The XKCD Survey

September 2, 2015 4:39 AM

Introducing "The XKCD Survey" - a search for weird correlations
posted by gorcha (336 comments total)

Hard to fill a text box with gibberish while using an iPhone, but fun!
posted by lydhre at 4:46 AM on September 2, 2015 [7 favorites]

Some of those were trick questions (but they didn't fool ME!).


"cat" here
five random words
posted by HuronBob at 4:48 AM on September 2, 2015 [7 favorites]

On a scale of 1 to 5, which number is your favorite?
1 2 3 4 5
posted by signal at 4:49 AM on September 2, 2015 [6 favorites]

It will be interesting to see the ratio of people who answered "What word can you never seem to spell on the first try? " with a word that is correctly spelled compared to people who didn't.

I'd say odds are 80% that the ratio will be more than 80:1 for misspelled.
posted by jefflowrey at 4:55 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I threw out all my underwear and bought a big box of meundies to replace them. It is wonderful. However I never went around and told anyone about it until now, instantly invalidating my response to the survey.
posted by selenized at 4:56 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

My wife watched me answer this and laughed so hard at me as I frowned at the last question.
posted by buriednexttoyou at 4:59 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

ugh, this survey gave me that horrible feeling when you know there's a better answer than the one you're putting in about sixty bajillion times. i know there's a word i misspell way more frequently than i misspell 'publicly' but i can't remember what it is, and i know there's a popular food i hate more than pork buns but i just aaaaaargh
posted by Quilford at 5:02 AM on September 2, 2015 [6 favorites]

define condiment
posted by saturday_morning at 5:06 AM on September 2, 2015 [23 favorites]

giraffe, hyena, dog, cat, baboon.


So, now they know my password.
posted by oddman at 5:08 AM on September 2, 2015 [9 favorites]

define condiment

I'm guessing you didn't blink at the listing of Maple Syrup as a beverage, then.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 5:09 AM on September 2, 2015 [28 favorites]

The first "five random words" that came to mind were my private key passphrase; I stifled that impulse before typing it (with some amount of alarm). Apparently the first thing that comes to mind when presented with the idea of "five random words" is "a set of five words which were generated randomly", and my brain went "Oh! I have one of those!"

I then went to a website to generate a new set of five random words, because human brains are a terrible source of randomness. (Probably good enough for keyboard-mashing, though.)
posted by NMcCoy at 5:09 AM on September 2, 2015 [6 favorites]

Do you have strong opinions about text editors?

Extremely.
posted by Fizz at 5:09 AM on September 2, 2015 [17 favorites]

I'm Canadian, so, no.
posted by saturday_morning at 5:11 AM on September 2, 2015 [8 favorites]

well that was fun early in the morning
posted by key_of_z at 5:11 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

five random words plus one
posted by key_of_z at 5:12 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I love how people are trying to impress the survey.
posted by grumpybear69 at 5:13 AM on September 2, 2015 [108 favorites]

ugh, this survey gave me that horrible feeling when you know there's a better answer than the one you're putting in about sixty bajillion times

I found myself googling certain things to jar my memory so I could provide what I consider to my mind as "a better answer". Which is rather ridiculous, since so much of this is random and arbitrary.
posted by Fizz at 5:14 AM on September 2, 2015

For some reason the first movie star who comes to mind is Lana Turner.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:15 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

judgement
posted by griphus at 5:17 AM on September 2, 2015 [9 favorites]

Personnel
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:18 AM on September 2, 2015

I think it being XKCD and their core audience being internet nerds who desperately want people to know how clever they are* I suspect there will be a lot of answers from people trying to impress the survey.
I had to slightly repress that instinct and answered the survey in as straightforward and honest way as I could.
(That'll prove how clever I am!)



*I'm going by their forum, and also I am a regular XKCD reader and it's very important that you all know how clever I am
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 5:19 AM on September 2, 2015 [20 favorites]

manoeuvre
posted by saturday_morning at 5:20 AM on September 2, 2015 [8 favorites]

For some reason the first movie star who comes to mind is Lana Turner.

I thought of "Chris Pratt" first, but I entered "Myrna Loy". Because reasons.
posted by device55 at 5:20 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Tom Cruise was the first movie star to come to mind so I put that, and now I feel a bit icky.
posted by noneuclidean at 5:21 AM on September 2, 2015 [31 favorites]

I had to slightly repress that instinct and answered the survey in as straightforward and honest way as I could.

Yeah, I was kinds depressed when at the end of one entry I could say "I CAN CHOP VEGETABLES!... aaaaand that's about it."
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 5:21 AM on September 2, 2015 [32 favorites]

medieval
posted by Fizz at 5:22 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

I know this is all in good fun, but I really think the search for "weird correlations" is something that should be taken more seriously. There is so much data about us out there, but it is always being combined and sorted in very predictable ways. I think if we were to be more creative about it we might find some fascinating insights.

My five words: fun, shit, reach, bus, cat. What the hell is wrong with me?
posted by Rock Steady at 5:22 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

I almost put "correct horse battery staple password" for my five random words, but thought that was too clever. Nonetheless, I think that (or some variation for the fifth word) will be quite popular.
posted by noneuclidean at 5:23 AM on September 2, 2015 [8 favorites]

"phoenix," but now I wish I had picked "maneuver" too.

Idris Elba, because I just scrolled past a mention of him.

The first time I typed random gibberish, I did something bad and the form cleared and I had to start over. :/
posted by Foosnark at 5:23 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Keanu Reeves here, and Wierd.

I suspect a bunch of those, "which words do you know" were made up words. If not I certainly didn't know a good 60% of them. I'm interested to see how many people claimed to know made up words (if they were made up words, or if I just have a terrible vocabulary)
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 5:24 AM on September 2, 2015 [17 favorites]

Guarantee
posted by C'est la D.C. at 5:26 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Weird assumption that everyone responding *can* drive.
posted by AFII at 5:31 AM on September 2, 2015 [10 favorites]

Have you ever thrown out all your different pairs of socks/underwear, bought a bunch of replacements that were all one kind, and then told all your friends how great it was and how they should do it too?

I'm a little distressed that I could only answer "yes" for this, instead of "I try not to recommend it to the same person more than once in a month, and people always smile politely at me when I say it."

Seriously, people. Try it, it's awesome.
posted by ambrosen at 5:31 AM on September 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

I'm guessing you didn't blink at the listing of Maple Syrup as a beverage, then.

We buy it in half-gallon containers and yes, I do sometimes take a swig from the jug. I'm not ashamed.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:32 AM on September 2, 2015 [8 favorites]

Pierce Brosnan? Why did he come to mind?
posted by Nanukthedog at 5:33 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Attatchment and the longer way you say grats always give me a throw... I had to think which one caused me more pain. Attatchment I mistype at least once a day (and twice on this - intentionally) and I always feel like I either have to hit up dictionary.com or spellcheck if I have to be formal in my 'grats'.
posted by Nanukthedog at 5:36 AM on September 2, 2015

So many of the choices I wanted a "sort of" - I mean, I could walk on stilts, and that's an awesome thing, but I haven't in over a decade, so maybe I can't anymore, so I can't say that I'm good at it, right? (I didn't check the box). And I can't roller blade at all, but I can roller skate, so is that what they mean when they said roller skate? Can I or can't I? (I checked that one). And why isn't "FOLD A FITTED SHEET" on that list, dammit?
posted by Mchelly at 5:36 AM on September 2, 2015 [6 favorites]

I guess this is just me, but while I don't get ASMR (much) from ASMR videos, I do get it from answering surveys and questions, and this survey was the survey equivalent of an ASMR video for me. o_o
posted by Drexen at 5:39 AM on September 2, 2015 [12 favorites]

Ocelot showed up twice, once as an animal and once as a random word. I guess I'm not very random.

Clark Gable.
posted by Mogur at 5:41 AM on September 2, 2015

Seriously, people. Try it, it's awesome.

A couple of years ago I bought two 10-pair packs of identical black dress socks and it was great, but now I have only five (socks, not pairs) left and no idea what happened to the rest so now I'm in the same old situation except with confirmation that invisible sock-eating aliens are real.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:42 AM on September 2, 2015 [6 favorites]

Humphrey Bogart, 42, Buisness, If I had a hammer, and ex-officios. I have my whole family on their bandwagon. I'm wearing them right now.
posted by Sphinx at 5:42 AM on September 2, 2015

I predict that the five random words are going to be overstocked with animals, because you've already been primed to think about animals before you get to that question.

(Baboon and Gibbon were the first two animals I came up with, which surprised me. Gibbon??)
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 5:45 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Gloria Swanson. It's like my brain just went for movie star caricature.
posted by condour75 at 5:46 AM on September 2, 2015

Gibbon??

Holy shit. Me too. Why?
posted by uncleozzy at 5:47 AM on September 2, 2015

Was it hard for anyone else not to write purple monkey dishwasher for the random words? Or do other phrases pop up in people's minds?
posted by graymouser at 5:48 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Or do other phrases pop up in people's minds?

I got "It's a comic strip powered entirely by its own sense of self-satisfaction!"
posted by thelonius at 5:49 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

My colleague and I both had Ocelot in our 5 animals, independently. Weird...
posted by trif at 5:49 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

graymouser: 'hell damn fart'
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 5:50 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Brad Pitt, goldfish bicycle, restaurant
posted by drezdn at 5:50 AM on September 2, 2015

Keanu Reeves, me too! First strange anomaly, check
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 5:51 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Why did I write Brad Pitt? I don't even like Brad Pitt.

And I agree; some of the listed words were surely made-up.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:51 AM on September 2, 2015 [5 favorites]

Anyone know when and where the survey results will be published? I might be being dense but can't find that information.
posted by Faintdreams at 5:53 AM on September 2, 2015

I'm interested to see how many people claimed to know made up words (if they were made up words, or if I just have a terrible vocabulary)


After I completed the survey I went back up to that part and checked the words I didn't know, assuming that some of them were fake. Out of the ones I didn't know, one was real, one was possible some kind of slang or real, one was a last name most likely, and some were definitely fake.

There was also one that seemed like it was a word I knew when I started, but reading the list again I realized it wasn't. I checked it, and sure enough fake word. I left it checked to maintain the integrity of my answers.
posted by mayonnaises at 5:53 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Douglas Fairbanks but I've been reading a bunch of histories of silent films lately.
posted by octothorpe at 5:56 AM on September 2, 2015

Have you ever thrown out all your different pairs of socks/underwear, bought a bunch of replacements that were all one kind, and then told all your friends how great it was and how they should do it too?

I'm a little sad that one of the options wasn't "No, but I don't wear matching socks, so I have the same benefits, anyway." Or there wasn't a fill-in option. Seriously, having all the same socks would be so boring.

Also, I wonder how many people had "cat" as one of their random words? After that animal question, I bet there were a bunch.

Also, dang, I used to know what "apricity" meant. I really did. Gotta go look that one up, now.
posted by anthy at 5:56 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

define condiment

See, this question made me think maybe I'm not the only one who eats pickle relish from a squeezy bottle the way people eat whipped cream from the can.
posted by phunniemee at 5:56 AM on September 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

Helen Mirren and proud of it
"Grafitti"
And why isn't "Oxford commas" on the list of skills that we are good at? That's a hallmark of people who want people to think they are clever, isn't it?
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 5:57 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Weird assumption that everyone responding *can* drive.

Yeah, that one was strange. I was like, "well, I guess I'm a bad driver?"
posted by anthy at 6:02 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Ingrid Bergman.

Which must have been the first time I've thought about her in years, so that was weird.
posted by gaspode at 6:06 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

What was the last thing you ate?

Cottage cheese and salsa. Mixed together.



Whatever, Twizzlers are still way grosser.
posted by louche mustachio at 6:07 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

My first four random words were nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak because apparently I have read Harry Potter too often.
posted by Karmakaze at 6:08 AM on September 2, 2015 [10 favorites]

Marilyn Monroe. There aren't any real movie stars nowadays - the pictures have gotten so big it makes the actors seem small.
posted by Mary Ellen Carter at 6:11 AM on September 2, 2015 [7 favorites]

Since almost all the usual demographic markers are left out (gender, race/ethnicity, income, education, location, etc.) I'm kind of surprised that he included age.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 6:12 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

"(a) belonging to the Emperor, (b) embalmed, (c) tame, (d) sucking pigs, (e) sirens, (f) fabulous, (g) stray dogs, (h) included in the present classification, (i) frenzied, (j) innumerable, (k) drawn with a very fine camelhair brush, (l) et cetera, (m) having just broken the water pitcher, (n) that from a long way off look like flies"

All text boxes were filled with the above.
posted by Pyrogenesis at 6:18 AM on September 2, 2015 [17 favorites]

The premise of this survey made me think of The Leftovers and it kinda freaked me out a little.
posted by JohnFredra at 6:19 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Heddy Lamarr
seperate
posted by ursus_comiter at 6:21 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Have you ever thrown out all your different pairs of socks/underwear, bought a bunch of replacements that were all one kind, and then told all your friends how great it was and how they should do it too?

My mother is an obsessive cleaner and would throw out our socks every few weeks because they were "worn out", so no I don't do that.

Besides, how do you manage with only one kind? Dress socks in multiple colors and lengths, casual socks, no-show socks for summer, dress underpants, casual underpants, special underpants for those white linen trousers you bought on a whim and now can't wear because all the rest of your underpants are fun colors and they show through...
posted by backseatpilot at 6:22 AM on September 2, 2015 [6 favorites]

BuddhaInABucket: Crap boobs crap!
posted by graymouser at 6:23 AM on September 2, 2015

I also typed "Keanu Reeves" and then immediately wondered why. Also, I have no reason why the first animal to come to mind was giraffe, then followed by the absolutely mundane list: cat, dog, horse, deer
posted by 256 at 6:23 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

It's grey, right? The color? Please tell me it isn't gray.
posted by Mchelly at 6:23 AM on September 2, 2015

It's grey, right? The color? Please tell me it isn't gray.

I usually spell it grey, for maximum eponistericality.
posted by graymouser at 6:25 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

It's grey, right? The color? Please tell me it isn't gray.

It's an Americanism like color vs colour.

The result is that I just use both and always think I've spelled it wrong.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 6:25 AM on September 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

Charlton Heston. I ... have no idea.
posted by jillithd at 6:26 AM on September 2, 2015

This reminds me a lotalotalot of correlated.org.
posted by blue t-shirt at 6:27 AM on September 2, 2015

Also, the word I can never spell right on the first try is "its", followed closely by "it's".
posted by jillithd at 6:28 AM on September 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

My first of the five random words was butt.
posted by slogger at 6:28 AM on September 2, 2015

That actually show up in related posts below
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 6:29 AM on September 2, 2015

Kate Hudson, which was weird. I started to think Kate Hudson (and I have no idea why, because it's not like she's a major movie star in the movie star pantheon) and half way through the thought -- like before I had even fully articulated it in my brain -- switched to Keira Knightly. But then I forced myself to put Kate Hudson down because I had definitely thought of her first. And not entirely because I'm not sure if I just spelled either Keira or Knightly correctly.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:29 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

restaurant
George Clooney
posted by Confess, Fletch at 6:31 AM on September 2, 2015

Tom Cruise and "ridiculous."

One of my random words was "butthole" because of Ron Swanson
posted by dismas at 6:31 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Wierd, and Tom Hardy.
posted by skycrashesdown at 6:32 AM on September 2, 2015

Russel Crowe, but I can only think of him as the lead of a bunch of Mel Gibson movies.
And I misspell fikse, which means to fix, but becomes to fish. I will fish your computer.
posted by Snjo at 6:32 AM on September 2, 2015

Isabella Rossellini and I had to come to terms with the fact that it's only 8:30 am and the last thing I ate was salami.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:33 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Oh god, I'm not the only one who came up with Brad Pitt. That is simultaneously frightening and reassuring.
posted by slogger at 6:34 AM on September 2, 2015

Gregory Peck is not a sandwich. On his own.
posted by pracowity at 6:35 AM on September 2, 2015

For some reason I put in Sam Rockwell. Go figure.
posted by Benway at 6:36 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Idris Elba, because I just scrolled past a mention of him.

Me too because I'd just read a news item that mentioned him. I typed in "Daniel Craig" instead.
posted by fuse theorem at 6:37 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Why did I say I'm good at spelling? I'm terrible at spelling. Why did I lie to this survey?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:38 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Bo Derek was the first movie star I thought of. Which was nice.
posted by swift at 6:41 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Bruce Dern.
Not wearing a shirt yet.
posted by chococat at 6:42 AM on September 2, 2015

I can't articulate why, but this was the perfect way to start my day. Also: "convenient", and add me to the Brad Pitt crowd.
posted by Jeff Morris at 6:43 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Simon Pegg for me. My animals : cat, dog, elephant, snake and spider.
posted by Pendragon at 6:45 AM on September 2, 2015

"seperate"
Dustin Hoffman
posted by domo at 6:45 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I just typed "cat" and then 4 words about things right in front of me right now because someone hasn't had coffee today.
posted by jeather at 6:47 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Medieval. Restaurant. Accommodate. Liaison. Liqueur.
posted by duffell at 6:48 AM on September 2, 2015

"convenient"
and Kurt Russell ???? Why?

Ocelot showed up in my animals list too. Were there some sort of subliminal prompts peppered throughout this survey?
posted by onehalfjunco at 6:48 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Robert Redford and 'embarrassed', which I apparently just learned to spell in the last 5 minutes.
posted by Elly Vortex at 6:48 AM on September 2, 2015

seperate

IT WAS THIS
posted by Quilford at 6:48 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Tom Cruise, "occur".
posted by smackfu at 6:49 AM on September 2, 2015

massachusetts
posted by mark k at 6:49 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

I frequently eat maple syrup but I don't drink it.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 6:50 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Stationery, just so it's impossible for anyone to tell whether I spelled it right or wrong on this quiz or even in this comment.
posted by dng at 6:50 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yeah Tom Cruise. It was super weird how when I got to that question I could see the faces of like a dozen very popular actors (men and women!) but he was the first whose name I could actually dredge up. Immediately after a bunch more names flooded in. So I entered his.

My random words were pretty non-random I expect. Also remembering a commonly misspelled word caused me an absurd amount of trouble (even though I link I do - couple in this there's actually). I just couldn't think of any.
posted by R343L at 6:51 AM on September 2, 2015

Anyway pretty sure what's really going on is all threads about the survey are going to be gathered and analyzed.
posted by R343L at 6:52 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

did anyone else instinctively type "no" into the "type cat here" field?
posted by mrjohnmuller at 6:53 AM on September 2, 2015

Greta Garbo popped into my head immediately, which felt completely out of nowhere, but now I have "Perfect Skin" in my head so I think it was Lloyd Cole suggesting her to me.
posted by jessypie at 6:54 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

I can never spell bureaucrat correctly. Not even close.
posted by ghharr at 6:55 AM on September 2, 2015 [6 favorites]

I kept wishing for a way to explain or qualify my answers or ask clarifying questions. Is "a lot of time in the sun" equivalent to a lot of time outdoors, or is the question really about being out in bright sunlight like when you're sitting on the beach? And how much does it have to be before it counts as a lot? If you have oral allergy syndrome, does that count as a food allergy?
posted by Redstart at 6:57 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

When I'm asked to give the name of a Hollywood actor, "Jennifer Jason Leigh" always pops into my head thanks to the Weakerthans.
posted by Johnny Assay at 6:57 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Kind of happy the last thing I ate was Lime Popsicle. I guess my efforts to live life right are finally paying off.
posted by scose at 6:58 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Manoeouveuring.
posted by jimmythefish at 6:58 AM on September 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

Another Brad Pitt here, and for some reason I thought of "mistyping" instead of misspelling so I put corporation because I ALWAYS type it coproration the first time.
posted by yhbc at 6:59 AM on September 2, 2015

Peristeronic is not a word.
posted by latkes at 6:59 AM on September 2, 2015

In fact I did it twice when I was typing that last comment.
posted by yhbc at 7:00 AM on September 2, 2015

Nthing Brad Pitt. Weird.
posted by quadbonus at 7:01 AM on September 2, 2015

I had no idea that I thought the Internet was in Texas, but apparently I do. I've never even been to Texas.

Does Google forms make it easy to randomize question order? Because I totally experienced order effects where a previous question brought something to mind for a subsequent one.
posted by jasper411 at 7:02 AM on September 2, 2015

Before this, I wasn't aware that I have a VERY detailed mental picture of where I imagine the physical location of web pages to be. Reproduced for posterity:

A huge data center near hydroelectric dam in central Washington. Something like a massive warehouse/hangar type structure. Water from a nearby reservoir comes in to provide cooling via an open aqueduct. There is an evaporative cooling system and ventilation, with huge banks of fans. Inside everything is dark, except for the blinking of green LEDs on switches where visible through an access panel. Motion sensors control lighting where technicians are working. Everything is modular. A gantry crane can move a shipping container filled with servers in and out of place in less than 30 minutes. The servers themselves are modular 1u things with no external case. The rack cages are Facebook blue steel mesh. The shipping containers are in Google's primary colours.

The text editor question definitely primed me for the random words. I realized that I do have strong opinions about text editors, but that I also currently have open on my work machine: Atom, Vim, Sublime Text, Notepad++, and Notepad, because apparently I needed to look at some log files and I still haven't decided what editor I want as the default for .txt.

The first random word that came to mind was "prevaricate". Then "ambivalent", "prostrate", "supinate", "anterior".

This was done while on the bus, for my morning commute.

The movie star that came to mind was Eva Marie Saint. Prompted by the line from the Lloyd Cole and the Commotions song "Rattlesnakes": "She looks like Eva Marie Saint in On the Waterfront" (specifically as performed by Tori Amos on Strange Little Girls). Especially confusing because I probably haven't listened to that song in a decade.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 7:03 AM on September 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

That web pages one was interesting, because the more I thought about it, the more detailed and odd it became.
At first it was no location at all, then a generic server farm, then a generic server farm in iceland, then, for some reason, a generic server farm on a giant ocean going tanker even if that makes no sense at all.
(I basically wrote all of that down in the survey, I have no idea how you're going to do any statistical analysis on that kind of answer)
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 7:07 AM on September 2, 2015

Hard to fill a text box with gibberish while using an iPhone,
People manage it on here often enough.
posted by Wolfdog at 7:08 AM on September 2, 2015 [14 favorites]

That was fun!

I've always wanted to throw out all my socks and underwear and replace them with uniform ones, but it's never been a practical option.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:09 AM on September 2, 2015

Acquisition, Matt Damon (oddly I thought of another movie star first but I couldn't quite get the name right because I was half awake), and my animals were Llama, Alpaca, Squirrel, Cat, Dog.

I don't really think about text editors, and in my half awake state thought they were some sort of book editor, but for manuscripts or something?
posted by dinty_moore at 7:09 AM on September 2, 2015

Oh, and Carole Lombard.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:10 AM on September 2, 2015

"deodorant" - which I had to google to make sure I spelled it right (I didn't)

I said I thought the internet was "over there, not on my screen yet".

cat, dog, horse, cow, whale - after I typed it I thought it was funny I thought of them in increasing size.
posted by like_neon at 7:10 AM on September 2, 2015

Random words: I just let autocorrect take its course.
posted by dinty_moore at 7:10 AM on September 2, 2015

Reciept (damnit!)
posted by leotrotsky at 7:11 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Kind of happy the last thing I ate was Lime Popsicle. I guess my efforts to live life right are finally paying off.

Holy shit. Me too.
The lime popsicle part, that is.
posted by Xavier Xavier at 7:11 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Dog, Cat, Dinosaur, Flea, Hippopotamus
posted by leotrotsky at 7:12 AM on September 2, 2015

Lauren Bacall here, which is odd because the only thing I know about her was that she was around ages ago and co-starred with Humphrey Bogart. Which suggests that, to my subconscious, the idea of “movie star” is a vaguely mythical category outside of the current time, not really overlapping with whoever's in the latest blockbuster.
posted by acb at 7:12 AM on September 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

I wonder how many times the second "number between 1 and 100" question was answered 42. As in, the first time I answered that question, I came up with a number that was not 42, then I thought 42 would be a good answer. When the question came up a second time, I got to use it.
posted by slogger at 7:13 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Separate
Sid James
Giraffe hippo cat dog monkey

I picture the Internet as being like an electron shell around a nucleus, with everything spread out according to a probability function I do not know. (Yes, I actually do, and have done so for a long time. I don't know why.)

Some of those words are only used in other languages. Tricky.
posted by Devonian at 7:13 AM on September 2, 2015

I love that we're already at two of us picking (different!) movie stars based on Lloyd Cole songs from Rattlesnakes. High five to [expletive deleted]!
posted by jessypie at 7:18 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

The internet is in Iceland, duh.
Tom Cruise (LOLwut?!)
necessary (I failed to make it into the spelling bee because of that one, and the year before, when I was in the spelling bee, I collapsed on "amenable," could have sworn they said "ameniable").
posted by chavenet at 7:18 AM on September 2, 2015

The Internet is in the sub-sub-basement of the L. Dullo Computer Company.
posted by Rob Rockets at 7:20 AM on September 2, 2015

Everyone knows the internet is in delfuego's closet.
posted by amarynth at 7:24 AM on September 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

Maintanance
posted by Monochrome at 7:26 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

George Clooney, and "gauge"
posted by sutt at 7:27 AM on September 2, 2015

I am also part of Team Giraffe. Stupid brainwashing long horses.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:28 AM on September 2, 2015

Kevin Costner and I don't know why.
posted by PenDevil at 7:31 AM on September 2, 2015

Type five random words

five random words

I’m so clever!

Also: Teh
posted by subliminable at 7:34 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

> Peristeronic is not a word.

Just what a damn dirty colombophile would say
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 7:35 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I chose an ayeaye for one of my animals.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 7:40 AM on September 2, 2015

Weird .... I'm pretty sure i typed Wierd though :)
posted by cirhosis at 7:40 AM on September 2, 2015

Separate

My Grade 11 English Teacher used to have a sign on the wall that said, "I smell a rat in 'separate!'" Corny, but I guess it worked.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:42 AM on September 2, 2015 [6 favorites]

Kevin Costner and I don't know why.

Doo-dah, doo-dah.
posted by yhbc at 7:43 AM on September 2, 2015 [7 favorites]

Keanu Reeves. Rhythm (which I had to google to figure out how to spell to enter it into the box).

My first instinct with the "pick a number" ones was to go with 42, but that seemed kind of cliche so I forced myself to pick a different one each time.
posted by sparklemotion at 7:43 AM on September 2, 2015

The word I always have to think about is "denim," because it always seemed to me like it should end in "mn," like "damn."
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:43 AM on September 2, 2015

My Hobby: Insisting that American spellings of a word are wrong. (I live in America.)
posted by I-Write-Essays at 7:46 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I like how—judging by the comments here—people seem to try and give the first response that comes to mind, even when the survey does not explicitly tell them to. The first movie star I thought of was Clark Gable, but I wrote in "Ginger Rogers" because damn it, she was great.
posted by Flexagon at 7:48 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Tom Cruise was the first movie star to come to mind so I put that, and now I feel a bit icky.

Tom Cruise was the first one I thought of, too, but I couldn't remember his name.

So, Harrison Ford.

It was the only actual movie star name I could think of . . . Am I pathetic or what?
posted by flug at 7:49 AM on September 2, 2015

Brendan Fraser? Really, brain?
posted by infinitewindow at 7:52 AM on September 2, 2015 [8 favorites]

The word that I can never spell correctly on the first go is "printer." It usually comes out as "pritner."

I work for a company that makes printers and multifunction devices, so that's loads of fun.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 7:54 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Humphrey Bogart

recepie, er, recopie, ... er recipe.
posted by anastasiav at 7:55 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

The other word I never spell correctly is my sister's name, Emaily. It just comes out like that now.
posted by jeather at 7:57 AM on September 2, 2015

Anyone else getting a "Form submission error?"

Ah now it went through.
posted by crazy with stars at 7:58 AM on September 2, 2015

My Grade 11 English Teacher used to have a sign on the wall that said, "I smell a rat in 'separate!'" Corny, but I guess it worked.

My fifth-grade English teacher always reminded us: "If you want to be 'above par,' be sure to spell it 'sePARate.'"
I employ this mnemonic with a disturbing frequency.
posted by Xavier Xavier at 8:03 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

A quick gathering of the movie star answers reported here shows a really nice mix of eras in film history!

Bo Derek
Brad Pitt (x5)
Brendan Fraser
Bruce Dern
Carole Lombard
Charlton Heston
Chris Pratt
Clark Gable
Daniel Craig
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.
Dustin Hoffman
Eva Marie Saint
George Clooney (x2)
Gloria Swanson
Gregory Peck*
Greta Garbo
Harrison Ford
Hedy Lamarr
Helen Mirren
Humphrey Bogart (x2)
Idris Elba (x2)
Ingrid Bergman
Isabella Rossellini
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Kate Hudson
Keanu Reeves (x4)
Kevin Costner
Lana Turner
Lauren Bacall
Marilyn Monroe
Matt Damon
Myrna Loy
Pierce Brosnan
Robert Redford
Russell Crowe
Sam Rockwell
Sid James
Simon Pegg
Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise (x6)
Tom Hardy


*From the context, not 100% sure if this was a movie star answer or a condiment answer, but I included it just in case
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:03 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Salma Hayek? ok, self.
Most of my random words were nouns. Did anyone else find that?
posted by rmless at 8:04 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Disestablishmentarianism
posted by Omon Ra at 8:06 AM on September 2, 2015

Wierd

My same teacher had another sign that read, "A weird foreigner seizes neither leisure nor sport at its height."

Man, I really disliked that woman. But I guess she made an impact. Of course, if her classes hadn't been so mind-numbingly boring, I wouldn't have had half so much cause to spend all period reading her informative signage.

I also wouldn't have that little scar where I jabbed a pencil in my thigh one day to stay awake, but that's another story.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:08 AM on September 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

I was halfway through when Google Drive told me the document was too popular and I would need to try to access again later.


Should I try to remember my random animals that I already entered? Do I just start fresh? AAAAAAHHHHHHH!
posted by nubs at 8:10 AM on September 2, 2015

GAHHHHH: Wow, this file is really popular! It might be unavailable until the crowd clears. Try again.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:10 AM on September 2, 2015

"too many requests"

ok, I'm not filling that out again
posted by bigendian at 8:11 AM on September 2, 2015

Guinea pig capybara bird rabbit cat.
posted by clavicle at 8:12 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

When I pressed the down arrow for the first number of siblings question, it went down to -1. It didn't stop at zero. And it didn't indicate it was a problem.

So I submitted with -1 older siblings and -1 twin siblings.

Clearly I'm a software tester.
posted by evilangela at 8:12 AM on September 2, 2015 [10 favorites]

Albuquerque.

I guess I'm not feeling particularly random today. The first four of my random words were crimson, eleven, delight, and petrichor.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 8:15 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I entered Angelina Jolie, and I'm actually quite surprised to not see it yet mentioned in this thread.
posted by Laura in Canada at 8:19 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Brad Pitt (?), type cat here = no, and platypus is clearly the best animal.
Also I feel a bit incompetent in that I can juggle, unicycle, and stilt-walk, but not change the oil on a car.
posted by nat at 8:19 AM on September 2, 2015

I noticed the -1 siblings, too. You could have negative siblings if they used to be alive but are now deceased, but in that case, the field should provided more values than just -1. How do you count step-siblings and half-siblings?
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:19 AM on September 2, 2015

cat dog panda weasel hamster

I can drive a stick, roller skate, cut vegetables with a knife and run in high heels

can't spell "villain"

Matt Dillon

lettuce heart lilac tree dress
posted by Lucinda at 8:20 AM on September 2, 2015

really frustrating that sometimes the answers were listed:
Yes
No
and then sometimes listed:
No
Yes

So while I do think it's interesting that people were trying to impress the survey, it should be noted that the survey was also trying to impress us.

And when I mash keys with my phone, it autocorrects in some words and phrases.
posted by dogwalker at 8:22 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Holy crap. Giraffe for me too. Is Giraffe just in the Zeitgeist?

Also, Everything that came to mind was a mammal, with Tardigrade coming in at #6 after I had realized what I was doing. Even then, it has two common names that are allusions to mammals. I wonder when this is done if someone will go to the effort of doing a taxonomic analysis of the answers given to this question. I am curious about the degree to which we will see kin-selection type over-representation. What? No love for the annelids and cnidarians and how could we be so neglectful of the arthropods, after all they have done for us?
posted by [expletive deleted] at 8:25 AM on September 2, 2015

I entered Angelina Jolie, and I'm actually quite surprised to not see it yet mentioned in this thread.

I did too! And then the form crashed.
posted by nubs at 8:27 AM on September 2, 2015

I wonder what my coworkers thought I was doing as they heard me just derping the hell out of my keyboard: uio;wao;weithal;av; 349jlksdnfl; sd;lisdgio;s lkdjnfohi8se ;lwtjh0w9ru'pkmz dvlisjdf;pz9us3rt/lk nvo;zs9dt'apm ;ldkfS9u9'pjljkfnsdsg8y tp 80we7tr

Also, I'm weirdly proud of my five random words: tetchy, finale, itinerant, bucolic, orthogonal. I only know where two of those came from.
posted by maryr at 8:29 AM on September 2, 2015

Elephant, Pygmy marmoset, crocodile, dog, parrot
Blog, eloquent, damsel, red, pugnacious

I feel like I should cc this to my therapist.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 8:29 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Cameron Diaz. 13 year old me applauds, and then remembers Sandra Bullock and immediately regretted the decision. 34 year old me wishes 13 year old me was a little less predictable.
posted by trif at 8:30 AM on September 2, 2015

manoeuvre

You think that's the correct spelling?
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:30 AM on September 2, 2015

Actually it's mans d'oeuvre.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:33 AM on September 2, 2015 [10 favorites]

Baboon and Gibbon were the first two animals I came up with, which surprised me. Gibbon??

Last year I was explaining some math exercise to some young students (4th grade), where you had to figure out what rule was being used to separate geometric shapes into two categories. And I was saying something along the lines of "This is the kind of thing that scientists have to do all the time, when they're classifying things! You know... what makes mammals different from reptiles. Or what's the difference between moons and planets? Or," and here, apparently, the latent David Attenborough center of my brain fired up, "what makes this group of lemurs different from that group of gibbons?"

[silence]

"What's a lemur?!"
"What's a bibbon?!"
posted by Wolfdog at 8:33 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

"carbuncle" was one of my five random words. Where the hell that came from I don't know.
posted by nubs at 8:34 AM on September 2, 2015

Ocelots have been getting mentioned a bit lately, what with Archer. Maybe that was a factor.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:34 AM on September 2, 2015

"carbuncle" was one of my five random words. Where the hell that came from I don't know.

There's a fair chance it came from Don Martin.
posted by Wolfdog at 8:35 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Marilyn Monroe for me too, and I bet a lot of people spelled their word properly because they typed it on a device with autocorrect or a spellchecker. I had five animals that were so boring I won't bother to list them here. I didn't even put "giraffe", and I have them all over my house because that was my favorite stuffed animal as a child so my mother likes to find interesting ones to give me. Who the hell drinks maple syrup? Does "ski" refer to water or snow? I liked the way they had "might try it some day" as an option for skydiving, so I can seem more adventurous than I really am.
posted by TedW at 8:36 AM on September 2, 2015

entrance - it should be enterance, dammit! It's a place you enter! Not what a Dracula does to blousey maidens!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:38 AM on September 2, 2015 [5 favorites]

Perhaps there is a subconscious [Marilyn/Randall] M[o/u]nroe connection?
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 8:39 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

"Ski" without a prefix is always snow. "Skate" without a prefix depends on if you grew up in the north (ice is default) or California (rollerblading) or, probably, the 70s (disco style roller).
posted by maryr at 8:40 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Ski is definitely snow. I feel like waterski is one word....

...strangely, the wikipedia page for Waterskiing has "Waterskiing" as the page header and then immediately leads in the body of the text with "Water skiing is a surface water sport..."

...so that's no help.
posted by trif at 8:40 AM on September 2, 2015

There's a fair chance it came from Don Martin.

It likely got dredged up from my wasted youth with too many RPGs.
posted by nubs at 8:40 AM on September 2, 2015

Another vote for Tom Hardy here. No idea why.

Last night, I looked up the word "regolith." I felt very lucky with that word list.
posted by conic at 8:43 AM on September 2, 2015

Receive
Ewan McGregor
Sky, box, antidisestablishmentarianism, socks, wallet
posted by cooker girl at 8:45 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

The weird thing is I put Keanu Reeves as my movie star but I put "schwarzenegger" as the word I misspelled most on the first try.
posted by FJT at 8:45 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

I described the internet as one of those awesome 80s virtual reality internets. Because that's actually kind of how I always imagine stuff on the net in my head.
posted by mayonnaises at 8:46 AM on September 2, 2015

I had a hard time thinking of a word I always spell wrong. I know there's something with double Rs and/or Fs and/or Ls that I never get right on the first try, but it's not coming to me. I put down "vacuum" - which always makes me stop and think, although I usually get it right.

Then for the last food I ate I entered "avacado" and had to go back and change my spelling answer.
posted by Dojie at 8:47 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Clark Gable. I wonder if movie star choices will correlate with age.

Also, the MetaFilter coat of arms will have Brad Pitt and a giraffe rampant on a field of misspelled words.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:48 AM on September 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

Clark Gable.

Me too but I typed "Hattie McDaniel" because Survey must know I am has liberal cred and fuck the patriarchy.
posted by George_Spiggott at 8:48 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

I kept mashing and mashing and the box kept filling and filling and scrolling and scrolling. And hoo-boy how am I going to fill this box? Hey copy & paste! Copy&paste, copy&paste, copy&paste, copy&paste, copy&paste, copy&paste...

And then it told me my Answer was too long.
posted by Kabanos at 8:52 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Cary Grant, the Brad Pitt of his age
posted by rtimmel at 8:54 AM on September 2, 2015

dogwalker, i noticed that too and thought it was intentional to mess you up!

Robin Williams

words, random, cat, drink, Spotify (I too started looking at my surroundings for help)
I had a very tiny existential crisis over if Spotify counted as a word or not.

cat, dog, raccoon, [don't remember], wolf
another small crisis if wolf and dog could be considered different animals or not

Humilliate (or any word that sounds like it should have a double letter. I rely heavily on firefox's built in spellchecker)
posted by INFJ at 8:57 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I put "Lassie" for movie star
posted by Wolfdog at 9:01 AM on September 2, 2015 [8 favorites]

random number? 69 tried typing dude after it but it wouldnt let me :(
movie star: brad pitt
misspelled word?: just (but its really a word i mistype ALL THE TIME!)
Im also glad i wasnt the only freak who thought of a giraffe.
posted by ShawnString at 9:02 AM on September 2, 2015

ugh, this survey gave me that horrible feeling when you know there's a better answer than the one you're putting in about sixty bajillion times.

Randall missed the obvious survey question, "Are you overthinking your responses to this survey? Y/N".
posted by aught at 9:04 AM on September 2, 2015 [5 favorites]

If I ever type the word rhythm correctly it will be the first time. Half the time I butcher it so badly spellcheck doesn't even know what to do with it.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:04 AM on September 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

I think fully a third of my answers would have been different if I'd done this at a keyboard instead of using my thumbs on a smartphone. At least I didn't let it autocorrect my most-commonly misspelled word.
posted by straight at 9:06 AM on September 2, 2015

I would certainly not have filled out that whole thing had I known that at the end it wouldn't end up telling me how special I am. (most of my answers were really really super duper ultra non-special, except that for unknown reasons "Scaramouche" came out as one of my random words, and no, I haven't been listening to any Queen lately.)

Angelina Jolie.
posted by taz at 9:12 AM on September 2, 2015

I'm fairly certain it doesn't say 'first movie star you think of' - just 'enter a movie star' - so I was lead to believe that you are supposed to consider your selection when entering that answer.
posted by synthetik at 9:17 AM on September 2, 2015

I included capybaras and alpaca on my list of animals. Hypothesis: almost no one lists just one South American animal; if you add one, you immediately think of others to add.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 9:20 AM on September 2, 2015

maneuver, which i looked up how to spell before typing into the text box and added a parenthetical noting that i had looked it up before typing into the text box

also i looked it up again for this comment
posted by poffin boffin at 9:22 AM on September 2, 2015

also for some reason i misread the 5 animals question as "list 5 farm animal sounds" and i was like ok that seems totally reasonable and got as far as moo baa oink before realizing my error
posted by poffin boffin at 9:24 AM on September 2, 2015 [7 favorites]

This was a really clever/devious way of getting people to answer a survey just to find out what kind of cell phone they have.

Not really, because Google (Analytics) could already have told him that very quickly.
posted by aught at 9:30 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I put down Angelina Jolie too, but it seems the archetypal movie star for MeFites is a man.
posted by Monochrome at 9:31 AM on September 2, 2015

(I guess I am assuming people filled it out on their phone, which is odd, since I did not. Never mind.)
posted by aught at 9:31 AM on September 2, 2015

my movie star was manu bennett because at any given moment at least 12% of my brain's processing power is devoted to contemplating his magnificent thighs.
posted by poffin boffin at 9:32 AM on September 2, 2015

I'm fairly certain it doesn't say 'first movie star you think of' - just 'enter a movie star' - so I was lead to believe that you are supposed to consider your selection when entering that answer.

I put down Keanu Reeves because he is awesome and his movies are awesome and he's my most favourite actor and just happens to also be a movie star.
posted by dogwalker at 9:32 AM on September 2, 2015

If I ever type the word rhythm correctly it will be the first time

Allow me to help: "Robin Hood yelled to his men."
posted by Camofrog at 9:33 AM on September 2, 2015 [13 favorites]

I'm fairly certain it doesn't say 'first movie star you think of' - just 'enter a movie star' - so I was lead to believe that you are supposed to consider your selection when entering that answer.

Looking back, it says "Name a movie star". So maybe we were supposed to imagine a newborn baby movie star, and what would we name it?? I'm changing my answer to: Sammy Jo (Samjo) Rodriguez Rodriguez Volkoff III

Now if it actually said "Enter a movie star", any answer except John Malkovich would be wrong.
posted by Kabanos at 9:37 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Y'all sure do ocelot a lot.
posted by jetsetsc at 9:38 AM on September 2, 2015

Rachel Weisz
correlation (heh)

I also went with giraffe first, and monkey was in there somewhere. the other three were zebra, lion, and koala. No idea why.

Also, i put "kitty!" where you're supposed to type "cat".
posted by numaner at 9:43 AM on September 2, 2015

Greta Garbo
cat, dog, ferret, hedgehog, ant
fabric, rubric, ruby, possession, options

And I think I left a couple blank accidentally, meaning to go back but then forgetting. Oops.
posted by rewil at 9:44 AM on September 2, 2015

i always misspell Dachshund and i typed it into the box as "Daschshund" and was like aHA i got it RIGHT this time and then googled it just in case and i was wrong as usual

also i put jeff goldblum as the movie star because mmmmm
posted by burgerrr at 9:46 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

All of you who did not answer Scarlett Johanson did the survey wrong.

Conveinant and Maintenence are my bugbears, I am going to leave them misspelled here.
posted by maxwelton at 9:49 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

cat
posted by sammyo at 9:51 AM on September 2, 2015

jefflowrey: It will be interesting to see the ratio of people who answered "What word can you never seem to spell on the first try? " with a word that is correctly spelled compared to people who didn't.

I think it was one of the few times in my life I spelled "Renaissance" correctly, and I googled to make sure I did afterwards.

Curiously, in the prior sentence I misspelled it, but caught it before finishing. I also mistyped "misspelled". My therapist would say this is significant, and I'd agree: nervousness begetting trouble.
posted by IAmBroom at 9:56 AM on September 2, 2015

cat
No, wait, this must be a trick question.
"cat"
But the quotation marks are delimiting what the question wants me to type.
cat
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 9:58 AM on September 2, 2015 [5 favorites]

heighth!
posted by bird internet at 9:59 AM on September 2, 2015

Elizabeth Taylor, I'm actually really wearing a purple top right now and someone's server, somewhere. Man am I plebian.
posted by Lynsey at 10:00 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

The internet isn't in Texas, it's in Utah. At least, that is why my brain tells me.

Anne Hathaway
Obsolesecence is a word i can never spell right on the first try (I use it a lot for work documents, so you think i would know how to spell it by now)
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 10:02 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

If I ever type the word rhythm correctly it will be the first time.

Another gem from the aforementioned fifth-grade teacher: "rhymes help you to hold memories."

I, of course, only just now realized that this doesn't, uh, rhyme.
posted by Xavier Xavier at 10:05 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I wish I'd put separate instead of backpfeifengesicht. None of my "random" choices were algorithmically generated rather than just being among the first things to enter my head. I have used maple syrup as a beverage when hypoglycemic (also honey or corn syrup), but I didn't think that really counted. My random words were: "snort collaboration stench misapprehension insufflate", my movie star was Chiwetel Ejiofor, my quirky food dislike is avocado, and the last thing I ate was dried sour cherries and raw almonds.
posted by BrotherCaine at 10:07 AM on September 2, 2015

The correct answers are Tom Hardly In This Movie and Fast and Furiosa.
posted by Pyrogenesis at 10:08 AM on September 2, 2015

On spinning magnetic disks racked in a regular array of cabinets in a large climate controlled room aboard a zeppelin the size of Prince Edward Island, of course.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:09 AM on September 2, 2015

I had this elaborate metaphor running through my head about posts and comments milling around a near infinite airline terminal, and AT&T/Comcast were staffing the security line while Speakeasy & Mom & Pop ISPs were operating the charter flights, but I just gave up and put "a colocation center in San Jose".
posted by BrotherCaine at 10:16 AM on September 2, 2015

My answer for where the internet is was "No." because no, I don't really think about it. I don't think about how my tongue feels either.
posted by maryr at 10:21 AM on September 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

I am so glad to know others eat relish out of the jar 'just because'. Sometimes a man just needs a smack o' relish to his mouth.
posted by edZio at 10:22 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Survey does not accept irrational numbers as numbers between 1 and 100. You think Randall would have anticipated that.

Tried: Feigenbaum's constant, δ, e, π, τ, sqrt(2). all with a rejection message.
posted by yeolcoatl at 10:23 AM on September 2, 2015

Backpfeifengesicht?!? What a strange, strange choice... But still, German spelling (minus capitalization rules which make no sense whatsoever) is so much less insane than English spelling...

Having said that, I put "Rhein" (German for Rhine), but should have put sep[ea]rate and desp[ae]rate... I don't know what would happen if I ever had to use both in the same sentence...
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 10:24 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

i answered no to the condiment question because i forgot that mustard is technically a condiment and not a food
posted by poffin boffin at 10:25 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Hummus: condiment or dessert?
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 10:29 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

maybe condissert is a thing that should be?
posted by taz at 10:30 AM on September 2, 2015

oh and i suppose some wrong bad people think sour cream is a condiment and not an entree
posted by poffin boffin at 10:33 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

I'm fighting very hard with myself to not check, but I'm pretty sure at least five of those 'words' were either complete nonsense or social media start-ups.

(Same difference, yeah yeah.)
posted by rokusan at 10:33 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

latter (because I always put "later" at first)
Kurt Russell (because FUCK YEAH KURT RUSSELL)
posted by brundlefly at 10:35 AM on September 2, 2015

one time like 12 years ago i confused kurt russell with mel gibson, not even aloud, just inside my head, and i still feel really bad about it.
posted by poffin boffin at 10:37 AM on September 2, 2015 [6 favorites]

Onomatopoeia
posted by Lafe at 10:39 AM on September 2, 2015

I could only think of four animals early in the morning, so my fifth response was "some guy named Leonard".
posted by brecc at 10:40 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

I wonder how many surveys, like mine, were inadvertently truncated at the free-text gibberish question requesting the mashing of the keyboard, but resulting in inadvertently mashing the Enter key?
posted by Snerd at 10:51 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Seperate.
I don't remember what all my animals were but they included sea hare and human.
Both of my random numbers had a 4 in them so I had to pick 4 as my favorite number 1 to 5.

I really wanted there to be a text box to explain how bad I am at directions, or more detailed questions. "Have you ever resorted to flipping a coin to decide which way to turn?" "Have you ever gotten lost driving a few miles from your work where you've been a decade to your parent's house where they've lived for fifteen years?" "Why do people expect you to recognize landmarks - mountains, buildings, road signs - when they all look the same. Am I right?"
posted by mountmccabe at 10:54 AM on September 2, 2015

I really enjoyed the keyboard-mashing question and tried to take full advantage of the entire keyboard while mashing. I managed to hit a key combination that produced an omega, Ω, in the middle of my otherwise ordinary American-English keyboard output. I stopped when I hit a key combination that opened iTunes unexpectedly.
posted by jessypie at 10:59 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Yeah, I became less free with the keyboard mashing when I stopped Spotify. And apparently random keyboard mashing for me involves hitting caps lock and enter a lot.
posted by mountmccabe at 11:03 AM on September 2, 2015

I answered honestly! My most misspelled word? Select.
posted by mikurski at 11:06 AM on September 2, 2015

Snerd, that happened to me, too. I just clicked the back button and all my stuff was still there, so I continued on as if I hadn't prematurely truncated. Not sure if itwerked.
posted by taz at 11:10 AM on September 2, 2015

One more for "Keanu Reeves" here. Looking forward to seeing how that correlates with the sandwich question.
posted by Umami Dearest at 11:13 AM on September 2, 2015

dean martin & bureaucracy
posted by mazola at 11:18 AM on September 2, 2015

You just always have to remind yourself: WE are WEird.

You'll never get it wrong again.
posted by padraigin at 11:19 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Wow, people with strong opinions about text editors are 82% more likely to be cat people than Brad Pitt. I did not know that.

Only 82%? Jesus. Just how many times has Brad Pitt filled in this survey form?
posted by Sonny Jim at 11:19 AM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

I am much more like to be a cat person than I am to be Brad Pitt. I am definitely not Brad Pitt, and I could imagine growing fond of the just the right cat.

Necessary. I never spell it right. Is it two c's and one s? One c and two s's? Is it "ary"or "ery"? Hell if I know. I have resigned myself to the fact that I will always need spellcheck for that one.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 11:29 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Pater Aletheias, in addition now to your user name, necessary is my most troubled spelling word, as well.
posted by phunniemee at 11:30 AM on September 2, 2015

I don't remember it asking me for an actor name. And I don't think I told it what my favorite number from 1 to 5 was. It let me submit it anyway.
So if any of the favorite number and/or actor correlations are screwy, you know who to blame.
My survey answers are bad and I should feel bad.
posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 11:32 AM on September 2, 2015

I confidently answered that I had a good vocabulary and then I bombed the how- many-of-these-words-do-you-know question. I knew the word fleek. I knew it. But I just couldn't remember it. And then when it came time to spout five random words what came out but cachinnation. I'm pretty sure fleek was percolating away inside my brain trying to get out and of course by the time it did, it was too late.

I wrote down all the words I didn't know before I went on and looked them up. Oddly several of them came up no result on the internet so I will have to try the OED. Some of them definitely could be words, but were probably neologisms with obvious meanings. He had some mighty nice words there...
posted by Jane the Brown at 11:38 AM on September 2, 2015

I thought it was "good speller", not "have a good vocabulary". I tripped over the word list anyway.

But is everyone seeing the same set of questions? It would be like Randall to mess with things like that.
posted by AbnerRavenwood at 11:41 AM on September 2, 2015

paul rudd and lavender
posted by ersatzkat at 11:42 AM on September 2, 2015

Weird assumption that everyone responding *can* drive.

I haven't driven regularly since the mid-eighties, but I have seen other people drive, and in comparison with them, I reckon I am at least 2 out of 5: I know how turn signals work, look in the direction I am turning, and do not eat/text/apply makeup while driving. That put me in the top quartile, but at the same time I would have to experiment to see which was the gas and which the brake, so I knocked myself down a bit.

One of my animals was skink, because you do not hear enough about skinks.

Ocelot showed up in my animals list too. Were there some sort of subliminal prompts peppered throughout this survey?

Maybe an ocelittle.

How do you titillate an ocelot? Oscillate its tit a lot.

I don't remember it asking me for an actor name. And I don't think I told it what my favorite number from 1 to 5 was.

It would be impressive if everyone were seeing a different set of questions, generated from a list of four hundred possible questions or something.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:46 AM on September 2, 2015 [5 favorites]

Marjoe Gortner. Bureaucracy. A day that doesn't start with a glass of maple syrup is day I can't call myself Canadian.

Hilariously, these are very similar to the questions my son asks as he drifts off to sleep.
posted by Ashwagandha at 11:51 AM on September 2, 2015

"No."

Ha! It is nice to know I wasn't the only person who didn't envision the internet as a place!
posted by jillithd at 11:59 AM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Literally named "Catherine Person"

I once stood underneath a sign that said Catherine Person Gallery. Close enough.
posted by invokeuse at 11:59 AM on September 2, 2015

One of my animals was skink, because you do not hear enough about skinks.
One of my animals was newt because P. G. Wodehouse is the grout which binds the otherwise loose bricks of my brain.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:01 PM on September 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

Quilford! "Publicly" was my word too!
posted by Navelgazer at 12:16 PM on September 2, 2015

Dabney Coleman.

no idea why.
posted by rifflesby at 12:19 PM on September 2, 2015

And I put down Elizabeth Banks for my movie star. He didn't ask for the first one you thought of there, just for you to name one. I considered it until I thought of someone worthwhile.
posted by Navelgazer at 12:23 PM on September 2, 2015

So apparently I think the internet is a warehouse in Ohio

One of my random words was "ecstatic". What is my brain and who runs it.
posted by unbearablylight at 12:37 PM on September 2, 2015

oh man i didn't even understand the "visualize the internet" question so i just put "what" but if i could go back to it i would post "a thunderdome full of nerds"
posted by poffin boffin at 12:44 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Now I want the results so that I can find what my 5 random words were. Ellen Page was my movie star, so I should be able to find myself.
posted by tavella at 12:47 PM on September 2, 2015

I'm fairly certain it doesn't say 'first movie star you think of'

I answered all the questions with the first answer I thought of. You're right that I wasn't told to do it that way, but it seemed simplest.

Weird assumption that everyone responding *can* drive.

I just assumed that if you can't drive at all, you'd rate yourself as a very poor driver. Like, if someone put you behind the wheel of a car and ordered you to drive, and you'd never driven before, you'd do it very poorly.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:47 PM on September 2, 2015

"What's a really popular food that you don't like?"

Someone has to say it - cheese.

I will proudly be that someone. You all can keep that solid sour dairy mess of horribleness to yourselves.
posted by spinifex23 at 12:48 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

oh and i suppose some wrong bad people think sour cream is a condiment and not an entree

Ha! This was my exact thought process doing the survey:
Condiments on their own? Ew, no. Wait, what about sour cream? No, that's a food group.
posted by Kabanos at 12:49 PM on September 2, 2015

ok brain

Goldie Hawn it is I guess
posted by duffell at 1:06 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

The latest movie star list with a few numbers. Looks like a little more diversity, starting to skew younger, but men still outnumber women. (I counted Lassie as a woman, although she was sometimes portrayed by male dogs in drag; dog drag in the movies consisting of calling, "Here, girl!" to a male dog.)

Angelina Jolie (X4)
Anne Hathaway
Bo Derek
Brad Pitt (x7)
Brendan Fraser
Bruce Dern
Cameron Diaz
Carole Lombard
Cary Grant
Charlton Heston
Chris Pratt
Clark Gable (X2)
Dabney Coleman
Daniel Craig
Dean Martin
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.
Dustin Hoffman
Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Taylor
Eva Marie Saint
Ewan McGregor
George Clooney (x2)
Gloria Swanson
Gregory Peck
Greta Garbo (X2)
Greta Garbo
Harrison Ford
Hattie McDaniel
Hedy Lamarr
Helen Mirren
Humphrey Bogart (x2)
Idris Elba (x2)
Ingrid Bergman
Isabella Rossellini
Jeff Goldblum
Jennifer Jason Leigh
John Malkovich
Kate Hudson
Keanu Reeves (x7)
Kevin Costner
Kurt Russell
Lana Turner
Lassie
Lauren Bacall
Manu Bennett
Marilyn Monroe (x2)
Marjoe Gortner
Matt Damon
Matt Dillon
Myrna Loy
Paul Rudd
Pierce Brosnan
Rachel Weisz
Robert Redford
Robin Williams
Russell Crowe
Salma Hayek
Sam Rockwell
Scarlett Johanson
Sid James
Simon Pegg
Tom Cruise (x7)
Tom Hardy (x3)
Male without repeats: 38
Female without repeats: 25
Male with repeats: 61
Female with repeats: 30
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:09 PM on September 2, 2015 [6 favorites]

"carbuncle" was one of my five random words. Where the hell that came from I don't know

Have you been reading Sherlock Holmes stories lately?

I love how many people want to answer more questions. I think we all secretly dream of sitting down with a therapist and just being asked random questions that will somehow unlock secrets to our personality.

Have you ever worn green in winter?
Do you like putting things in a basket or do you prefer a box?
What food are you most likely to get up your nose?
Name a favorite painter.
What do you think about when you fall asleep?
Name 5 symbols.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 1:14 PM on September 2, 2015 [16 favorites]

I love how many people want to answer more questions.

Big Mefi Survey 2015? et a group of volunteers together to submit questions, then everybody answers them? I'll be just like the good old times in Measurement & Evaluation class before the evil professor told you she didn't give a rat's ass whether the people at the bottom of the class learned anything because as long as everybody's grades fell on the right kind of statistical distribution she was doing her job.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:19 PM on September 2, 2015 [12 favorites]

Secret Life of Gravy: "I think we all secretly dream of sitting down with a therapist and just being asked random questions that will somehow unlock secrets to our personality."

I do secretly dream of that, but I didn't realize it until you said it.
posted by Rock Steady at 1:25 PM on September 2, 2015 [15 favorites]

i'm weirdly delighted that keanu reeves is the default celebrity for so many people.
posted by poffin boffin at 1:26 PM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

When we were teenagers, my little sister spent a WHOLE SUMMER traveling and doing all these fun and cool things while I stayed home and worked and stuff. So one day, I made our mom buy me all new underpants, then I laid them all out in the backyard, took Polariods of them, and mailed them to my sister with a note about how I hope she is enjoying her stupid vacation in her gross old ratty underpants. And I have continued the tradition of taunting her with pictures of my most impressive underpants hauls in the 30+ years since. But I'm not really recommending she do the same, and I don't do it to anyone but my sister, so my answer was NO THAT IS RIDICULOUS.
posted by ernielundquist at 1:29 PM on September 2, 2015 [5 favorites]

Kim Chi. I don't get it and every restaurant in Seattle puts it in every dish these days.

Accomadate. Auto-correct always tells me it's spelled wrong, then every variation I change it to is also wrong.

My movie star is Marilyn Monroe, duh. There's another answer to this question?
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:29 PM on September 2, 2015

i'm wearing green right now but it is summer

i have a box preference i think? but without lids, i like old wooden crates

pho in nose always

JMW Turner because boats

i think about sleeping

idk all i can think of are weirdly specific vévés?
posted by poffin boffin at 1:30 PM on September 2, 2015

my first random number was 42, second was 37... considering xkcd's audience, you KNOW those will be the most popular numbers.
dog cat rabbit duck otter (tempted to just go 'duck rabbit duck rabbit duck'... I'm wearing one of my "otter pun" t-shirts: "Significant Otter")
which prompted my misspelled word: significent, I mean significant ... I typed both into the box.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:36 PM on September 2, 2015

The latest movie star list with a few numbers.

Is this from this thread or from the actual survey? Because I said Meryl Streep when I took the survey early this morning and I don't see her listed.

HOW HAS NO ONE ELSE SAID MERYL STREEP
MERYL MF STREEP GUYS
posted by phunniemee at 1:41 PM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Ginger. Because it said movie star & I got this stuck in my head: "The Movie Star, Professor, and Maryann... HERE ON GILLIGAN'S ISLE!"


*cries*
posted by susanbeeswax at 1:42 PM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Where is the love for Tom Hanks? THE MAN WENT TO SPACE FOR YOU PEOPLE!!
posted by blurker at 1:42 PM on September 2, 2015

rhymes help you to hold memories...doesn't, uh, rhyme.

rhymes help you to harass mimes


it appears "harass" is another word I can't spell correctly on the first try
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:48 PM on September 2, 2015

Also we're in the process of painting the house, so at least one of the wall colors in the final survey results will be very Benjamin Moore.
posted by infinitewindow at 1:50 PM on September 2, 2015

The Underpants Monster: "Big Mefi Survey 2015? et a group of volunteers together to submit questions, then everybody answers them?"

I really want to do this. I might make a MeTa post about it tomorrow. I'm not a datawanker, but I can organize the questions and the survey.
posted by Rock Steady at 1:54 PM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

The latest movie star list with a few numbers.

Is this from this thread or from the actual survey? Because I said Meryl Streep when I took the survey early this morning and I don't see her listed.

It's just from what people have mentioned in the thread.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:55 PM on September 2, 2015

Rock Steady, I am a data analyst.
I can do some data analysis on the MeFi Survey.
(I went and checked MeTa to see if someone had made a post about this already when I read underpants monsters comment)
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 2:26 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Where do I visualize the Internet to be? Outer space.
posted by dogwalker at 2:28 PM on September 2, 2015

• Name the first 3 fruits that come to mind
• Name the first 3 vegetables that come to mind
(Yes, we can analyze whether the responses received are truly fruits/vegetables)
• Do you prefer to bathe/shower in the mornings or evenings?
• Which of the following were present in the house you grew up in, up to age 18? (Rotary phone/Personal computer/Fax machine/Internet connection/Record player)
• Have you ever played the game Klondike, popularly known as Solitaire? (Yes, on the computer only/Yes, using playing cards only/Yes, both on the computer and with cards/No/I've never even heard of this game.)
• Type the first palindrome you can think of.
• What's a grammatical rule that you frequently break?
• Was the last book you read fiction or non-fiction?
• How do you commute to work? (Car/Bike/Walking/Public transportation/I have no work commute)

posted by duffell at 2:39 PM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Also we're in the process of painting the house, so at least one of the wall colors in the final survey results will be very Benjamin Moore.

Yeah, I actually filled that box in with "Benjamin Moore Linen White (eggshell finish)." I am such a tool.
posted by Mchelly at 2:46 PM on September 2, 2015

• What's your favourite colour?
• Do you like cows or goats? (Milk)
• Do you have brown hair?
• What is your blood type?
• Are you allergic to

posted by grumpybear69 at 2:47 PM on September 2, 2015

banana, grape, strawberry
eggplant, brussels sprout, broccoli
evenings
All except fax
yes both, though I prefer a solitaire variant called Scorpion.
Stacy's super-aware pussycats
I put punctuation outside of quotation marks if it isn't part of what's being quoted.
fiction
roll out of bed
posted by rifflesby at 2:58 PM on September 2, 2015

You can bump up Elizabeth Taylor's count by one here. Because I'm old and she was the most movie-starriest movie star I was aware of in my formative years, largely due to my mother's influence I'm sure. She was a little obsessed with movie stars and Liz was one of her favorites. Here's to you Mom!
posted by marsha56 at 3:58 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also "clear glass" because I'm at the library sitting in front of a glass wall and can't even see any of the regular walls from where I'm sitting. Purple shirt.
posted by marsha56 at 4:01 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I said Meryl Streep! I'll admit the first name that came to mind was Brad Pitt, but then I thought for a bit and Meryl Streep showed up and won.
posted by mountmccabe at 4:02 PM on September 2, 2015

kiwi, banana, watermelon
broccoli, sweet potato, okra
Mornings
Personal computer, internet connection, record player. Probably was a (in-use) rotary phone early on.
Yes, both computer and cards
Otto
Why would I break rules? It's probably one I don't understand/know.
James Tiptree, Jr. - Crown of Stars
I have no work commute
posted by mountmccabe at 4:06 PM on September 2, 2015

Ha, I misread the second to last question. Argh. Fiction.
posted by mountmccabe at 4:07 PM on September 2, 2015

Stacy's super-aware pussycats

Whoa. Mind blown.

OK, I'm definitely (another one I never spell right) going to put together a Big MeFi Survey. I've already started to build it. If you want to help, email/MeMail me. I'll put up a MeTa to get question ideas tomorrow.
posted by Rock Steady at 4:28 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

When friends do those "ask me anything" blog memes I usually ask for thoughts on or reactions to a few specific foods:


Oatmeal
Miso (soup or other)
Licorice (black and/or red)
Hollandaise sauce
Coconut milk
posted by brainwane at 5:05 PM on September 2, 2015

five, random, words, random, words

There are five words there!
posted by persona au gratin at 5:12 PM on September 2, 2015

I want to see the Jeopardy version where you have to make up questions to the provided answers.
posted by transient at 5:19 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

banana, minibanana, plantain
asparagus, other asparagus, carrot
both mornings and evenings and before hot yoga because it's polite
rotary phone and record player and computer
yes, both
tacocat
all of them
fiction
i'm retired, suckers
posted by poffin boffin at 5:27 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

All you ocelot people are just really excited for the new MGS game.
posted by buriednexttoyou at 5:45 PM on September 2, 2015

egnormous.

As God is my witness, I am convinced there is a silent "g" in that word and have to consciously remind myself that no one else thinks so.
posted by 3urypteris at 6:22 PM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

asparagus, other asparagus, carrot

fucking pretentious modern shit, my kids will still play "duck duck goose" and it'll be good enough for them
posted by Wolfdog at 6:25 PM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Nutella is a condiment, right?

Also I resent the fact that it would not accept "e" as an acceptable value for a favorite number.
posted by oceano at 6:53 PM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Also I resent the fact that it would not accept "e" as an acceptable value for a favorite number.

Don't you think you're being a little.... irrational about this?
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 7:14 PM on September 2, 2015 [6 favorites]

"Greta Garbo popped into my head immediately, which felt completely out of nowhere, but now I have "Perfect Skin" in my head so I think it was Lloyd Cole suggesting her to me."

I typed teh same thing...and i do't think i have thought of greta garbo since..well, i saw a picture of her in a film class 20 years ago?

Were we primed for that somehow?
Is there an XKCD strip that mentions Greta Garbo, and it was pre-loaded in subconscious?

Weird.
posted by das_2099 at 8:03 PM on September 2, 2015

I am also on team giraffe. AND i would be on team separate except that i couldn't remember the word even though i was trying to picture it and knew it ended in ate. or is it ete? ugh. anyway so i relied on my #2 most mispelled word instead...privilege.
posted by TestamentToGrace at 8:43 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

>If I ever type the word rhythm correctly it will be the first time

Allow me to help: "Robin Hood yelled to his men."

Holy shit camofrog, this is a game changer.
posted by aka burlap at 8:52 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also I said "Um I think I picture it inside my computer" for the where is the internet question. among xkcd readers i bet that is not a common answer...
posted by aka burlap at 8:53 PM on September 2, 2015

egnormous.
As God is my witness, I am convinced there is a silent "g" in that word

I can see that, totally. Like 'gnocchi.'
posted by chococat at 9:33 PM on September 2, 2015

Peristeronic is not a word.


It's a perfectly cromulent word.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 11:25 PM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

I did this totally stoned so I feel like I really got into the spirit of the thing
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 12:10 AM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Am I the only person who answered Clara Bow?
posted by Faintdreams at 1:06 AM on September 3, 2015 [4 favorites]

I wish I had put hedgehog down :(
posted by trif at 3:00 AM on September 3, 2015

cherry, peach, apple
broccoli, leek, chili pepper
evening
rotary phone, personal computer, record player
yes, both on the computer and with cards
One rite rots - I do not sleep. Eye sees. Eye peels. To nod is to retire - No!
use of sentence fragments
fiction
I have no work commute
posted by kyrademon at 3:04 AM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

I felt unexpectedly earnest about doing this. Usually i'll approach surveys with a dumb smartassy mindset, but this time I was all 'But this is for Randall!'

Truly, we are all learning things about ourselves today. Also:

spinifex23: "What's a really popular food that you don't like?"
Someone has to say it - cheese.
I will proudly be that someone. You all can keep that solid sour dairy mess of horribleness to yourselves.

HELLO FRIEND I AM HERE
posted by pseudonymph at 5:46 AM on September 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

Am I the only person who answered Clara Bow?

Oh, did she say something? Funny I didn't hear it.
posted by George_Spiggott at 9:03 AM on September 3, 2015 [7 favorites]

Brad Pitt
cat dog bat elephant zebra
No (I do not picture the internet)
I have a terrible time with the ie/ei rules and so put receive because for some reason I had to type it 3 times today and misspelled it all three times.


I am pleased that the only people who have posted their answer to the shirt question have been wearing purple because I happen to be wearing purple today too (and answered as such).
posted by LizBoBiz at 10:01 AM on September 3, 2015

Someone has to say it - cheese.

Me too. Pizza without cheese? Sooo good.
posted by straight at 12:54 PM on September 3, 2015

An old temp job had me coding free-entry survey responses into categories for statistical analysis. looking at the results for this does not seem like fun.
posted by midmarch snowman at 5:22 PM on September 3, 2015

I was going to put in Dustin Hoffman because I keep thinking he's on the cover of Time magazine (he's not; it's Stephen Colbert, but upside down it looks like Dustin Hoffman), but instead I typed Claudette Colbert 'cause we were talking about Ma and Pa Kettle at work tonight. I should change it to Marjorie Main before I send it in.

giraffe dog anteater cat mouse

five random words

I don't picture the internet anywhere physical. However, I picture email living in the mail computer under the stairs in the basement at my early 1990's job. It was slow enough that twice I was able to run downstairs to delete an email before it actually went out.
posted by bentley at 10:05 PM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Add another for Lauren Bacall.
posted by lagomorph at 5:15 AM on September 4, 2015

I wonder if anyone answered John Wilkes Booth?
posted by TedW at 5:18 AM on September 4, 2015

Marilyn Monroe and millennium. (It really should be "Morissette," as in Alanis, because I have to backtrack on that EVERY time, but I'm embarrassed by how often I seem to need to know how to spell it.)
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:48 AM on September 4, 2015

apple, pear, mango
carrot, celery, broccoli
mornings now, but evenings until around age 30
Rotary phone/Personal computer/Record player
Yes, both on the computer and with cards, but I have never heard it called Klondike until now
Lisa Bonet ate no basil.
Ending sentence with preposition
Fiction
Car
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:52 AM on September 4, 2015

when does the survey end?
posted by mullacc at 8:48 AM on September 4, 2015

After the last question.
posted by maryr at 10:24 AM on September 4, 2015 [4 favorites]

Faye Dunaway. Now she's a fuckin' movie star.
posted by Mistress at 2:20 AM on September 5, 2015

That was fun, merci for posting. I didn't answer What Food do You Hate, I couldn't think of anything.
posted by valetta at 1:55 AM on September 7, 2015

Another ocelot person here. I also think there was a subliminal signal somewhere. I don't know what the MGS game is.

I've also just confirmed that I didn't even know what an ocelot looks like, I thought it might be a kind of rodent. (It's not!)
posted by illongruci at 6:12 AM on September 8, 2015