five random words: five random words But since I didn’t include quotes with cat I didn’t feel I could get away with that lame joke, so I went with pat pet pit pot put. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/117 "2015-09-04T13:21:43Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Yup, I did it. FOr some reason the first movie star I thought if was Tom Cruise. I hate Tom Cruise. Lauren Bacall was the first one to come to my mind. Much more enjoyable to contemplate than Tom Cruise. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/118 "2015-09-04T13:30:46Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > All I know is Randall emailed his congrats. How did he get your email? I didn’t see anywhere that he asked for it. I left a couple of questions unanswered. There are a few words I frequently spell wrong, but none of them came to mind. And I don’t know what emoji are, and was too lazy to Google them. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/119 "2015-09-04T13:48:59Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > How did he get your email? I didn’t see anywhere that he asked for it. Randall Munroe can balance rubber duckies.\* I don’t think _anything_ is beyond his reach. \*[Cite.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randall_Munroe#/media/File:Randall_Munroe_ducks.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712/120 "2015-09-04T15:18:40Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Randall Munroe can balance rubber duckies. But I bet he can’t juggle live geese. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-fill-in-the-xkcd-survey/729712.md?page=7)