- Canon in D
- Stairway to Heaven
- Marilyn Monroe
- Albert Einstein
- 1968
- Tokyo
- Cairo
- Mensa
- Standard time
Daylight Savings Time is evil. - Pipes
- Bourbon
Kentucky, represent! - Southern fried chicken
Except that everything I’ve ever had that was labeled “southern fried chicken” was horrible. If it really is “southern fried chicken”, it doesn’t have to say so. - Wizard of Oz
- “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy)
- Discover a new comet
Bonus question: $5,000,000 ten years from now.
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Canon in D or Minuet in G
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**Free Bird ** or Stairway to Heaven
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**Marilyn Monroe ** or Helen of Troy
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**Albert Einstein ** or Stephen Hawking
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**1964 ** or 1968
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Tokyo or Bejing
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Cairo or Addis Ababa: Neither
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**Mensa ** or Masons
-
Standard time or daylight savings time
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Pipes or cigars: Neither. YUK!
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Rum or Bourbon (I like frozen rum drinks, but bourbon wins a close one)
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**Southern fried chicken ** or Yankee pot roast
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Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz
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"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." (Kennedy) or “No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him.” (Jefferson)
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Discover a new comet or win the lottery
Bonus question: $500,000 now or $5,000,000 ten years from now.
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Canon in D or Minuet in G - sorry, not familiar enough with my classical canon to recognize either by name.
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Free Bird or Stairway to Heaven - just like it better
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Marilyn Monroe or Helen of Troy - the recordings I’ve heard of Marilyn’s singing of Happy Birthday to Kennedy just squick me out.
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Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking - familiarity, I think more than anything else.
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1964 or 1968 - of course this is the better year. It’s the year I was born, after all.
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Tokyo or Bejing - I have a lifelong interest in things Japanese
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Cairo or Addis Ababa
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Mensa or Masons - Mensa would at least let me join, if I wanted to.
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Standard time or daylight savings time - no preference
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Pipes or cigars - neither, thank you very much. I prefer my air unpolluted.
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Rum or Bourbon - again, neither. Never got the taste for hard liquor, and now that I’m on SSRIs, not a good thing to try to acquire.
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Southern fried chicken or Yankee pot roast - oddly enough because I don’t feel comfortable making my own southern fried chicken, but am a past master at Yankee Pot Roast.
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Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz - neither
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“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy) or “No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him.” (Jefferson)
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Discover a new comet or win the lottery - just because that would be so much cooler. And would indicate I’ve got either money or time to spend, that I don’t have at the moment.
Bonus question: $500,000 now or $5,000,000 ten years from now. - I’m so broke I’m darning underwear. And there’s no guarantee I’ll be around in ten years.
Liberal, glad to see the next installment of this. I’m really curious about where you’re going.
-
Canon in D or Minuet in G
-
Free Bird or Stairway to Heaven
-
Marilyn Monroe or Helen of Troy
-
Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking
-
1964 or 1968
-
Tokyo or Bejing
-
Cairo or Addis Ababa
-
Mensa or Masons
-
Standard time or daylight savings time
-
Pipes or cigars NEITHER (I know it won’t count, but I hate both)
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Rum or Bourbon
-
Southern fried chicken or Yankee pot roast
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Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz
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“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy) or “No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him.” (Jefferson)
-
Discover a new comet or win the lottery
Bonus question: $500,000 now or $5,000,000 ten years from now. (we’re assuming tax-free, right?)
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Canon in D or Minuet in G
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Free Bird or Stairway to Heaven - Neither
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Marilyn Monroe or Helen of Troy - More modern hygiene
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Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking
-
1964 or 1968
-
Tokyo or Bejing
-
Cairo or Addis Ababa
-
Mensa or Masons - I would go for the Masons if they were secret members of the Illuminati, but given that the chances of that are nill, it’s probably just an old version of the Lion’s Club or something
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Standard time or daylight savings time - Daylight’s saving was invented to annoy me
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Pipes or cigars - Pipes are more likely to smell good
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Rum or Bourbon - Candy
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Southern fried chicken or Yankee pot roast
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Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz - Oh what a world!
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“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy) or “No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him.” (Jefferson)
-
Discover a new comet or win the lottery
Bonus question: $500,000 now or $5,000,000 ten years from now - I’m still young
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Canon in D or Minuet in G
In a music theory class I took, a question asked was to name composer who used canons. One answer was Tchykovsky, for the 1812 Overture. I laughed so hard that I can’t help but smile whenever I see the word used now. -
Free Bird or Stairway to Heaven
Because it’s not Free Bird. -
Marilyn Monroe or Helen of Troy
None of us really know what Helen looked like, do we? -
Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking
Einstein told jokes once in a while, and I always feel slightly bad for laughing at Hawking, even when he is being funny on purpose. I also used Einstein as an excuse a lot as a kid (“Einstein never combed his hair!”). -
1964 or 1968
No real reason. -
Tokyo or Bejing
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Cairo or Addis Ababa
It’s so fun to say! -
Mensa or Masons
-
Standard time or daylight savings time
Stupid daylight savings time. I hate the very concept. -
Pipes or cigars
I don’t smoke, but sometimes I enjoy the smell of loose tobacco. -
Rum or Bourbon
Bourbon & Coke is wretched. And retched, eventually. -
Southern fried chicken or Yankee pot roast
Mmm… Grease. -
Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz
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“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy) or “No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him.” (Jefferson)
-
Discover a new comet or win the lottery
Nobody remembers who wins the lottery, but almost nobody remembers who discovers comets, either, except for those lucky bastards Halley, Shoemaker, and Levy.
Bonus question: $500,000 now or $5,000,000 ten years from now.
I can keep going comfortably for the next ten years.
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Minuet in G - the other one’s overplayed and I’m sick of it.
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Stairway to Heaven - not to contradict myself, but at least they don’t play Stairway in elevators (usually).
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Helen of Troy - Monroe just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe Helen doesn’t either, but it’d satisfy my curiosity, Mephistopheles.
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Albert Einstein - Hawking just isn’t very interesting outside of his field, plus Einstein’s work was more influential.
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1968 - neither is good, but at least we’re that much closer to the end of the 60’s.
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Tokyo - haven’t been to Beijing, but I still think Tokyo will beat it in craziness (which I like).
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Cairo - haven’t been to either, but Cairo’s closer to more interesting history for me.
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Masons - I’d join just for the free jars.
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Standard time - the very name implies the other one’s just improper. Why can’t we just have ‘summer business hours’?
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Pipes - modern plumbing wouldn’t be the same without them. Can the same be said of cigars?
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Rum - I prefer a word that has more definitions, oddly enough.
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Southern fried chicken - although I think Yankee Pot Roast might be better when you want it, fried chicken’s good just about anytime you want to eat.
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Wizard of Oz - I haven’t read the other one but doubt I’d like it. Not that big a Civil War-era fan.
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** Jefferson**, because I happen to think Sorensen did steal it from Gibran (anyways I agree with the content of Jefferson’s more).
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Discover a new comet - no contest - lottery winners get too much, too fast, in my opinion. A comet gives you a miniscule amount of fame that lasts much longer. Plus there’s the added tiny risk of being reviled by future generations when Earth is about to be wiped out; it doesn’t feel so much like something for nothing.
Bonus question: . $5,000,000 ten years from now - ties in with my last response; I have time to prepare for this windfall, unlike with a sudden grant (though I could conceivably accept $500k in 2 years, I’d opt for the greater amount in that case. I could hopefully put it to more use).
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Free Bird or Stairway to Heaven - Free Bird is overrated, Stairway to Heaven is beautiful.
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Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking - as much as I admire Professor Hawking, Einstein figuring out relativity through pure reasoning cannot be beat.
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1964 or 1968 - I wasn’t alive, but 1968 is a year I wish I’d seen.
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Tokyo or Bejing - never been to either, but from what I’ve heard I’d hate Tokyo with a passion.
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Cairo or Addis Ababa - see above, but substitute “Cairo” for “Tokyo”.
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Mensa or Masons - a bunch of bright assholes or a bunch of scheming Illuminati? Easy choice.
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Standard time or daylight savings time - people who complain about daylight savings are <expletive deleted>.
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Pipes or cigars - I don’t smoke, but pipes are infinitely more distinguished and cool.
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Rum or Bourbon - this answer depends on bourbon being pretty much like whisky. It is, right?
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Southern fried chicken or Yankee pot roast - chicken over basically anything.
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Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz - Gone with the Wind is good, but it’s just too bloody long.
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“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy) or “No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him.” (Jefferson) - tough one for me, but my distaste for nationalism, patriotism and flag-waving forces me to shy away from the Kennedy quote, even though I don’t really agree with the Jefferson one either.
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Discover a new comet or win the lottery - money I’ve got, but fame and respect from the astronomer community I don’t.
Bonus question: $500,000 now or $5,000,000 ten years from now. - easy choice. In ten years I’ll be 40 and can spend the rest of my life doing whatever the hell I want.
- Canon in D or Minuet in G
Canon. Haven’t heard either of the pieces, but “canon” sounds cooler.
- Free Bird or Stairway to Heaven
Stairway. Never cared for Skynyrd and always thought Free Bird was overrated anyway. Stairway has always been filled with mystery and adventure for me, ever since I was a little kid and heard it for the first time.
- Marilyn Monroe or Helen of Troy
Helen. I never thought Marilyn Monroe was that hot. She was classy but lacked mystery.
- Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking
Einstein. I have little interest in either but Einstein at least had a unique appearance.
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1964 or 1968
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The Mustang was better.
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Tokyo or Bejing
Bejing. Tokyo seems too slick and flashy.
- Cairo or Addis Ababa
Cario. Just looked the other place up and it doesn’t seem as exotic.
- Mensa or Masons
Masons. I’m all for ancient traditions, and a Mensa card is less likely to open doors. Plus my great grandfather was a Mason.
- Standard time or daylight savings time
Daylight savings time. It’s badass when you gain that extra hour all of a sudden.
- Pipes or cigars
Pipes. They taste and smell better, and they’re more unique.
- Rum or Bourbon
Gin.
- Southern fried chicken or Yankee pot roast
Chicken. Both are good but somehow the chicken makes me feel more alive.
- Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz
Wizard of Oz. Trippy as hell.
- “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy) or “No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him.” (Jefferson)
Jefferson. I’m not against Kennedy but I think the idea of universal human rights is more important than membership in a national group.
- Discover a new comet or win the lottery
Lottery. I don’t care about comets very much. I’d rather have the money.
Bonus question: $500,000 now or $5,000,000 ten years from now.
$5,000,000 later. I can wait.
If you think Hawking has a run-of-the-mill, thirteen-in-a-dozen appearance I don’t want to know where you live.
2.Stairway to Heaven
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Marilyn Monroe
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Albert Einstein
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1968
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Tokyo
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Mensa
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daylight savings time
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Pipes
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Rum
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Yankee pot roast
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Wizard of Oz
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win the lottery
$500,000 now
Einstein verily rocked the mustache. I admire anyone who has that in him.
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Canon in D or Minuet in G
Canon in D. I first heard this piece while walking in Carmel California with my newborn son. I have loved it ever since and have multiple versions on my iPod. -
Free Bird or Stairway to Heaven
Stairway to Heaven. Shades of 9th grade. -
Marilyn Monroe or Helen of Troy
Marilyn. Helen of Troy was a patsy. -
Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking
Einstein. I don’t understand the science of either one of them but I don’t understand Einstein better. -
1964 or 1968
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1968 was a dreadful year to be living in Washington, D. C.
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Tokyo or Bejing
Tokyo. Cause someday, I plan to actually visit Japan. -
Cairo or Addis Ababa
Cairo. Only because it is in the same country as the pyramids. -
Mensa or Masons
Mensa. Both ridiculous organizations but Masons have to wear an apron. -
Standard time or daylight savings time
Standard. Why are we messing with sunrise and sunset? -
Pipes or cigars
Cigars. My dad used to smoke cigerallas (is that what they were called?) -
Rum or Bourbon
Bourbon. My mom drinks it. -
Southern fried chicken or Yankee pot roast
OH MY GOD!! How can anyone chose? But, if pushed, I cook a mean pan of Southern Fried Chicken. -
Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz
Again…OH MY GOD!! How can anyone chose? But, again, if pushed, I’ll watch the Wizard from start to finish more often than GTW. -
“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy) or “No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him.” (Jefferson)
Kennedy. Soaring rhetoric, fabulous sentiment. -
Discover a new comet or win the lottery
New comet. Lotteries are so temporary.
Bonus question: $500,000 now or $5,000,000 ten years from now.
$500,000. Wisely invested, could BE $5mil and you’d get the benefits of it now. a
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Canon in D
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Stairway to Heaven
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Helen of Troy
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Albert Einstein
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1964
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Bejing
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Cairo
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Mensa
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daylight savings time
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cigars
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Rum
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Southern fried chicken
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Gone with the Wind
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“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy)
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win the lottery
Bonus question: $500,000 now
1.) Canon in D.
Can’t say that I can recall Minuet in G off the top of my head, and besides, Canon in D’s not only a great piece, it has a bit of nostalgia for me: It was used in a Super Nintendo game called King Arthur’s World (think Lemmings with fighting in a medieval fantasy world), which is how I first heard it.
2.) Stairway to Heaven
Freebird’s alright, but I’m a big Led Zeppelin fan, so I have a strong bias for Stairway. If I had to be analytical about it, I’d say it’s because Stairway is more melodic, and a more complex piece overall. Freebird’s one mediocre song with an over-extended jam session tacked on (granted it’s a good one, but still).
3.) Helen of Troy
Monroe cheated on her various romantic partners quite a bit. Plus there’s the whole death from overdose thing. Helen only betrayed her first husband due to divine magnate. Sure, a whole war was started over it, but things like that wouldn’t happen today.
4.) Albert Einstein
Mostly just because I know more about his life, and have a better grasp on just what his scientific and mathematical contributions were.
5.) Not sure. both were before my time, but I might do some research and check back in later with an answer
6.) Tokyo
This is easy. I love anime, manga and videogames (particularly the old-school console style games), whereas I think China is a brutal, totalitarian regime that has figured out how to put up a good front to westerners to lull them into thinking they’re not so bad.
7.) Pass, I don’t want to live anywhere that isn’t distinctly 1st world. So sue me.
8.) Mensa
It’s a matter of respect. The Masons have a lot of influence, but Mensa is something to brag about
9.) Does it really matter?
10.) Pipes
They’re distinguished, and cigar’s are disgusting
11.) I don’t drink
12.) Fried Chicken
I’m not that big a fan of pot roasts
13.) Wizard of Oz
I can’t stand Gone with the Wind. Rett is an awesome guy, and Scarlett is a b****
14.) “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy)
Nations become powerful bastions on ethics like these. Freedom is all-important, but without the ability to protect that freedom from foreign hostility, what’s the point? My admittedly limited understanding of Jefferson’s policies and stances at large further inclines me to take Kennedy over him, because the US would not have achieved what it did in the 20th century had it followed his neutral, aggrarian views.
15.) Win the lottery
Fame would be nice, but I’d rather have financial security (and if I won the lottery, I would make sure to manage the money to provide it).
Bonus Answer: $5,000,000 ten years from now
I’ll be fine for the next ten years, and you can do a lot with 5 mill.
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Canon in D or Minuet in G
-
Free Bird or Stairway to Heaven
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Marilyn Monroe or Helen of Troy
-
Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking
-
1964 or 1968 Neither
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Tokyo or Bejing
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**Cairo ** or Addis Ababa
-
Mensa or Masons
-
Standard time or daylight savings time
-
Pipes or cigars
-
**Rum ** or Bourbon
-
Southern fried chicken or Yankee pot roast
-
Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz
-
“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy) or “No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him.” (Jefferson)
-
Discover a new comet or win the lottery
Bonus question: $500,000 now or $5,000,000 ten years from now.
How much of a benefit can you really get right now? Without spending anything you need to get nearly a 25% annual return (which is very wise investing indeed). Getting that return guaranteed is a pretty decent thing.
- Canon in D or Minuet in G
Canon in D. I don’t know music but I know what I like.
- Free Bird or Stairway to Heaven
Both are overplayed, but Zep’s mopre talented, so I’ll take Stairway to Heaven.
- Marilyn Monroe or Helen of Troy
Helen of Troy. Monroe was a whore.
- Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking
Einstein. Hawking’s a smart guy, but Einstein’s theory was more revolutionary.
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1964 or 1968
-
1968 was a good year but hitting was just too low. A batting champ hitting .301? That’s no good.
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Tokyo or Bejing
Beijing is on the up and up but Tokyo has a panache Beijin can’t match yet. Tokyo.
- Cairo or Addis Ababa
Cairo. City of the living!
- Mensa or Masons
Masons, at least, have a handshake.
- Standard time or daylight savings time
DST, because the weather’s nicer when we have it.
- Pipes or cigars
Tough, tough choice. The cigar is the tobacco of choice for the total asshole middle manager, who’ll smoke a cee-gar with some scotch he thinks is good to try to make himself look cool in his Brooks Brothers suit. The pipe, on the other hand, is the choice of the affectation-wearing college prof generation. It comes down to a simple question; which smells better? Pipes by a nose.
- Rum or Bourbon
Rum. As a Canadian, I don’t even know what bourbon is.
- Southern fried chicken or Yankee pot roast
It sure is bad for me but I’ll take the fried chicken.
- Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz
The Wiz, baby. GWTW is overrated.
- “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy) or “No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him.” (Jefferson)
Gosh, that’s the best Jefferson quote you could come up with? Awful. I’ll take Kennedy’s, which, like most of what he said, was bullshit that didn’t mean much, but sounds great.
- Discover a new comet or win the lottery
Win the lottery. I have a family that could use it.
Bonus question: $500,000 now or $5,000,000 ten years from now.
Shit, I’ll flip a coin. I could sure use more money now, but that’s a hell of an investment, too.
Poll closed. Thanks to all for participating! 
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Canon in D or Minuet in G
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Free Bird or Stairway to Heaven
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Marilyn Monroe or Helen of Troy
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Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking
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1964 or 1968
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Tokyo or Bejing
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Cairo or Addis Ababa
-
Mensa or Masons
-
Standard time or daylight savings time
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Pipes or cigars
-
Rum or Bourbon
-
Southern fried chicken or Yankee pot roast
-
Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz
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“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy) or "No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him." (Jefferson)
-
Discover a new comet or win the lottery
Bonus question: $500,000 now or $5,000,000 ten years from now.