Wednesday, November 17, 2010

In My Free Time, I've Been Wondering.....

  • Why is the cord on my mouse so long?  How far away from the computer do they expect me to sit?
  • When was the first American Thanksgiving?  In history books, the illustrations always show the Pilgrims and the Indians having their feast outdoors.  It seems highly unlikely that anyone would have an outdoor dinner in late November in Massachusetts. (An internet search narrowed it down to autumn of 1621, no actual date)
  • Why, when unemployment and foreclosures are skyrocketing, are local governments spending time and money deciding whether McDonalds should be able to sell Happy Meals?
  • Is daylight savings time really necessary?  I have yet to find any benefit to turning on the lights at 5:00 pm.
  • In countries where languages other than English are spoken, do they ever use English expressions?  Here, in the US, we say things like "Ciao" (hello in Italian), "Gracias" (thank you in Spanish), "Au Revior" (goodbye in French) and so on.  Do they do that in other countries?
  • What percentage of air travelers have malicious intent?  Is it enough to justify the cost of the body scanners, the labor to install them, repair and maintenance of them, and the training for employees to use them?  Have they revealed any weapons or substances that would have gone unnoticed by previous screening methods?
  • Why does my cable company advertise on cable channels?  If I can see their advertisement, doesn't that mean I'm already using their product?
  • If I could look through someone else's eyes, would colors look the same?  Do we all perceive colors in the same way?  What about tastes, do we perceive the taste of food differently?  It would explain why some people love certain foods while others loathe them.
  • What would the world be like if animals could speak?
  • Why are advertisers in such a rush to push the holidays on us?  I've seen Christmas merchandise in the stores since August.  Today, I heard an ad for New Years party supplies on the radio.  I'm wondering if they'll start setting up the Valentine and Easter displays before November is over.
Still contemplating......

Willoughby

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like the way you think! I totally agree about daylight savings time and have thought that many a time. And I have also thought about the color thing too! How funny :)

L.B. said...

The color thing is strange. What if what I saw as red was actually blue to you, and vice versa. How would we know the difference? What if my yellow was your green? Or what if the colors were sharper to you?

I also wonder why all the hassle with airport security. I was in line at Sea-Tac on my way home a couple of weeks ago and it was about 35-40 minutes just to go through the x-ray machine and metal detectors. The only thing that does to me is make me want to fly less. Too much of a hassle, to be honest.

If animals could talk, we'd all be vegan. Who'd have the heart to kill a talking chicken?

abby jenkins said...

I might need to chew on all that and get back to you....so many great questions!

See y'all! (think they drop that closure in Cannes?)

Unknown said...

I think about that color issue often, as well. My son is color blind, you see. Reds/greens/browns all look similar to him. I would love to see how his world looks to him. Oh, and I'm with you on Daylight's Savings. We should get rid of it all together. Such a mess! Instead of being exhausted at 9pm I am now exhausted at 8. On that note..I think I will go snuggle in a warm bed now.

Bill Lisleman said...

agree about not changing the time but I pretty sure this time period (fall winter) is the "normal" time.
Colors - my dad was color blind - my understanding was certain colors were shades of gray.
animals do talk - to each other
take a listen to this
http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blog/2010/oct/18/wild-talk/
cable companies are run by a few clowns short of a circus
get a wireless mouse
You are wise to keep asking why. More people should.

Raoulysgirl said...

LOL!!! I agree with the mouse cord right off the bat! I always get aggravated with mine! Plus, we have a LARGE mouse pad...more like a mouse mansion, actually. Somehow, the mouse is ALWAYS at the edge and I have to move it back away. How does it get there???

On the cable thing, my brilliant cable company sold my info to a satellite company. How do I know THEY are the ones who sold it? Simple...the ad from Dish came addressed to my name with my maiden and married name hyphened. The only company that sends my mail that way? Charter...my cable company...because we had the account BEFORE we got married. They just added on the married name.

So yeah...if I were to switch to Dish (which, I never will), I would be sure to send Charter a nice note...not only thanking them for selling my info (Dish is NOT the only company which sends me junk mail in that name), but for turning me on to a better deal!!!

Jenny said...

These are some really good questions - now you have me thinking about this stuff, especially the one about non-English speaking countries using English expressions.... Great questions!

I wonder if our curiosity about these things decreases as our age increases.

Joanna Jenkins said...

Hey WIlloughby, We think a lot alike! The whole McDonald's thing is crazy, "Falling behind an hour" and all that darkness is depressing, and I'm a Thanksgiving Comes First girl-- I can't imagine a New Year's ad already-- Christmas in August was hard enough.
If I miss you before, Happy Thanksgiving!
xo jj

Matty said...

You sure do make some interesting points.

As for the airport security, I'm all for anything that will ensure that 9/11 never happens again. I know many people don't share my view on the matter, but I don't mind the extra time it takes, or the so-called invasion of my privacy, if it means some kamikaze nut isn't going to be blowing my plane up. With me on it.

Holly Lefevre said...

FABULOUS!

My son has just become a conspiracy theorist with Thanksgiving....we (he) were watching something about how Thanksgiving really wasn't the first Thanksgiving and now he is into it.

This whole McDonalds thing is ridiculous...don;t take your kids there - end of story - if the stupid toy bothers you.

Seems like we could save energy without daylight savings time...but that would take years to reverse and bureaucratic mess and so much money to debate.

Thanks for a a few more things to think about.

Ashley said...

Actually, in Italy they use a decent amount of English words, like shopping. It's kinda cute because they think they're so cool and hip when they say things like that.