Random conversation starters (part 2)

Throughout the Christmas period, some people will be going to more social events and parties than usual, so to ensure you're prepared, here's a random selection of conversation topics to get the conversation going. As I'm feeling self-indulgent, I've also provided my own answers.

Legal disclaimer: Please note, Santa didn't
really say this. It was actually The Punisher.

1) If you could bring one fictional character to life, who would you choose?

There's a part of me that wants to be topical and answer 'Santa' to this question! However, my sense of justice would probably make me opt for someone like The Punisher.

I'm talking about the original Punisher from the old Marvel Comics, rather than the poor fan fiction version from the Netflix series of a few years ago. Anyway, bringing The Punisher to life would result in hundreds of criminals being removed from the streets, thus making the world a better place.





2) If a magic genie appeared and offered to give you the answer to any question, what would you ask the genie?

I think I'd be tempted to ask something shallow, such as 'What are next week's lottery numbers?'.

However, there'd be a part of me that would be tempted to ask something specific to my own life, such as what measures can I take to increase my chances of enjoying good health for as long as possible?

Technically though, you don't need a genie to know the general answer to that question, so I guess that means I'd have wasted my question! Oops!

Avoid debt and grow your own food.
Two pieces of wise advice combined in one photo.

3) What’s the one thing you think should be taught in schools that isn’t?

Avoid debt.

For me, that's the obvious answer that immediately comes to mind. Avoid debt.

I remember when I was very young being told that if you leave your money in the bank, the bank will pay you interest. My initial thought was, 'Wow! Free money!' Looking back, that was a significant moment in my life. From then on, it was just common sense to save money, rather than get in debt.

If you still need convincing of the benefits of savings over debt, then here's a persuasive example:

If you had $1 in the bank and received 5% interest every year, after 500 years you would have $39,323,261,827.23! Check out the Interest Calculator website if you don't believe me!

Obviously, you'd have to live for 500 years to get the benefit of it, which admittedly is unlikely, but apart from that one small minor detail, it's a foolproof way to become a billionaire!

Another thing I'd like to see taught in schools is growing your own food. In primary school we once grew cress and I loved checking my cress every morning to see how it was coming along. It would have been even better if we had grown proper fruit and vegetables, so that's one thing that all children should get to experience.

An 'ugly' duckling. Today's winner of $500.

Legal disclaimer: In all seriousness, whoever wrote The Ugly Duckling song
must have been a bit foolish, because ducklings aren't ugly, they're cute!

4) If a stranger came up to you and offered you $500 because 'you're the ugliest person they've seen today', would you take the money?

I certainly would. I'm ugly*, not stupid!

* In this hypothetical example. Please note, real life attractiveness may or may not vary from hypothetical attractiveness.

If you're asking this question to a group of people, then the follow up question could be, 'How low would their offer have to be before you would refuse the money?'





5) If you could remove one thing from the world, what would it be?

My initial reaction to this question would be to take a selfish approach and remove something that annoys me personally, such as FIFA or corrupt pharmaceutical companies, for example.

But then after giving the matter more serious thought, I would ultimately opt to remove something which would benefit mankind ... such as FIFA or corrupt pharmaceutical companies!

"I'm innocent! Don't believe a word that Charles says!"

6) Finally, if you saw your best mate on Crimewatch and the reward was £100,000 ... how would you spend the money?

Please note, this is not intended as a serious question. In reality, my mates are all law-abiding citizens, so if I saw any of them on Crimewatch I would immediately know it was a case of mistaken identity.

But anyway, after I'd stitched my mate up*, I'd probably spend the reward on a luxury car!

* Not really.

- - - - - - - - - -

On a final note, although this week's blog post is titled 'Random conversation starters', that doesn't mean I would recommend going up to random strangers and asking the above questions. If you asked the question about being ugly then they might make assumptions!

The above questions are therefore better suited to people who you already know.

You can find more conversation starters in my previous blog post:
Random conversation starters (part 1)