mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
I’ve got four questions for you today. Answer one, answer all, whatever you’d like. Cheers!
1. Last Saturday, my daughter took an extremely long nap, which allowed me to tear through most of Chuck Klosterman’s Downtown Owl. I’m not a very fast reader—at least, I’m sure, compared to most of you. If you challenged me to a speed reading contest, I’d fake an eye injury. So the list of books I finished in one (or, in this case, two) sittings is not very impressive. How about you? What books have you polished off in a single day?
2. In the summer of 2000, fellow _flosser Brett Savage and I drove from New Jersey to Los Angeles, where we spent the summer. We made it out there in three days, but planned to take our time on the return trip, stopping in various cities for undetermined periods of time. This plan was abandoned when we broke down outside Silverthorne, Colorado.
We had the car towed, found shelter, hit up the hotel bar and waited for the diagnosis. When the bartender asked to see our IDs, he nonchalantly said, “You guys hail from my neck of the woods. I’m from Morristown” (the next town over from our native Denville, NJ). When pressed, he said he was driving to Los Angeles in 1981. His car broke down in Silverthorne. He couldn’t afford to fix it. He never left.
At a time in my life dominated by job fairs and interviews and uncertainty—I was just about to begin my senior year—the idea that this man’s whole life was determined by a faulty alternator and the high price of auto repair in Summit County, Colorado, was more than I could process. The next morning, our car miraculously started. We didn’t break down again until Denver, 70 miles later. But eventually we made it home, and didn’t have to permanently settle in any of the places we stalled. If there’s a lesson in this story, I never found it—though I do make sure my alternator is in working order before any major journeys. But perhaps some of you have a similar story. How’d you end up where you are?
3. My local Walgreens has stopped carrying Pure American Sparkling Water. This (absolutely) does not matter to anyone but me. I was slightly addicted to this Splenda-laden beverage, and even discussed it in a previous mental_floss newsletter (which probably explains why we don’t have more newsletter subscribers). What discontinued product do you miss most?
4. In my head—and when I’m watching alone—I’m great at Wheel of Fortune. But whenever I watch with other people, my ability to solve the puzzle seems very much in line with the general public. On what game show (or reality show) do you think you’d do the best?
And this isn’t so much a question as a reminder and a plea: The Mental Floss History of the World has slipped to #29 on the Amazon bestseller list. Though compared to #145,714, where we were last weekend, that’s still pretty good. It’s not too early to cross a few names off your holiday shopping list…
I went to college in Santa Barbara and graduated a year earlier than my friends. While I was in the second semester of my senior year all my friends were off campus, so I joined a small ensemble theatre company. The director and I fell in love shortly after I graduated and got married about a year after we met and that’s why I’m still in Santa Barbara.
posted by andrea on 10-10-2008 at 11:32 am
2. We wound up in Chicago because my husband got his MBA at Northwestern ten years ago, we liked it, he took a job here and we never wanted to leave. I’m pregnant with twins so it might be time we headed out to the suburbs.
3. I pride myself on being the only person who really liked Crystal Pepsi.
4. The $25,000 Pyramid (or whatever the amount was). I’ll challenge anybody!
posted by Mary on 10-10-2008 at 11:33 am
#3) Two candy bars come to mind. Back in the 70’s, my favorite was something called “Choc-o-lite” that was simply a chocolate bar whipped up with air. And I mourn the recent demise of the Hershey’s “S’more” bar. I really liked it and if I had known it was going to disappear, I’d have bought several cases.
posted by KJ on 10-10-2008 at 11:33 am
I’m a 24 year old American who has been lucky enough to spend the last two years working overseas, once in Japan and now in Ireland. Both were sort of accidents. With Japan, I happened to be walking by an informational meeting for the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching)Program and dropped in on a whim. I filled out the application never seriously considering a move across the world and then a few months later got a job offer. Then while I was finishing my contract in Japan and wondering what to do when I went home, my sister and I decided to do some volunteer work for a couple of weeks. While searching for some summer opportunities, I found a long term position with a community in Ireland that helps special needs people live independently. They needed help within a few months, so I packed my bags and moved again.
posted by Heather Whited on 10-10-2008 at 11:35 am
1) Just call me a giant dork now - but I read all 7 Harry Potter books in 5 1/2 days.
posted by Kristin on 10-10-2008 at 11:43 am
1. I have been known to devourer a mass market paperback in about 90 minutes. It depends on the subject and author. I read “The Cat Who Walks Through Walls” by Robert Heinlein yesterday. One bad side effect of being a speed reader is that the really good book is over before you know it.
2. My parents moved the family here and even after a stretch in the Navy, I came back home.
3. Can’t think of any right off
4. Would love to do “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader”. I find the questions easy and have answered all on many occasions. I know that being there is a lot tougher than sitting at home. I do have a question about the show. Why do the students/kids wear the same clothes all season?
reCaptcha: Congress poor
posted by Owen on 10-10-2008 at 11:43 am
1. I read A Clockwork Orange in a single sitting. That was nuts. It started out me just wanting to understand the wacky vernacular. That took a chapter and then I was like “ah, what the hell?” I did it while sitting in a Mexican mall restaurant (a Mexican food place in an Iowa mall, not a restaurant in a Mexican mall.) Free chips and Salsa for about four hours. ha
2. I’m in Peoria cause I got fired from my job in the Quad Cities and got a job in Peoria. Pretty uninteresting, although I did have a very similar situation as yours except in Nebraska…at 3 a.m…40 miles from the nearest exit on I-80. That was scary.
3. Dr. Slice, have you guys seen that anywhere. Also, Dr. Thunder, our wal-mart no longer has the shitty pop machines.
4. Jeopardy. Why do you think that mental_floss interests me so much, I love random knowledge.
posted by Gary on 10-10-2008 at 11:44 am
3) Ecto Cooler
posted by Billy on 10-10-2008 at 11:48 am
1. Last sunday I was helping out in the Gift Shop of the hotel I work at. I managed to read The Secret Life of Bees before I eevn took my lunch break. The Sunday before that I read The Time Travelor’s Wife.
I agree with Owen, being a speed reader does sometimes suck, as a result I have a tendency to re-read the end of the same book the following day.
2. I moved to L.A. four years ago because I needed to get away from my mother, but couldn’t afford a place of my own. I lived with my sister for the first year and a half and even though I have my own place now, I am still hanging out here in L.A.
3. Ben and Jerry’s discontinued my favorite ice cream flavor a while ago. I can’t remember what it was called but it was a smores flavored ice cream with marshmallows and grahm cracker bits.
4. I feel the same way about Wheel of Fortune. I want to go on that show so bad. It is on my list of things to do before I die.
posted by Bethany on 10-10-2008 at 11:53 am
1. John Grisham’s The Pelican Brief - I had an afternoon all to myself and ended up so absorbed I polished it off in one sitting.
2. I was living in Vegas (after moving there with friends who said “Why not?”) and met my husband, who was also from the Midwest. We moved back to the Midwest to be closer to family & friends after our daughter was born.
3. They used to have these huge chewy Sweet-Tarts, probably 4 times the size of the current ones, back when I was in 3rd grade (circa 1978). I miss them so :(
4. I would have KILLED on the MTV game show Remote Control!
posted by Deb on 10-10-2008 at 11:53 am
1) Chip Kidd’s “The Cheese Monkeys”, Chuck Palahniuk’s “Survivor”, Philip K. Dick’s “We Can Build You”.
2) My then girlfriend told me that she had had enough of Atlanta and was moving to Portland, OR with or without me. I eventually followed he 18 months later.
3) Cool Colt - Just kidding! Does anyone remember that one? Menthol Malt Liquor - What a horrible idea.
4) I wouldn’t last on one of those reality shows… I think I could do alright on Jeopardy…
posted by Stuart on 10-10-2008 at 11:54 am
1. On a flight from Phoenix, AZ to London, the UK (about 10 hours) I read all of the LOTR trilogy. Also, in one sitting, ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ and Tom Clancy’s ‘Red October.’
3. Product I miss: Panera’s (aka St. Louis Bread Co.) ‘crispani,’ thin personal pizzas that they offered for about six months.
posted by June on 10-10-2008 at 11:55 am
1) Never in a day or two. Wouldn’t that be a nice change of pace?
2)Too long of a story for here…but I’m grateful to be where I am today.
3) None that have left enough of an impression that I can remember them now. Out of sight out of mind.
4) CASH CAB on Discovery Channel. Random trivia! Good stuff.
posted by Laurie on 10-10-2008 at 11:57 am
3. Crystal Pepsi
posted by susan on 10-10-2008 at 12:00 pm
3. Crystal Pepsi & Jolly Jellies
posted by susan on 10-10-2008 at 12:01 pm
1) I’ve read several books in less than a day. If I’m reading a book and the writer has an engaging style or I get caught up in the story, I keep reading ’til I finish. (My personal record is Robert R. McCammon’s “Swan Song” in 8 hours. Over 900 pages in paperback.)
I’ve always been a fast reader, which came in handy for English class years ago, when I’d read an assigned book several times. It was a little less handy at my last job, working nights, where you could bring in a book to pass time when it was slow. I had to keep buying books.
posted by steph on 10-10-2008 at 12:02 pm
3. Crystal Pepsi, Mocha Crunch bars, and, if we’re talking non-food items, Back to Basics beer shampoo. *sigh*
4. Oh, Jeopardy, of course. In my head, anyway.
posted by Charmingfare on 10-10-2008 at 12:09 pm
1) I’m a pretty slow reader, so i’ve never been able to finish in one sitting (or one day). But some of my quickest reads were: “Survivor” by Chuck Palahniuk, “Da Vinci Code” & “Angels & Demons” by Dan Brown, “If Chins Could Kill” by Bruce Campbell, and one of the funniest books i’ve ever read “The Areas of my Expertise” by John Hodgman (he’s a PC).
2) I grew up in the Chicagoland area..moved to L.A. after college…didnt really like it, so moved back to Chicago. not very interesting.
3) Remember Fun Dip? Well i remember once buying a candy that was just like Fun Dip, but it was only the “lick sticks” and they were flavored and looked like mummies. I only saw them once and they were awesome.
4) I would dominate Rock n Roll Jeopardy…and i would love to do the World Series of Pop Culture
posted by Andy on 10-10-2008 at 12:16 pm
1. I read all of The DaVinci Code one evening after getting it from my sister. I started around 730pm & had finished it by 200am.
I also find this feat amazing - I read all of the case studies & decisions & comments, as well as the professor created “book” for my Constitutional Law class less than 12 hours before my final exam.
2. I’m at my current (& future) job because I couldn’t find a job with either of my degrees (hist. & polysci). I started as a secretary just because I needed a job, ANY job, & 3 years later, I run our corporate branch.
3. I miss Shasta. The soda. I don’t know if it’s still sold anywhere else, but it isn’t here in S.E. Va.
4. I do pretty well with Jeopardy, but rarely do I have an answer for Final Jeopardy. I think I’d also have a hard time answering in the form of a question, as well as knowing what the hell to wager!
posted by Kathryn on 10-10-2008 at 12:22 pm
Bridges of Madison County
The Color Purple
posted by hooper on 10-10-2008 at 12:22 pm
1. I too, have read several books in a 24 hour period. And it really sucks when it’s a great book.
2. Born, bred, will die here… (although I did travel all over about
3/4 of the US for about 6 years.)
3. Something that wasn’t out for very long… That smoky chipotle flavored KFC… Yummy.
4. Anything which depends on knowledge of trivia, and not on dexterity or eating bugs…
posted by Vickey on 10-10-2008 at 12:25 pm
1. OMG, Swan Song, what a wonderful and long book to read in one sitting. I learned in 9th grade to savor a great read. I don’t recall the book I read in one afternoon, but I remember being annoyed that now I had nothing to read, so I don’t rush through them anymore.
2. Born and raised here - I’m lame.
3. SO many…a Sally Hanson nail product with actual fibers in it that made my nails not break in seconds is my first. THe original Orbit gum (not the modern version) this one was a sugarless bubble gum that came in a large box but was individually wrapped pieces.
4. Jeopardy, but i took the online test and I don’t think they’ll be calling me ever.
posted by Emma on 10-10-2008 at 12:25 pm
1. I usually finish any book that I’m reading in one sitting. I think that the longest that I’ve read at once was Gone With the Wind. I think that I have OCD like that. But it’ll take me a week or two to read one magazine.
posted by Katherine on 10-10-2008 at 12:26 pm
1.I was able to read sex drugs and cocoa puffs in one sitting…also a 500 page biography of helen keller..
2.luckily that never happened to me…yet..*knock on wood*
3.pepsi blue, i loved that stuff and it is sooo overlooked!
4.my dream was the price is right until bob barker stopped hosting, now it’s jeopardy.
posted by Jill on 10-10-2008 at 12:32 pm
#1 - I’ve read many in a day, but one that comes to mind is The Amityville Horror (it’s a short one, I know). Funny story - my university roommate (who tends to be a slow reader) read Amityville Horror in one day, save for the last 20 pages. Why did she leave 20 pages? Because I went to bed and she didn’t feel “safe” reading while I was asleep.
#2- I ended up where I am because there’s really no better place in Canada to do theatre and comedy than Toronto. I left university in Quebec and moved straight here having only been in the city briefly once before. Toronto is awesome.
#3- Alright, I’m pretty sure I’m the only person in the world who remembers this, but “Rice Krispies Treats” (or something to that effect). They were in a turquoise box and were essentially small chunks of Rice Krispie squares in cereal form. Man they were awesome.
#4- Reality Show: The Mole. I’d rock that show hard.
posted by Jenny on 10-10-2008 at 12:35 pm
Some boat as you Jason. I am really slow reader. I did read Dharma Bums in one day and Candid by Volitare (but that was really short!). The last question, I can definitely say that I am terrible at Don’t Forget the Lyrics (lyrics just don’t stick with me) And not sure if I should be proud of this or not, but I would dominant Are Smarter Than A Fifth Grader. Now if it was Are Smarter Than A 12th Grader, I would definitely be challenged!
posted by marty on 10-10-2008 at 12:43 pm
In my late teen years, I started “The Eiger Sanction” one night about 11pm. I read thru the night until 7am when I finished the book and went to sleep. I awoke 3 hours later finding that I wasn’t having a dream, but was *reading* a dream.
Another time, I was home from college and had read the first chapter of some vampire book. Before I went to bed, I flipped on the floodlights and saw someone walking thru our backyard at the fringes of the light (this was not a high traffic area). I started to read my book and everytime I considered turning off the light and going to sleep, I’d hear a dog barking in the neighborhood and thought I’d read a little more…
Right up until daylight.
posted by Fred on 10-10-2008 at 12:48 pm
Yep, Gary….Mmmmmm…. Dr. Slice. It use to be at Subway even after it was off the shelves. I thought it was better than…dare I say….yes!.. Dr. P
posted by Marty on 10-10-2008 at 12:50 pm
#3 - Jenny, I remember Rice Krispie Treats cereal too! Hella awesome. I miss it. Also, OK Soda.
#4 - I was on Jeopardy. :) Click on my name to see the show I was on. I came in 2nd though, so obviously, not the best show I could be on… so now I want to do Cash Cab or the World Series of Pop Culture.
posted by Rachael on 10-10-2008 at 12:55 pm
Jenny, you should move to the East Coast! There are atleast 5 varieties of the “Rice Krispies Treats” at my grocery store in NB.
posted by Brittany on 10-10-2008 at 12:57 pm
oh wait, my bad, they’re not cereal, they’re just the little snacks
posted by Brittany on 10-10-2008 at 1:00 pm
Does anybody remember those “Turtle Pies” made by hostess back when the TMNT were cool (the first time).
Like any good drug they were deadly & addicting.
SHASTA! hahah, they still sell it here in good ole Utah……
posted by Mishelley on 10-10-2008 at 1:04 pm
1) I’ve read several books in one day. I had a bad habit, in high school, of staying up all night reading in bed. I was generally worthless the next day at school… but whatever. Most recently, I read Harlan Coben’s “Gone for Good” and “Out” by Natsuo Kirino each in one day over a weekend (one on Saturday & one on Sunday).
2) I’m in Austin because it’s the best big city in Texas. It’s a popular story: you come to college at UT and you never leave.
3) I miss the P.B. Max candy “bar.” It was the best: a square cookie, creamy peanut butter, little crispies sprinkled on top, all coated in chocolate. Reese’s has NOTHING on the P.B. Max.
posted by Renis on 10-10-2008 at 1:04 pm
Books in one day: I read the last Harry Potter book in one (albeit long) day.
How’d I get here: I was living in Boulder CO when surprise job Op to move to California came my way. I wasn’t even looking. Initially I said no, but then changed my mind and accepted. 2 weeks later, I was in CA… and the day I started my new position, I learned my old job was eliminated. 1 month after the move, the guy I was dating at the time up and moved to Portland to marry some girl he met on the internet! (this was the 90s, so very surprising). A few years later our corporate office relocated to Texas and here I am!
posted by CMH on 10-10-2008 at 1:06 pm
(1) Several; DaVinci Code by Dan Brown and “Breath of Snow and Ashes” by Dianna Gabaldon, around 900 pages I think.
(2) A company came to my college and I interviewed and got a job here and have been here for 30 years (Birmingham, AL)
(3) Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper
(4) Jeopardy unless they have categories on opera and ballet…and Final Jeopardy is usually easy because you can reason it out in that length of time. But I do read a lot of history and have tons of useless trivia and dates in my head!
posted by Carol on 10-10-2008 at 1:11 pm
3. cheetos cheezy checkers. they were by far the best. regular cheetos are ok but always seemed rather harsh. the cheese puffs are ok too but after awhile they hurt your tounge (or at least mine) just a puffy/cheezy thing. but the checkers seemed to be a perfect blend of the two. tough like a cheeto but kinda soft like the puff. and in a checkered shape, how awesome. i dont know, they tasted different. they have x’s and o’s now, and those are ok, but not as good. the checkers were the only ones i would actually buy.
4. i know i would be the best supermarket sweeper ever!!!!! i watched it all the time and knew that i could beat all the other contestants. esp when it came to the race at the end where you collect as much as you can in the asiles. come on! i had my route down - meat, cheese, diapers, a bounus (the smaller ones always had the biggest amounts!!!). yeah, i would rock. so next time youre in the checkout and you hear the beep…think of the fun you could have on supermarket sweep!!!!!!! (wow, im lame :)
posted by ellen on 10-10-2008 at 1:16 pm
1. Wally Lamb’s “She’s Come Undone” and “The DaVinci Code” were both read in a 24 hour period. I guess I need to start focusing on my dissertation.
posted by Alicia on 10-10-2008 at 1:20 pm
1. I’ve read TONS of books in a single day, but the only ones that stick out are the last three books of Stephen King’s Dark Tower epic, even though it kind of got sucky towards the end. I actually took off work on each of those days in order to do it. I think that I read The Once And Future King in one day as well. And I would have read the Jenny Casey trilogy (by Elizabeth Bear) in a day, except I deliberately took my time because it was SO UNBELIEVABLY AWESOME and I just didn’t want it to end!
3. I miss the Tasty-Kake brand plain banana creme pies. They brought them back, at least temporarily, but with cruddy chocolate icing on top. The plain pies were AWESOME (for Tasty-Kake).
There was also some kind of soft caramel from Hershey or Nestle or someone. It tasted just like a Nib, but it was very soft and pretty much heavenly. I used to buy them by the bagful and I haven’t seen them in years.
posted by August on 10-10-2008 at 1:20 pm
1- Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey (yes, that James Frey). Very easy read, not that great a book.
2- I was born in Northern BC, family moved here (Calgary) when I was about a year old and have been here ever since. I don’t see myself leaving here anytime soon but a move to the Okanagan will happen at some point.
3- Wig Wags, Frute Brute, Lime Ricky
4- Jeopardy or the old Canadian game show Definition
posted by Cardinal_Fang on 10-10-2008 at 1:22 pm
3. How has noone mentioned the McRib? Other than that, Taco Bell flavored Dorito’s.
posted by Jason on 10-10-2008 at 1:23 pm
1. I like to savor a good read, so I’ll stretch it out.
2. I left my now ex husband in NJ, where I was born & raised for 35 years and moved to NW Montana, where my immediate family had recently relocated the year before. love it here, NEVER going back.
3. Remember Orbit soda? It had little blobs of gelatinous stuff bobbing around in it. Ewww, it WAS kinda gross.
4. I am deluding myself into thinking it would be Jeopardy, but most likely the world series of trivia.
posted by qt314159265 on 10-10-2008 at 1:23 pm
Y’all need to realize that Rice Krispy Treats are a HOMEMADE snack!
6 cups krispies
a bag of marshmallows
stick of butter
Melt butter and marshmallows, add krispies. Butter your hands before turning out into a pan. That’s all.
posted by Miss Cellania on 10-10-2008 at 1:27 pm
1) Just about any book, if I am suffciently interested in it, I can read in a day. I remember I read the 4th Harry Potter in 8 hours while making home made ice cream (without an ice cream maker… not the easiest thing).
2) A whole lot of lucky accidents. I was not the best student in school and used to skip a lot of classes. I had just been found out and was in the process of being punished when I found a mailing for different colleges. The only school in there that had the degree I wanted was in Chicago, so that is where I eventually went. While there, I realized that theater was not what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and was wondering what I wanted to do next when a casual friend invited me to be her roommate when she moved to NYC. Having nothing better planned after graduation, off I went. Nine years later, it was the best decision I ever made.
3) Diet wild pepsi. It may still be made, but no where around where I work.
4) I am pretty good at Jeopardy when I watch it, but I usually stink at Trivial Pursuit, so I don’t think I would make it onto the show.
posted by Karen on 10-10-2008 at 2:13 pm
1. I read all the Harry Potter books in less than 24 hours…and the last one between about 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM. (maybe a little later…don’t remember for sure) I’m a pretty fast reader…so I also read Temple Grandin’s Thinking in Pictures in about 2 hours…and there were a couple of Vonnegut books that I read just about that fast. It strikes me that there have been more (especially while traveling), but those are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.
2. Well, I live where I live because that’s where my husband lives…and I got the job I have because I replaced a teacher who had to leave due to her MS…and my parents work at the school and told me about the job, so I applied right away.
3. I miss the Rice Krispie Treats cereal too! I’m sure it was terrible for you. And yes, you can make your own rice krispie treats, but they aren’t all pre-crumbled in cereal form for you :). I missed Vanilla Coke very much when they took it away from me…but they’ve brought it back and I savor every sip just in case they deny me again.
4. I’d like to think I’d at least hold my own on Jeopardy, but with my luck they’d pick all sports categories or something else that I don’t know much about! Cash Cab might be better because I almost always do well when I play along. :)
posted by Fruppi on 10-10-2008 at 2:15 pm
#3- Swiss Cheese, they were crackers made by Nabisco and were sold right next to the better cheddars, but were swiss cheese flavored, were triangles, and had little holes in the crackers. they were amazing!
posted by Zach on 10-10-2008 at 2:17 pm
1) I finished 4 out of 7 Harry Potter books in one day, and The Giver. Most of the books I read would take a solid 7-8 hours of reading to finish in one setting, so it usually gets pushed over a couple days.
2)I joined the Air Force and was stationed in Tucson, AZ. It’s hard to get anywhere good without going to Korea first, so i put in for an extended tour overseas. I was given RAF Mildenhall in Eastern England and that’s where I’ve been for 2 1/2 years.
3)i nevere see Tangy Taffy anymore. Laffy Taffy all over the place but never Tangy!
4)I think I’d do best on Wheel of Fortune, but my dream is Jeopardy. I’m only 25, so I don’t know if I have enough life experience to be on Jeopardy yet.
posted by Tricia on 10-10-2008 at 2:23 pm
3. Speaking of cereals, anyone remember “Pop Tarts Crunch?”
I can’t remember if i liked it or not.
posted by holly on 10-10-2008 at 2:29 pm
1. I’m also a slow reader, but the Princess Diaries books are fast ones. I guess it takes something written on an 8th grade level for me to read it quickly.
2.I guess I could say the Navy got me here, yet I’m not in it or even married to it. The boyfriend I met through the internet while I was in AmeriCorps in Florida (he was stationed in South Carolina) got moved here to Virginia and I followed. My original home: Atlanta; his: Indiana.
3. I really liked Citra when I was a teenager. And I really wish they sold Mars bars exactly the way they are in the UK here.
4. One of my top items for “things to do before I die” is be a constestant on ANY game show (except those sleazy dating ones). I think I’d do pretty well on “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?” and my mom and I would be good team for Wheel of Fortune family week.
posted by catherine ann on 10-10-2008 at 2:30 pm
1. The Road by Cormack McCarthy (8.5 hrs)
2. I came here to go to college. Only about an hour from my folks. Met my wife and we settled here.
3. Johnny Cash. I know, not a product, but his music was a product. I miss him so.
4. The Wall… that show is completely pointless and requires little to no skill. Cracks me up.
posted by hoosierdad on 10-10-2008 at 2:33 pm
I’m where I am because my best friend from high school asked me to move down and convinced her brother to give me a job. Never thought I’d still be here three years later.
Also, I desperately miss Bonkers. The chewy grape starburst like candy. And Planter’s Cheez Balls. Such fake food goodness!
posted by Katie on 10-10-2008 at 2:51 pm
1. I read the entirety of Slaughter-house Five (288 pages) by Kurt Vonnegut in about 2 hours during a road trip back to college. I also finished Special Topics in Calamity Physics (~500 pages) over the course of a day on the road to my cousin’s graduation party and back.
2. I’m here for college. Unlike most of my peers, I applied only to out of state to see someplace other than my hometown. 10.5 hours away and I wouldn’t trade the experience it’s given me.
3. Ben and Jerry’s “Making Whoopie Pie” and “Vermonty Python” flavors.
4. The Mole, Jeopardy, or World Series of Pop Culture
posted by Ben Smith on 10-10-2008 at 3:00 pm
I took a job with a Fortune 500 company that required a year of training before I could move back home. So I moved to Dallas and then Los Angeles with my Sales program. During this time the company reorganized and my hometown was dropped as a city of focus. Given no alternative, I moved to Philly, both to be close to home and with the guy I love.
posted by erin on 10-10-2008 at 3:01 pm
1.I am proud to say as a teenager than I read the 7th Harry Potter in one day! Compared to all my friends who took 3 to 4 days.
2. I’m where I am not because I chose it, but because in this point in life my parents still make all my decisions for me. Sadly.
3. Too young to miss anything.
4. Family Feud. Sometimes people are just so stupid on that show!
posted by Linda on 10-10-2008 at 3:02 pm
1) The first Harry Potter book and Lord of the Flies I distinctly remember finishing in one day.
2) Live 20 miles from where I grew up, never want to leave.
3) Wendy’s had a chicken sandwich a few years ago that was perfect: spicy chicken breast, spicy sauce, two different kinds of cheese (one of them spicy), with lettuce on one of those really good seeded buns…..mmmmmmmm…….hungry now, too bad sandwich has yet to return.
4)I would really like to be on Cash Cab, but don’t live anywhere near New York
posted by beth on 10-10-2008 at 3:23 pm
1. Most of the Harry Potter books were one day reads; same for the Twilight books
3. Surge, Strawberry Hi-C
4. Cash Cab
posted by Amber on 10-10-2008 at 3:37 pm
1. Can’t recall specifics. But I remember reading three in two days during the Blizzard of 1978
2.Still at home in Kokomo, Indiana
3. Marathon bars. It was just carmel and chocolate but they were really long. The commericals featured cowboys having a contest to see whose bar would last the longest, hence the name.
4. Any of them. It’s easier to do at home. Millionaire comes to mind.
posted by Martini on 10-10-2008 at 3:38 pm
4. I would love to be on Celebrity Jeopardy. They dumb it down a little, so I think I could do fairly well. Plus I’d get to be a celebrity :)
posted by tiffany on 10-10-2008 at 3:42 pm
1. It’s been so long since I’ve read something that wasn’t a textbook. I really need to start reading for fun again.
2. I graduated from high school in upstate New York, knowing that shortly afterwards my family would be relocating to Fort Worth, Texas due to my dad’s job. Texas A&M University happened to offer me a practically full scholarship, so I took it so that I could go to school at least semi-near my parents’ house. My sense of Texas geography wasn’t fabulous when I accepted Texas A&M’s offer, so it came as a surprise when I did some Google Maps-fu and found out that I would still be 3 hours away from my parents. Honestly, I’m not crazy about College Station. I don’t enjoy being away from home and plan to go to graduate school in Fort Worth and live with my parents. Yay for free rent and mommy’s cooking!
3. The Taco Bell Queso Crunchwrap. Those things were amazing.
4. Cash Cab!
posted by Sandy on 10-10-2008 at 3:54 pm
3. I miss Mother’s Cookies… Animal crackers, iced oatmeal raisin… now that they’ve gone bankrupt, what now??
posted by Hank on 10-10-2008 at 3:55 pm
Books polished off in one day:
1. Princess Bride by William Golding
2. 10 Books that Screwed up the world (and 5 other’s that didn’t help) by Benjamin Walker
3. Render to Caesar by Archbishop Chaput
4. Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy/Resturant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams.
posted by Adam on 10-10-2008 at 4:01 pm
1) I once worked in a schools library rescanning and coding books, I speed-read ever book I scanned. I got caught crying behind my stack reading “of mice and men”. I’ve read it slower since.
2) I changed job (and country) because of a dream I had, not quite the same, but weird anyway.
recaptcha: new forgot
posted by grrrr on 10-10-2008 at 4:08 pm
Maybe it’s something about Chuck Klosterman… I bought “Killing Yourself to Live” in an airport bookstore during a flight delay. A few hours later I was done with it. And my flight still hadn’t taken off.
Also, Summit County is not a terrible place to hang one’s hat. I lived there for a year after college — on purpose, mind you — but if your car broke down on exactly the right place on I70 or Dillon Dam Road, and your skis/snowboard happened to be strapped to the roof, I can see why you might just decide to stay a while.
posted by Jonelle on 10-10-2008 at 4:23 pm
1. Just wanted to share my secret for making really enjoyable books last; read them in another language! Even if they’ve been translated from English, I’m way slower in French or Portuguese, and therefore can draw an excellent book (like Ian Rankin’s latest) out for several days!
2. After 15 years in Brazil (it was getting too dangerous), 5 years in Manitoba (it was WAY too cold) 2 years in Ontario (it was too waspy where I was) and Victoria BC (heaven on earth), my sig other got work in Montreal. I HATE the long winters, but now we both have good jobs, we have a house, kids are in school ….
3. It was never a regular product, but at one point KitKat chocolate bars had a special edition or test market version or something - ORANGE KitKat. It was sssssooooooo good. I would have bought cases if I’d realized it wouldn’t stick around.
4. Jeopardy! I am the trivia queen!
posted by Karen in Montreal on 10-10-2008 at 4:37 pm
BTW check out a Cost Plus World Market, to find those products that seem to be no longer sold…
posted by Mary on 10-10-2008 at 5:26 pm
1. Maniac Magee was my first one-day book, when I was in 5th grade I think. As an adult, I can only think of 3 and they’re all Harry Potter. Numbers 2 and 3 I read back-to-back on a flight to China. Number 7 I read the moment the mailman handed it to me.
2. Currently I’m in southern-central CT. My husband (boyfriend at the time) graduated from Syracuse University 2 years before me and moved here for grad school. When I graduated I moved here to be with him. We’ll probably only be here another year, maybe less, since he’s graduating in a few months and we want to move back to the NY area where we’re both from.
3. C2 soda.
4. I don’t know if I would be any good, but I thought the show Cram that was on Game Show Network looked like a lot of fun.
posted by Sara on 10-10-2008 at 5:34 pm
1) I have been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, and in my younger years, I read so many in one day that I had to learn to pace myself. Some that I read in one sitting while younger include Watership Down, The Hobbit, Star Wars, and several by Terry Brooks. More recently, I have read several of the Dark Tower series and the Wheel of Time series in a day - because I take them along with me while traveling for work.
2)I am where I am now by choice. But when I was 22, I drove a friend from my home in Nevada to Montana to drop him off at College. Ended up applying and getting accepted at the same school. Eventually got married, a job, divorced, another job, and then re-married there. Never did like it - winters are too cold… but was kinda stuck.
3) This takes me waaayyy back — I miss the the real original Coke. The new “classic” Coke uses corn syrup instead of granulated sugar as the sweetner, and I can taste the difference - really, I can!
4) I really really really want to be on The Amazing Race!
posted by carye1 on 10-10-2008 at 5:44 pm
3. I was just in Walgreens yesterday looking for Pure American Sparkling Water!! I miss lots of foods either because the’re off the market or not allowed on my diet.
4. I’d be really lousy on anything that requires endurance or lots of physical activity, bit I feel I’d do well on the Q & A shows.
I’ve ordered the book! Can’t wait :-)
posted by Pam on 10-10-2008 at 6:32 pm
2. I lived in Hoover, AL for about 13 years. After I graduated high school, I was going to Auburn University. I already had an apartment leased with my 2 best friends and everything. The very first day of classes, I came down with a rare, very severe case of mono. I couldn’t live on my own because I was so incredibly sick, and I ended up going back to Hoover where my mom was. I got my tonsils taken out, and after that I went back to Auburn while my mom followed my dad and other siblings to Bluffton, SC where his job put him. I got back to auburn, got incredibly homesick, got dumped, and decided to move to Bluffton with my family. I couldn’t be happier that I did. I got a change of location, atmosphere, people, and to tell the truth, Auburn scared the daylights out of me. It was so freaking big and sent my anxiety through the roof. Now I’m going to the much smaller, brand new USCB here in Bluffton. I’m so much happier than I ever could have been away from my family.
posted by kayla on 10-10-2008 at 6:34 pm
2. Moved to Delaware for AmeriCorps with the intention of leaving after a year and ended up staying for grad school (for a lack of a better idea). Then, I got hired by UD. No one is more surprised than I am that after three years here, I proudly call it my home!
3. Does anyone remember when Wendy’s had those chicken caesar pitas? Man, those were delicious. It will be the happiest day of my life if they ever bring those back.
posted by Emily on 10-10-2008 at 6:46 pm
As a graduate student, I often read several books in one day. I don’t like it, because many of them, in the popular parlance, suck, and I don’t really have time to digest that much information. That being said, my favorites are: Harry Potter 7 (started at midnight, finished at 4:30 AM), Motherless Brooklyn (on the plane from Vienna), All Quiet on the Western Front, and god knows what else.
I’m still in LA. I wish I was in Santa Cruz…and I might end up someplace else, I hope. Like Oregon.
Ocean Spray used to make these really tasty cranberry flavored hard candies. I really really miss those. (And for you Coke fiends, if you get Coke made in Mexico, it’s made with real sugar. I can’t tell the difference, because I don’t like Coke, but there you go.)
I think I’d do awesomely on Rock and Roll Jeopardy. Is that still on?
posted by alex on 10-10-2008 at 6:51 pm
1. A historical novel about the pre-WW2 era. I can’t tell you the name because the boys didn’t shut the door to the dog room when we left and my husky ate it.
2. My brother-in-law was diagnosed with Lung cancer and given 3 months to live 2 years ago. Since his wife died Jan 1, 2000 and there was no other family here we moved to help my niece and nephew. My niece’s husband and I did home hospice care for him and we have stayed since.
3. Tie Clean & Clear shampoo andUltress hair dye
4. Lingo
posted by Lorelei on 10-10-2008 at 7:12 pm
1. I have always read fast. One memorable occasion is when I read the assigned book for English class in two days, so my teacher let me preview books she was considering for the next year… I read one a day for the next four days.
2. My dad got a job here halfway through my junior year of high school. I went back to the place I had lived before for college, but that only lasted a semester, and now I am back here.
3. I also miss Crystal Pepsi, and Rice Krispies Cereal, and what about Alpha-Bits? Also, I haven’t been able to figure out for sure one way or another if it’s still in production, but I used to drink Red Flash soda when I lived in the Houston area, but it was never available where I live now.
4. I could hold my own on Jeopardy!, but I think I would really shine on Password.
posted by peacefulvalley on 10-10-2008 at 7:35 pm
I’m in Pittsburgh because I hated my life and job in San Diego. I grew up in Golden, Colorado, moved to San Diego for work, worked for two years for some jerks, and my dad said, “Guess what? Wanna go to grad school?”
I took the bait and then found a job (and a future husband) here in Pittsburgh. I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere else for a while.
posted by Mary on 10-10-2008 at 10:04 pm
Read Prozac Diary and Get Me Out Of Here, both texts required for my Women and Madness class each took 1 day to get through, but I read them a week before school started…I got my tongue pierced at 18 and bought Ben&Jerry’s Festivus ice cream…I live in a place that I greatly dislike, I’ve escaped a few times but have always managed to come back…I have wanted to be a contestant on Jeopardy for as long as I can remember
posted by teresaisamazing on 10-10-2008 at 10:15 pm
after i finished my MBA a couple of months ago (which i did at night while working full time) i gave myself a graduation present: 2 weeks at the beach with nobody but my dog. i read 12 books in 14 days. it was awesome.
i won’t get into how i ended up back home, but i think it’s odd that reCAPTCHA suggests i leave and go work for:
Nevada, Inc.
posted by mri on 10-10-2008 at 10:34 pm
1. I read the Scarlet Pimpernel nonstop for about 24 hours one winter- love that book.
2. I grew up here, but moved away to go to grad school, then lived outside the twin cities with my longtime boyfriend. that relationship dissolved in the process of moving to omaha, and i had nowhere to go, so i came home. been here ever since.
3. DR. SLICE WAS AMAZING!!! there was a gas station that sold the cans until about 5 years ago…i still mourn it’s disappearance…
4. I think I would be pretty good at Jeopardy! or Lingo…
posted by Emelie on 10-11-2008 at 1:10 am
1. I think I read Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time when I was in the 7th grade. When I was older at 28 I read Elie Weisel’s Night and also Pearl S. Buck’s Letter from Peking. When I was 17 I read This Present Darkness by Frank E Peretti in one day ( I stayed up until 5 am to read it)
2. I ended up where I am because I was born in Omaha and my family is here. I lived in different cities in the US and even in Germany but after I left my first husband I came back to Omaha to my mom and I stayed. It’s been almost 9 years now.
3. I don’t think there are too many products that I miss although I do miss the clear lemon Fanta that I used to drink as a kid when I lived in Germany. I think I would drink it all the time if I could get it. I did like Orange Slice but I don’t see it anywhere.
4.I think that I would do really well on Street Smarts.
posted by Sarah C on 10-11-2008 at 3:18 am
1) I read Moby Dick in one day when I was a junior in high school. The teacher didn’t believe me and Mom had to call the school to vouch for me. I am a very fast reader and wish I had more time to read a whole book in one day. Most recent one-day read is My Sister’s Keeper.
4) I went to Jeopardy tryouts a few years ago, pretty cool experience but not a chance of getting on the show. I too would love to be on The Wall-that show is hilarious!
recaptcha: parelli fried
posted by frida tastic on 10-11-2008 at 6:07 am
3. I can’t believe no one has said this:
PUDDING POPS!!!!
Best thing ever. And those Twix lunch packs that had only one stick in them, and tons of flavors like cookies n cream. My favorite was always peanut butter though - which they still carry some places.
posted by Leah on 10-11-2008 at 11:27 am
1. I’m a fast reader, but I broke my previous records with the Twilight books- I read all four in four days.
3. I miss Planters Cheese Balls. Yeah. And This is Nuts Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.
4. Supermarket Sweep would be all me! I’d so want to do Cash Cab too.
posted by WickedWonder on 10-11-2008 at 1:15 pm
peacefulvalley - They don’t make Alpha-Bits anymore?!? Shows you how often I actually buy cereal…but what a sad world my kids will grow up in!
posted by Fruppi on 10-11-2008 at 1:30 pm
1) I haven’t had enough uninterrupted hours in years to finish a book in one day. However, I have a friend who used to make fun of me being an adult and liking the Harry Potter series until she saw part of one of the movies. She then watched all of the movies and started reading the books. The day after the 7th book came out she gathered her drinks and snacks at 4 pm and told her husband and kids not to speak to her until she was done. She was done by 11 pm.
2) I live in a small town in Iowa outside of Omaha, NE. My mom got a teaching job here when I was 9 and married a farmer from the area and this is where I’ve stayed. I’m actually moving to our family farm in a couple of months.
3) Hardee’s Frisco Chicken and, holla Leah, Pudding Pops.
4) I have no idea what game show I would do well at. Probably something like “Deal or No Deal” as it requires exactly no skill. I’d say, “deal” at the first 6 figure offer and walk away happy.
posted by bzzyb on 10-11-2008 at 1:32 pm
I realize that this isn’t exactly an answer to a question….but kudos for mentioning New Jersey! I myself am just 10 minutes away from Morristown! Go New Jerseyites!
Oh right, well as for the reading question: I finished all seven of the Harry Potter books in a week and a half, while having to attend to other things as well that stopped me from reading. That was a fun week!
Oh, and I like to think of myself as a master of Wheel Of Fortune!
posted by Hannah on 10-11-2008 at 1:36 pm
1. I read the sixth Harry Potter book in 24 hours. I slept for ten of them. I read the seventh one in 18 hours, again sleeping for ten of them. I read the fourth Twilight book in 15 hours andslept for eight. I’m getting faster!
posted by Sam on 10-11-2008 at 4:22 pm
1. on a day off of school, i read through the all of the Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the first 6 harry potter books. i got about a quarter of the way through the 7th one.
posted by emily on 10-11-2008 at 5:06 pm
We preorderd the 7th Harry Potter novel. It arrived at our house at 10 AM, and both my 14 year old son and I had finished it by 5 AM! 17 hours.
posted by Anne on 10-11-2008 at 8:30 pm
Missed products: 7 Up candy bars (7 separate fillings covered in chocolate) & Fruit Bombs from c.1967. Apple Slice soda. Picante V8 Juice. Original Coke.
posted by Anne again on 10-11-2008 at 9:00 pm
Just finished Ender’s Game in less than 24 hours. Although it is the 5th time I’ve read it. Have read numerous Heinlein’s on a lonely afternoon.
posted by Chaim on 10-11-2008 at 9:31 pm
2. I think I’m the only person who ever moved to Nashville for reasons not related to music.
3. Bomono Turkish Taffy - you’d put it in the freezer until it was hard, slap it on a table to break it into pieces, then keep chewing for a very long time.
posted by partiallyDeflected on 10-11-2008 at 9:39 pm
This isn’t really a discontinued product, but I really liked a soda they make sell in Mexico called Manzana Lift. I cant find it in the states. It was an apple soda (reminded me of carbonated cider).
Oh and I am suprised how many people with the parents
posted by Doug on 10-12-2008 at 7:37 am
2) I’m from one state south of where I live now, and always thought I’d end up settling down there. Then I met my husband, who unfortunately worked one state north, four hours away. He makes good money and LOVES his job, so we decided to settle anywhere within a one hour radius of his place of work. We wanted a smaller town, pretty rural, but near civilization. We looked all over, in two different states, since he works on the border. We ended up living ten minutes away from his parents, in the town next to where he grew up.
posted by Ashley on 10-12-2008 at 11:27 am
1. The last 4 Harry Potters, Angels & Demons, most Stephen King novels, Agatha Christies (but those are so short you can usually read in about 2 hours). In fact most non-fiction … I always want to know how these things end so how could I stop?
2. After growing up in central Illinois I got out - lived in South Carolina, Alabama, Texas, and West Germany… came back so my daughter could grow up around Grandma and Grandpa. Despite being a really boring place to live, it’s a nice place to raise kids and it was good for my daughter.
3. Can’t think of any. Maybe Tab?
4. Jeopardy!
posted by Lisa on 10-12-2008 at 3:46 pm
1. I have read many books in single days. Most of the time during fall when my dad, sister and I would spend the last few weeks before winter at our cottage. Too cold to go out and about so I’d curl up in front of the fireplace and read all day.
2. I ended up where I am because I didn’t know what else to do with myself but keep moving. I think I lacked meaning or goals I suppose. I am happy where I currently am, and I am starting to find myself bit by bit. I do have the urges to keep moving though, maybe I’ll check out the east coast next. I find a certain pleasure in being completely anonymous .
3 and 4
I can’t think of anything.
posted by Allie on 10-12-2008 at 6:51 pm
3. Definitely Ecto-cooler, I still look for it although I know I’ll never find it. Also, Calgon used to make a water lillies body spray that I loved.
And like many others, there’s plenty of stuff that I know is still around but cannot find in Boston (the watermelon laffy taffy with the seeds, diet mountain dew code red…)
posted by linda on 10-12-2008 at 11:09 pm
I read fairly fast, but two come to mind - my twin sister handed me Into Thin Air at about 11:00 p.m. one night and I stayed up to finish it. Much more recently, I read Pillars of the Earth in one sitting - it took several hours, even for me - it was a great book but nearly 1,000 pages long. How did I end up where I am? Completely at random. I worked the night shift in a hotel in Fairfax, VA (where I am originally from) when I was 18 and the place got bought out by a management company based near Asheville, NC. The transition team they sent couldn’t stop raving about it. I was planning to go back to college anyway, so I applied to UNC-A. However, my dad had just finished a joint project with some professors from UNC-G (Greensboro) and said since one should always have choices, I should apply there, too. I did. For some reason, UNC-A never sent me an application, but UNC-G did, and I got in, so I went there. After graduation, I couldn’t get a job in GSO, so I moved back to metro DC, but always wanted to go back. 3 years ago, I decided to make the move, but there were no good jobs in GSO, so I ended up in Charlotte, NC. I like it here, but when I was 17, I’d have never even thought I’d go to school in NC, much less end up living there for years by choice.
posted by kary on 10-12-2008 at 11:22 pm
Well, I hope someone reads this actually. Well I was born in Fort Hood, TX….lived in Kileen TX (spelling?) live there till i was almost two, then move to El Paso, IL (yes there is an el paso outside of texas), then moved to minonk, IL, then back to el paso, Il, then to Peoria, IL, then to Le Roy, IL….college in Charleston, IL ( go Tony Romo, he was in my class!!), then to Bloomington, IL, where I reside today….crazinesss…..
posted by starla on 10-14-2008 at 5:18 am
1. Lots. I read really fast. Recently I read The Road in three hours… and went through and added quotation marks and apostrophes to the entire thing because I couldn’t stand it without them. Blasphemous, I know.
2. College, basically. Not sure if I’m permanently settled or not, though.
3. Excuse me? Pure American Sparkling Water? Are we talking like, the raspberry, strawberry, pomegranate cranberry - THOSE types of waters? Because I also love those from Walgreens and will be upset if mine no longer has them.
4. I don’t know that I would be good at it, but I’d like to play Press Your Luck just so I could yell, “No Whammies, no whammies…. STOP!”
posted by stacy on 10-15-2008 at 8:15 am