So I finally get through to the local radio station’s morning prize giveaway. They’re asking Family Feud questions. For those not familiar: 1. Why the hell are you reading this thread? 2. Family Feud is a game show in which people try to guess how many people out of 100 surveyed gave certain answers to survey questions.
My job was to try to get a score of 100 in just 5 questions. I did not quite reach that goal. I’ll list the questions first so that you in the audience can play along, then I’ll give my responses, and any relevant commentary.
What is the first thing you do after you get in the car?
Other than a gorilla, name a type of ape.
Name a birthday a man hates.
How many times will a person move during their life?
At what time do you have supper?
My Answers, scores, and commentary:
What is the first thing you do after you get in the car?
My Answer: Close the door.
My Score: 0 (not on the list) #1 Answer: Adjust the seat/mirrors.
Commentary: The dj suggested that my answer was “too obvious”. Apparently, it was so obvious that I was the only one who thought of it.
Other than a gorilla, name a type of ape.
My answer: Orangatan
My score: 6 #1 Answer: Monkey
Commentary: Monkeys aren’t apes.
Name a birthday a man hates.
My answer: His wife’s.
My score: 0 (not on the list) #1 answer: 40
Commentary: The question doesn’t specify that it has to one of his own birthdays. It didn’t occurr to me at the time that many people would hate their own birthday, so I badly misunderstood the question. I maintain that the question should have been better worded. I loved my 40th birthday.
How many times will a person move during their life?
My answer: 30
My score: 0 #1 answer: 5
Commentary: I’m aware that there are people who only move five times in their life, but that’s common? Wow. I moved more than that before I was five. I moved something like 20 times before college, another 12 times during college, and four times since then. I figure I’ll probably move one or two more times before retirement, and one or two after, so that makes roughly 35-40. Assuming that I might be a little high, I subtracted 10 from my estimate. I apparently movie freakishly often, as my estimate was laugh out loud funny, and the dj’s had callers on the air for the next half hour voluneering how many times they’d moved.
At what time do you have supper?
My answer: 8:00
My score: 7 #1 Answer: 6:00
Commentary: My obvious mistake was to just answer the question with my supper time instead of what I assumed other’s supper times would be. Still, I cannot imagine eating supper that early.
I suppose that I could conclude that I am freakishly out of step from mainstream America, but I choose to conclude that I am typical, and that American is out of step with me. What reminded me of this is a commercial I heard this weekend, featuring my wildly out of step with the mainstream answers, and the dj’s making fun of me (I got the lowest score, 13, that they’ve ever gotten playing this game).
Well, look at it this way: there are games, and game shows, that reward lateral, unusual, and/or independent thinking. Family Feud, by its very nature, is not one of them.
As for your commentary:
I think most people envision “getting into a car” as opening the door, getting into the seat, and shutting the door again. To them (and me), the action of “getting into a car” isn’t complete or done WITHOUT shutting the door; it’s like “making a phone call” without hanging up the phone afterwards. It’s the connotation.
See my introductory statement.
You may be right, but I interpreted it the “right” way, so I think they just assumed it was something people would understand. I’m not sure how much sense it makes with your interpretation, but then, I realize that under time pressure, it’s easy to miss. If you’re male, I think maybe that’s a reason you misinterpreted it the way you did. Women more stereotypically “hate” one of their birthdays. Though I’m surprised that 40 topped 30 or 50. Wonder how/why.
In my experience/opinion, that number is freakishly high. My jaw almost literally dropped in amazement when I read your c.v. of moving. From my life experience so far, moving anywhere near that many times is extremely unusual. Were your parents in the military? And out of curiosity, what was the general average of the call-ins afterwards?
In addition to the reason you mentioned, 6 pm is a “stereotypical” supper time for some reason.
Cheer up - there are worse things to be than “not mainstream.” Hell, this might be a good thing!
Man, you do suck at Family Feud. Thirty times? Yes, that’s a lot. I’ve lived in about ten places in the last ten years, but I’m out-of-step with most people I know. Five sounds about right, on average. “His wife’s birthday.” Classic. Tee hee.
On the bright side, your dazzling display of mediocrity is featured on a radio commercial. I’d be pretty stoked about that, even if it did feature a slightly embarrassing moment.
[Real Men of Genius ad] Today, we salute you, Mr. I Can’t Play Family Feud. When the chips are down, and it’s All On The Line, you come up with the least obvious answer there is. That’s right, you are completely out of step with the enitre universe. What time do you eat supper? Not when everyone else does, thank you very much. So crack open an ice cold Bud Light, Mr. Non-conformist, because the survey says, there is no one as clueless as you.[/Real Men of Genius Ad]
brought to you by Anhueser-Busch brewing company, St. Louis, Missouri.
I got 3 of those right on the money. But I also said orangutan, and I said “start the engine” for #1. Who adjusts the seat?? The seat is going to be the way I left it, ditto for the mirror, why would I want to adjust them?
I don’t agree with your complaint on #3; it’s a survey question, so the people being surveyed were free to interpret it as you did, if they were so inclined.
#1 - I agree with the above responses that closing the door is an integral part of getting into the car. (On the other hand, like Manduck says, you shouldn’t need to readjust everything. My answer was ‘put on my seatbelt’)
#2 - With you all the way.
#3 - I blanked, having NO idea which interpretation was intended.
#4 - 30? 30? Way, way high. I don’t think I know one person who’s moved more than 12 times (Most are about the same as me, maybe one or two more or less (8, FTR).)
#5 - 6 sounds good to me. (Working in a restaurant, that’s when we get our dinner rush, so I’d say anything from 5-7. 8’s not too far out there.)
For the last 3 questions, it’s important to reason what a group of people might (on average) say, and round numbers (or numbers ending in five) are the most popular for questions that require them.
Ironically, the 6:00pm is a leftover suburban stereotype of the 1950s father leaving his office job at 5:00pm and eating dinner as soon as he gets home to his suburban stay-at-home pearls-wearing wife and rosy-cheeked Normal Rockwell-ish children. In the absence of anything to replace it, though, you may as well guess what you think an audience will guess, each of whom is also guessing. It’s a big psychological thing, I suppose.
You’ve moved 30 times? Are you a professional hobo or something? I figure I’ve lived in five places, though I’ve been in this last one for 21 years.
What is the first thing you do after you get in the car?
Fasten seatbelt
Other than a gorilla, name a type of ape.
Orangutan
Name a birthday a man hates.
40th (I remember the temper tantrum my Dad threw when he turned 40. Likewise, I remember how my husband started complaining about his vanished youth once he turned 40.)
How many times will a person move during their life?
5. This doesn’t reflect my own number of moves–I’ve moved 39 times. Dad was in the military for a while when I was young, and then was in the habit of moving every two years or so. Since I’ve been married (12 years now), we’ve only moved 3 times. It’s nice to not be moving all the time!!
At what time do you have supper?
I said 6:00. Again, that’s not when we eat supper, but it was always the stereotypical time for dinner. Since I work f-t & go to school f-t, we typically eat supper around 9 or 10 p.m.
start the car (even though I pretty much always put my seatbelt on first. )
I must confess, my immediate thought was “monkey” even though I immediately also thought it was stupid.
3)40th
4)7 (I think most people don’t really think of moves during college as moving. I know I kept my parents as a permanent address while in school, so I didn’t consider it.)
Commentary:
1: Who adjusts their seats and mirrors every single time they get in? Are people really that fidgety? But I also think your answer was too obvious.
2: I first thought “monkey - no, that’s not an ape…hmm…orangutan?”
3: Hurray!
4. 3 is a little low. But I don’t think people count college in “official moves”. I would also think that people vastly underestimate this answer as well.
5: Yeah, 6:00 is early.
Final analysis: Looking over these answers, I suspect the population they surveyed for these questions all lived in a small Amish community.
I love that game & play it with my friends that came from disfunstional families cause we don’t know how to match the answers to questions that people from functional families give.
These people must drive a lot of rentals or other borrowed cars.
Orangutan
Great minds…
40
I admit that “My wife’s” Especially “My wifes’s 30, 40, etc…” came to mind.
20
What constitiutes moving? Different building, town, state? I wouldn’t count college, either, but I would count moving from an apartment to a house (or even another apartment) in the same town. I moved three times before I joined the Navy. Three times while in the Navy and once since then. When I answered, I was considering any time I packed my stuff up and permanately left a place. Be it a building, town, state or country.
Seeing that you have moved so much, you must be a well-traveled person who would not think the same as the lived-in-the-same-town-all-their-lives people who answered the surveys. Either that or you’re on the run from the law.
Six PM
Like most other replies, this is the generic “dinner” time. I eat when I get home, which is rarley the same time each day.
put on seatbelt
almost chose "put key in ignition
Since I’m the only driver for my car, no nned to adjsut
Chimpanzee
40 is what i said
A better way of asking the question is "What age to men dread becoming?’
5
Including college, I’ve lived in 6 places, I’m thinking 10 would
6 pm
I think this may be a suburban/urban thing If you start work at 7 AM you are likely to eat earlier than if you start at 9 AM.
Also, if you have 1+ hour commute, you might not even get home by 6pm much less eat.
I was brought up that typical eating time was 6am/noon/6pm
Brian
You’re right. You do stink at Family Feud. Realize that the point of the show is to match the most popular answers given by average people, and realize that the average Joe is an idiot.
Anyway, here are my answers. I read the questions and thought of the first answer that came to mind.
Start the car.
Monkey.
30th
10
6:00 pm
Commentary:
I agree with previous answers. “Close the door” is too obvious. “Adjust the seat and mirrors” is a pretty stereotypical answer, as is “put on seatbelt.” I bet that “start the car” is up there, though.
First answer that came to mind. Yes, I know that monkeys are not apes. I also figured it was a pretty good answer for “Family Feud.”
I immediately thought that 40th would have been a better answer. Apparently, I was right.
Being an Army brat, and then serving in the Navy, I’ve also moved numerous times in my life, which is probably why my answer is high. Ten is a good round number though, and I bet it was up there.
Stereotypical dinner time. I never eat that early either.
Start the Engine
It’s cold here, you can worry about putting your seatbelt on or adjusting your mirrors or seat, while the car is warming up.
Orangutan
Just following along with everyone else…
40
Yes!!
5
Yes!! I’ve moved 3 times already and I’m only 20, so it seemed reasonable.
6:00
Before I moved away on my own, dinner would usually be at 6:00. But alot of my english/irish friends would eat at 5:00 and my asian friends would eat at around 7:00/8:00. It’s a cultural thing too.
Anyway, I would agree with most of your answers, and #3 baffled me as well. They probably should have said “What age” or something of the like. The only answer I wouldn’t agree with is the moving. 30 is definitely a little too high.
All of you people saying “They probably should have said…” are missing the point of the game. You’re getting the EXACT same question that the person on the street got, and they didnt’ get any clarifications, either. They had to say “What birthday…”, not “Which age…” If the average person had interpreted the question to be “His wife’s”, then you’d have gotten points. The game is as much about figuring out what the right answer is as figuring out what question people thought they were being asked. THAT is the challenge. Not knowing how many times the average person actually moves.
On moving: My parents were divorced. I’d spend the school year with Mom, summers with Dad; later on that was reversed. In addition, my father was a tenant carpenter–we’d live in an older home for reduced rent while he repaired things, then move when the house was in good shape.
I grew up in Missouri, went to college in Connecticut, which necessitated moving into dorms or an apartment each fall, then back to my parents each summer. I consider this, as with summers with Dad or Mom, moving, because it included packing most of my personal possessions and moving them to a new place for an extended period of time. I see now that my interpretation of what constitutes “moving” is what threw me off.
Adjusting mirrors/seats: My wife and I share a car. I’m over a foot taller than she, so I literally cannot get into my car without adjusting the seat. Even when I’m the only one who’s driven it, I usually park after dark, but leave after sunrise, which means I have to switch the mirror back to day driving, so I can understand this one.
Dinner Time: I get home at about 5:00. This is too soon for a full meal, so I have a snack, which tides me over to about 8. If I ate at 6:00, I 'd have another six hours after supper before bedtime, which is way too long for me.
Monkeys/Apes: I’m surprised at how many people here are saying orangatan, given how lowly it scored. For the record, it was apparently the third answer, behind monkey and chimpanzee.
Realize that the point of the show is to match the most popular answers given by average people, and realize that the average Joe is an idiot.