# How would you earn your 15 minutes of fame? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 17, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083 "2003-03-17T20:35:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kn\_ckers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/96bed5/32.png) [@Kn\_ckers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kn_ckers)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083/1 "2003-03-17T20:35:56Z")
I was wondering, recently, what I should do to acquire the 15 minutes of fame that are my birthright. Supposedly, we’re all supposed to get that quarter-hour in the sun eventually, and I haven’t had mine, so I’m thinking it’s about time to get cracking on this. Only, I don’t really know what I would do to become a momentary celebrity. So, Dopers, how would you do it? Would you engage in a scandalous love affair with high-ranking public figure? Perform some incredible act of altruism? Star in a reality show? All of the above? Do tell! ---
**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083/2 "2003-03-18T00:15:55Z")
Well… infamy is a kind of fame isn’t it? “Nooo officer, I was taking my pet bottle of petrol for a walk to the house of ill-repute when… oh you mean _those_ placards with “Burn She-devil!” on them. Funny story, but…” ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083/3 "2003-03-18T01:13:53Z")
I have no desire to be famous whatsoever. The thought terrifies me. If, for some reason, I do end up with 15 minutes of fame, it’ll be because I fell ass-backwards into it. If I had to wager a guess, I’d say I would have an affair with a woman who turns out to be the illegitimate daughter of the pope. ---
**Author:** ![flood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@flood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flood)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083/4 "2003-03-18T01:41:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Registered: Jun 2001 > Location: Toronto, Ontario > Posts: 664 Closing in on 666 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083/5 "2003-03-18T02:12:31Z")
To quote Benjamin Franklin: “If you wish not to be forgotten, when you are long dead and rotten. Either do things worth the writing, or write things worth the reading.” ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083/6 "2003-03-18T02:20:07Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by flood_ > Closing in on 666 😉 It almost makes me want to stop…almost, but not quite.😉 ---
**Author:** ![not\_reaching](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c6cbf5/32.png) [@not\_reaching](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_reaching)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083/7 "2003-03-18T03:12:50Z")
I’d simplify English spelling by having schools all over the world that would teach it that way as a second language, where it would be used for international trade. Just as American spelling (as opposed to British) became popular throughout the world because of trade, so too could simplified spelling grow that way. No one in other countries would insist that “through” was preferable to “thru”. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083/8 "2003-03-18T03:59:31Z")
I would write an incredible book exposing all of the mythology in American history. (Of course, the books have already been written.) ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083/9 "2003-03-18T06:00:28Z")
Well… if you are happy to settle for 15 commercial TV minutes of fame (or approximately 5 minutes without the ads)… … then all you need to do, as I discovered, is get injured on a Jetski, and have to be air-lifted to hospital on the same day that a camera crew are making a documentary on helicopter pilots. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083/10 "2003-03-18T06:31:27Z")
I’ve had more than 15 minutes of fame (on a local level). They keep happening. It gets scary after a while. If there was free cider involved, I wouldn’t mind. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tblue)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083/11 "2003-03-18T06:46:14Z")
Hah! In a moment of supreme geekiness, myself and a co-worker devised an equation to calculate the allotment of fame attainable based on a country/population x age/years divided by the number of regional television channels - something like that. Scarily enough, the first answer was something like 15.1 - but it was a miscalculation. New Zealanders are entitled to about 40 minutes of fame within their country, we figured. My inner geek would love to take the simple equation and tighten it up - \*please, I’m not serious! 😃 \* But it is a funny thought! ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083/12 "2003-03-18T06:48:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tblue \* > \*\*Hah! In a moment of supreme geekiness, myself and a co-worker devised an equation to calculate the allotment of fame attainable based on a country/population x age/years divided by the number of regional television channels - something like that. > > Scarily enough, the first answer was something like 15.1 - but it was a miscalculation. > > New Zealanders are entitled to about 40 minutes of fame within their country, we figured. > > My inner geek would love to take the simple equation and tighten it up - \*please, I’m not serious! 😃 \* But it is a funny thought! \*\* Well, that’s _me_ over my quota, then. 😉 ---
**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:** [March 18, 2003, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083/13 "2003-03-18T11:23:51Z")
I’ve had mine. But unfortunately it was extremely localised and not really that impressive. It’s good to drop into conversations occasionally though. “Oh, I wrote a TV series once.” Sounds a lot cooler than it was. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-earn-your-15-minutes-of-fame/162083/14 "2003-03-18T13:36:05Z")
I would sell unbelievable products via infomercials on late night night TV! Or, something sexual, involving Star Trek characters. :dubious: