Curling.
I’d kinda like to see that.
The economist Joseph Schumpeter had 3 ambitions: to be the greatest economist in the world, the best horseman in Austria, and the greatest lover in Vienna. He claimed to have reached two of these goals, so that takes him out of this discussion, as people are only allowed one. He did say there were too many excellent horsemen in Austria.
I used to think I was good at stuff, better than most at certain things, until the internet exposed me to just how many people are really highly skilled. It has been thrilling, but also humbling.
If being mediocre was a skill, I’d be quids in, but I think that would just be confusing, and quite difficult to measure.
No doubt, but you don’t have to be better than the whole internet for the purposes of this thread, just 99 randos. 
Apparently you can find anything on the internet! Here’s an animated guide:
I’ve taught this to countless Scouts. I call it the “save-yourself” knot. If you are injured or in the water and need to be hauled up, a rescuer can lower a rope down to you and you can easily pass the rope around your back and tie this very secure knot, and then be hauled up with the rope under your armpits. Much more secure than trying to hold onto a lowered rope with just your hands.
Singing is hard to evaluate objectively, so I’ll just boil it down to one aspect: volume. I’ve lost a bit since Covid, as I didn’t sing for a couple of years and let my voice fall apart, but at my peak I was loud. Like I was risking my own hearing loud. Even now I’m pretty confident that I’m louder than almost any group of 99 random people.
I’d choose foosball (aka table soccer). It was real big when I was in college in the late 70’s and I got quite good at it. I rarely play these days and foosball tables are pretty scarce. But I’m pretty sure I still have enough muscle memory to out-shoot 99 randos.
Backing a trailer. Sure, a lot of people can back a small trailer attached to their own car, but I can back trailers attached to buses, multi-axle trailers attached to trucks, B-Doubles, 4-wheel steering tractors (they’re fun!) - pretty much everything.
They might keep up with me on the first challenge, but as we move up the levels, the competition would thin out fast.
I’ve gotten really good at staying alive well past my sell by date.
Of course one mistake and it’s all lost.
Really my only real saleable skill is as a muralist.
I still wouldn’t do a contest. I think I’m past my prime scaffold creeping days.
Does that mean that if you hear a note, you can tell it’s being played on a piano ?
Or do you mean you have perfect pitch ?
The latter is a bit more impressive !
I’d say SCUBA diving or anything else that requires training to do at all, with very few people having had that training, is probably out of scope; similar to the brain surgeon in the OP.
I won’t take the offer, I can’t think of anything.
I almost made this my skill–glad I didn’t! About twenty years ago I decided that by the time I was a grandpa (or grandpa-aged), I wanted to be able to make a good biscuit. I’m on track. But I don’t want to risk being beat by you, because your biscuits sound delicious.
No, the skill I’ll choose is one I started learning as a kid, when it was my job to sweep our really long driveway and I was lazy. I can balance a broom on my chin longer than 99 other people.
Actually I might chance my arm that I could drink more water than 99 randos in 1 minute with no spillage. Tried once and got over 4 litres.
I can say the alphabet backwards in under five seconds. Under four on a good day.
I also can recite pi to 100 digits but there are probably more people who can do that than the alphabet thing.
Thought of another one: I can read a Racing Form. I can read a horse’s entry in the Form, and make decent selections, based on what I see there.
Every line of the past performances tells a story, and I can tell it to you. “On 18 April, at Fair Grounds, he broke 5th from stall 3 in the gate, sat pretty at 4th/5th in the backstretch, letting Horse X and Horse Y set the pace, burning themselves out, came out of the far turn ready to run, did not fail when he had nobody in front of him in the five-path, closed nicely going away.”
“Today, he’s outclassed,” or “Needs additional distance,” or “Worked four furlongs in 53 and 2 last week, not ready,” or “Drops in class, fits today, should be safe, consider in exotics” are also among my observations.
And all from numbers on paper. I can usually get two of the top three finishers, and sometimes the top three, though not necessarily in the order I select them in. Regardless, my ex-wife would look at my Racing Form and ask, “How the hell do you know what all these numbers mean and how do you make selections based on them?”
Well, m’luv, it’s what I do. I’s suggest that very few random people can do what I can do with a Racing Form.
Ha ha, I almost used that one. I don’t know if I could do five seconds, but I’d bet I could beat 99 randos while hoping you are not one of them. I sometimes think about performing this to impress a cop if I’m ever pulled over for a sobriety test; they’d probably lock me up for being a smartass.
mmm
ETA: I just tried it and did 2.7 seconds, basically the same time it would take me to recite it A-Z.
That doesn’t sound random.
Oh, I believe that 2 of 5 people can keep 3 balls in the air for about 15 tosses, which is enough to say that “Yes, they can juggle, just not well.” It’s not hard to learn the concept. If an experienced juggler explains how to do it, and you get the “trick” (when to toss the next ball) it just requires a few days practice.
Wow. That’s a good one.
I doubt I could say the alphabet that quickly, but I can spell backwards any word that I can spell forwards. I can also write words in alphabetical order, and get it perfect most of the time-- sometimes I get the spacing wrong, and once in a while I miss a letter, especially if a letter appears more than twice in a word, or several letters appear twice. But like I said, right most of the time, and then it really impresses people.
Probably chess. I play 2-3 games a day. I don’t know my rating.
I’m sure quite a few of the 99 people know how to play. But when was the last time they played?
Maybe cribbage. I don’t think many people play that, but the ones that do are probably pretty good, but worth the $100 wager.
Pistol target shooting. I go to the range twice a month. It’s a long shot (heh) but I’d give it a go.
Apparently reciting the alphabet backwards is a more common skill than I thought.
I used to be able to recite the Greek alphabet backwards at about the same speed but have lost that valuable skill.
I guess it’s time to open up the discussion. You are no longer limited to naming just one skill, go ahead and go to town with stating all your skillz.
If you list more than one, state which you will choose for your competition.
In addition to my parallel parking, which is my primary, I will add:
- Yo-yo
- Pinball
- Reciting U.S. presidents in order
- Beatles trivia
- Playing the piano
- World capitals identification
mmm