# You have to do a 45 minute presentation with no preparation right now. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 28, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521 "2017-09-28T14:26:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/81 "2017-09-30T22:23:07Z")
The Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. \*Prayers for you and your family, Arrendajo. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/82 "2017-09-30T22:47:23Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > What it’s like to have your 17 year old son suffer a massive stroke and fall into a profound coma right in front of your eyes on what was otherwise a perfectly routine Saturday morning. Woah, sorry to hear that man. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/83 "2017-09-30T22:55:43Z")
Dang, some of these sound really interesting. Now I’m going to have to think. There might be other topics, but definitely - 1. Overgrowth of bluegreen algae in the downtown Stockton Channel, causes and prevention. 2. Science with Shit 3. Medieval (European) cooking, general. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/84 "2017-09-30T23:20:06Z")
Been thinking about this, and I’m rather underwhelmed at myself for the lack of things I could do an hour about with no prep: 1. The works of JRR Tolkien 2. My thesis about how the first three Velvet Underground albums chart the journey of addiction (lasts more than an hour because I’d play some tracks and Sister Ray is really quite long) 3. Some stuff about my job ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/85 "2017-10-01T22:18:59Z")
I could do: Instructional Systems Design (or Systems Approaches to Training); Vehicular bicycling and bike safety; and, on a superficial level Urban design Especially if I was armed with a good sized whiteboard and a few dry-erase markers. And Arrendajo, I am sincerely sorry to hear about that. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/86 "2017-10-01T23:56:04Z")
I can easily cover forty five minutes and more regarding operation, installation maintenance and testing of commercial fire alarm systems. It is admittedly boring stuff, and all of you would probably snooze off in the first ten minutes or so. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/87 "2017-10-02T11:37:08Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > I can easily cover forty five minutes and more regarding operation, installation maintenance and testing of commercial fire alarm systems. It is admittedly boring stuff, and all of you would probably snooze off in the first ten minutes or so. I would find it fascinating, unless you’re way too monotone and inexpressive! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/88 "2017-10-03T01:51:16Z")
I am very passionate about what I do. ---
**Author:** ![InsomniaMama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ad7895/32.png) [@InsomniaMama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InsomniaMama)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/89 "2017-10-03T01:54:04Z")
Basic intro to German Raising monarch butterflies Native plants Starting and maintaining a school garden Growing vegetables and cooking the results ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/90 "2017-10-03T02:29:28Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > How to play ukulele > Songwriting > Any aspect of children’s library > What it’s like to have your 17 year old son suffer a massive stroke and fall into a profound coma right in front of your eyes on what was otherwise a perfectly routine Saturday morning. Not to bump the thread, but to those of you who expressed sympathy with my last response, thank you very kindly. I would like to report that, though it was a horrific experience, my son made a remarkable recovery, and graduated with a degree in German from Oregon State last spring. And the fact is, while I _could_ talk about it for an hour, I really don’t want to. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/91 "2017-10-03T17:14:21Z")
Handwashing and the Chain of infection–I actually had an impromptu “make up a lesson and teach it to us” question on a job interview and did this one. Differences in dementia vs delirium. How injury or lesions on different parts of the brain affect behaviour. (I am a nurse, and a health care educator but I have never actually taught those subjects) A brief history of the Finnish people in the Thunder Bay Ontario region. History of the United Church of Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/92 "2017-10-03T18:17:59Z")
Writing for children. I can do 45 minutes each on short stories, poems, and picture books. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/93 "2017-10-03T18:33:28Z")
(Missed edit window) Also: Amusing anecdotes from my years as a substitute teacher. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/94 "2017-10-03T19:30:25Z")
Total Solar Eclipses! ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/95 "2017-10-03T19:38:55Z")
Child support laws in Minnesota How to find people that so do not want to be found Things to consider before filing contempt Polycystic Kidney Disease: What it is and why is sucks Renal diets Edmund Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene” Shakespeare’s Sonnets Cross Stitch 101 Dealing with a Mentally Ill Feline ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/96 "2017-10-03T20:37:37Z")
1. Arthurian stuff, with special emphasis on the foundational works - I don’t talk about King Arthur much because it triggers my obsessiveness. But man, I can go on. 2. Egyptian mythology - ditto. 3. War of the Roses 4. English history in general 5. The history of ladies’ underwear 6. Dogs 7. Greek/Roman mythology 8. Norse/Germanic mythology 9. Any number of genre authors 10. The history of the English Language and etymology of Latin loan words 11. The History of Pants 12. Horses 13. The time I worked in a Zoo 14. The time I worked in a Vet’s 15. The time I worked in a Theater 16. All kinds of Theater stuff, generally 17. Van Morrison’s songwriting 18. Poetry, with particular emphasis on the Romantics … … … I’m beginning to see the problem. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/97 "2018-01-04T21:56:58Z")
I essentially did this once with the life of Abraham Lincoln. I was teaching English Language Learners in central Illinois, and the program director was going to take the class on a field trip to some Lincoln sites. She asked if I could talk about Lincoln for a while. The next thing I knew, it was about an hour later. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/98 "2018-01-04T22:01:51Z")
Crapping my pants? The methods and haste thereof? I could probably give a pretty decent 45 (or more) minute _speech_ about the evolution of the american animation industry (once I finished panicking), but I couldn’t give an impromptu _presentation_. Presentations require visual aids, even when they _aren’t_ about a visual medium. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/99 "2018-01-05T20:56:25Z")
How to teach a child the art of playing baseball. Actually, I could do (and have done) 45 minutes each on hitting, fielding, catching, throwing, and practice setup/safety. It would include lecture, demonstration and audience participation in roughly equal measure. So if you ever need someone to fill 4 hours on your agenda, call me! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/100 "2018-01-06T00:24:27Z")
My current research. For a general audience, perhaps an elementary explanation of what calculus is about and why it is important. I could go on for hours. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521.md?page=6)