All of the Charlie & the Chocolate Factory kids seem like they’d be fine once away from their actual parents.
I thought Violet Beauregarde was the most tolerable. Hell you could channel all that energy and create a profitable Instagram channel.
I don’t understand all the love for Violet Beauregarde. That gum-popping brat would drive me crazy.
I voted for the Bubble Boy - less to deal with. Give him three meals a day and clean clothes, etc. (however that stuff is managed) but you can basically ignore him. He’s responsible for his own hygiene and cleaning. I would be in another room with any communication device turned down (or off). He throws a tantrum and punctures the bubble? Aw, too bad. I guess this little foster kid experiment won’t last as long as it might have 
You’re the foster parent. Take her gum away.
Given the choices, I suspect we have different definitions of the word “fun”.
You may be right. The coworker who did the presentation last Friday did it about opossums and their benefit to the environment.
I voted other. I recommend you talk about how depopulation of beavers ruined the environment for centuries, and how they are being re-introduced to fix it.
Good, I’ll be a Hopper
If you go with that, good source here:
I, too, would advise @Velocity to avoid a topic that could be controversial, even though you were told that a “somewhat controversial” topic is allowed. This is a work event, and I suspect it’s meant to be a way for your colleagues to get to know you, and your interests, better. Talking about something that could be polarizing, and/or lean into conspiracy theories (as several of the topics on your list could) might be interesting in a non-professional environment, but doing so at work is asking for trouble.
One of my recent employers had a similar sort of “give a brief presentation about something which interests you” as part of our weekly team meetings. When it was my turn to present, I did 10 minutes on weather and climate; I’ve been interested in weather since I was a little kid, and I seriously considered a career in meteorology. I focused on topics which would be useful for my colleagues: what is the difference between a weather watch and a weather warning, how to understand humidity and dew point, etc. Not controversial at all (I didn’t poke at the climate-change bear), and a number of my colleagues later told me that they found it interesting and educational.
Good one. But black Mold is an important topic, and not very controversial. Apollo 13 is a good one also.
Another vote for beavers. Pliny has some weird beaver beliefs you can throw in for fun.
I chose “Other” and would like to suggest the importance of lowering our carbon emissions.
You should choose a topic which excites you. But of the options given, I chose the Malaysia flight as being the topic I would be most interested in hearing.
And I agree with “fun”, but then, I love speaking in front of an audience.
That sounds like a terrific topic. Entertaining, and not controversial. I voted for Apollo 13, because i don’t know your interests, and didn’t have any constructive suggestions. And that’s the least controversial/conspiracy theory of the ones you listed.
But really, i think you should try to think of something fun that won’t offend anyone.
I prefer key lime pie, because i don’t think i want the crust to be as salty as the other crust sounds. But i tend to prefer less salt in my desserts than many. If you like a salty note, go for the other one. (Also, it’s much easier to find lemons than it is to find key limes.)
That is the exact reason I chose key lime pie.
Definitely a tree. But I,m dithering over which tree. — if a willow keeps sending up shoots from its roots, is that still the same tree?
I was thinking something like a bristlecone pine for a tree to observe, but if clonal trees are allowed the Pando group of quaking aspens would be high on my list. “Speculations on Pando’s age have ranged between 80,000 and 1 million years.”
I can understand the urge to game the system by choosing whatever entity lives the longest. But looking at a tree for a million years? No thanks.
I’m leaning toward choosing my youngest relative (currently a 2-year-old grandniece). I’ll get to see how her life turns out, as well as keeping tabs on the rest of my family.
An emotionally satisfying 80 or so years would be preferable to the lifetime of a tree without any personal attachment.