1. With Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and MIchael Jackson passing away this week, I’ve heard dozens of references to the irrefutable “deaths happen in threes” rule. “Deaths ALWAYS happen in threes.” Really? The Wall Street Journal listed some examples last night:

• Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the “Big Bopper” all died together in a plane crash in 1959
• Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison all died in close succession in 1970-71
• In 2003, Johnny Cash, John Ritter, and Warren Zevon all died within the same week
• In 2005, King Fahd, Peter Jennings and Robin Cook died within a week of each other
• The following year brought the closely timed deaths of Don Knotts, Darren McGavin and Dennis Weaver
• Heath Ledger, Suzanne Pleshette and Brad Renfro all died within a week of each other in January 2008

OK, maybe not “ALWAYS.” For the myth of this theory to live on, there must be some better examples, right? I’ll add JFK, C.S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley, who all died November 22, 1963. Got any?

2. There wasn’t much interest in my Mo Willems quiz on Monday, but I did get a few emails from enthusiastic supporters of The Pigeon, Elephant Gerald, and Piggie. There must be a lot of smart parents in the audience – what are your favorite children’s books? My daughter and I have a library date this afternoon; maybe we’ll pick up a few of your suggestions. (She’s 11-months-old. So I guess I’m really looking for books her mother and I will enjoy.)

3. What is the best experience you ever had at a concert or sporting event?

4. Let’s pretend you’re the kind of person who would put your life on TV. What would be the name of your reality show?

1. I was just handed a memo that says mental_floss will have a table at Georgia’s Decatur Book Festival in September. We’ve had a good time meeting readers at festivals in the past, and we’d like to get to more of them. Any suggestions?

2. According to a 2005 survey commissioned by TiVo, here are the top TV dads of all time: 1. Cliff Huxtable (The Cosby Show); 2. Sheriff Andy Taylor (The Andy Griffith Show); 3. Pa Ingalls (Little House on the Prairie); 4. Howard Cunningham (Happy Days); 5. Ward Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver). Which TV, movie, or literature dads would get your vote?

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1. When we were in high school, my friend Matt Hall (you have to say his full name) worked in customer support for an internet service provider. He had some great stories about customers making demands and threats (”My computer’s speakers aren’t working! Come fix them or I’ll switch to AmericaOnline!” / “I can’t find the reset button. Can you just come show me?”) We’ve talked about bad customer service before, but today let’s chat about bad customers. What’s the most unreasonable consumer behavior you’ve witnessed? Two dozen stories from my years as an A&P cashier come to mind, but I’m saving them for my upcoming book, Two Dozen Stories From My Years As An A&P Cashier.

2. I really enjoyed Ethan’s piece this week on John Cazale. We’re going to be doing more stories on people you’ve probably heard of but don’t know much about – Lee Iacocca, Benjamin Harrison, the guy who invented Binaca, and so on. Who would you like to see featured?

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1. My Google ranking took a bit of a hit earlier this year when the Jacksonville Jaguars signed an undrafted free agent wide receiver named Jason English. Jason is actually my middle name, but I wouldn’t have a chance to crack the first page of a Google Search for ‘John English,’ what with the Rowan Atkinson movie and all. (And no, the movie didn’t inspire me to start going by my middle name.) Do you share a name with any notable, infamous or interesting people?

2. When people talk about career highlights, they often mention awards and great successes and that kind of thing. Perhaps because there’s plenty of room in my trophy case, I’d rather think about the little things – like at my first job in advertising, right after my department was swallowed up by a French company and the work took a turn for the soul-sucking, my art director partner and I started taking daily walks to get coffee to discuss the news of the day and complain about our co-workers. Then others started tagging along. By the end of that year, we had a regular entourage and added a cookie run to the itinerary. (Eventually we all found other jobs.) What are some of the little career highlights on your resume?

3. I was a history major. So was Larry David. And I’m sure there are lots of others out there, too. What was/is your major, and what famous people share it? (If the responses are interesting enough, I’ll have someone fact-check them and assemble a blog post. Fact-check the celebrities, that is. We won’t ask to see your transcripts.) Anyone with a truly bizarre major out there?

Thanks to everyone who suggested topics of discussion. Our photoshoot was a smashing success. I’ll save some of the questions I don’t use today for another afternoon when my personal errands can’t be rescheduled.

1. What, in retrospect, is the most dangerous thing that nearly happened to you? For example, Debbie Harry nearly accepted a lift home in Ted Bundy’s car. Shiver. [From Jen, The Alien Spouse.]

2. What is one weird/strange food that you always wished you’d have the guts to try? (maggot cheese, Menudo, Rocky Mountain oysters). [From Lore.]

3. Have you ever written a fan letter? To whom? Did you get a response? [From Marion.]

4. What is the most interesting interaction you have ever had with a homeless person? [From Witty Nickname.]

5. Online dating is fairly common and pretty well accepted as a norm – hence, match.com, chemistry.com, eharmony, etc. What horror stories or success have you experienced? [From Nikki.]

Jen, Lore, Marion, Witty Nickname & Nikki: If you email me your addresses (jason@mentalfloss.com), we’ll get your back issues in the mail on Monday. If you’re a subscriber, let me know when you started getting the mag so we don’t send you something you’ve already seen. Thanks again!

I have to run out for a couple hours to take care of some very important business (OK, my wife and I are bringing Charlotte to have a family portrait taken.) I haven’t gotten a chance to put together any good questions for today’s Friday Happy Hour, so I’m begging you guys for help. Leave your suggestions for questions in the comments and I’ll use five of them later this afternoon when I return. If I choose your question, we’ll send you a free back issue of mental_floss magazine, which was mentioned on The Today Show this morning (and therefore special).

If you’re new and don’t know what kinds of questions we’re looking for, here are a couple examples from past Happy Hours:

“What’s the creepiest thing you’ve found while snooping on someone?”

“What’s the crappiest car you’ve ever owned? Was it a clunker from the start, or did you simply drive it into the ground?”

“What’s the most intriguing VHS tape you still own?”

“What’s the most embarrassing poster to ever adorn your bedroom wall?”

Back in a bit!

[See all previous Friday Happy Hour transcripts.]

1. I’ve said a lot of crazy things while sleeping. On Monday night, my wife decided to write some of them down. Here are two of the subjects she claims I was talking about:

“We can all sing ‘9 to 5.’ And then we can just hum that last part where it goes, ‘hmmmm.’”

“I was playing croquet last weekend. And Robby, that little bastard, he beat me!”

I was not playing croquet last weekend. I don’t know who Robby is. And I don’t think there’s a part of “9 to 5″ that goes “hmmmm.” Rather than waste any time analyzing my 3am babbling, why don’t you tell us about crazy things you’ve said or done while sleeping? If nobody’s ever taken notes for you, you can share something you’ve witnessed.

2. When I’m forced to socialize with strangers for an extended period of time (weddings come to mind, or other parties with assigned seating), I like to ask how people spent their summers during college. So even though nobody’s forcing us to sit and chat right now, I’ll ask anyway – how’d you spend your summers in college? And if we have any college students in the audience right now, let us know what you’ve got on tap this summer.

3. Are there any foods you intentionally ruin before eating? Maybe “ruin” isn’t the right word, but I enjoy really soggy cereal. I’ll pour myself a bowl of Raisin Bran, splash on some milk, and stick it in the fridge to age to perfection (estimated time: 10 minutes).

4. About two years ago, one of our writers pitched the idea of a story about bizarrely named stretches of interstate. We could never come up with very many, but I’m not giving up. Are there any in your part of the world?

[See all previous Friday Happy Hour transcripts.]

1. I just learned that someone I went to school with has traded his job at a law firm for a new and different career – he’s now a pet psychic, with a pet psychic website and everything. I didn’t know him well enough to say whether he actually has magical powers, and he didn’t mention this in his ‘What I’ve Been Up To’ reunion bio a couple years back. Got any good stories about a seismic career change by a friend, former colleague, or yourself?

2. How would you fare as a pet psychic? What’s Bailey thinking?

3. We should probably devote a whole series of articles to this topic, but let’s talk briefly about tipping. The other night I got the look (you know, the “I can’t believe you’re not going to leave a tip you cheap bastard” look) at a Chinese restaurant while picking up my order. I spent many semesters as a delivery boy in college (and the year after college that has gone mysteriously missing from my resume), and I consider myself fairly liberal in the tipping arena. But I generally don’t tip for takeout. Or when the cable company screws up your installation and has to come out two separate times to fix it. But that’s another story. What’s the most unexpected place you’ve been hit up for a tip?

4. Let me end by wishing all of the moms out there a Happy Mothers’ Day (especially my mom, and my wife, who is being celebrated on this day for the first time this year). If you’re a mom, what was your most memorable Mothers’ Day?

1. Last night, I went to see Brian Regan at the Community Theater in Morristown, NJ. He puts on a great show. What strikes me about Regan is that he’s not more famous. When I heard Brian Regan Live in 1997, I would have bet my work-study paycheck that he’d get his own sitcom or HBO series – or at least not be playing Morristown on a Thursday twelve years later. Tell us someone who you think deserves to be more widely appreciated. (Comedians, authors, weathermen, etc.)

2. Let’s stick with the comedy theme. Who’s the best stand-up comedian you’ve ever seen live? If you’ve never seen anyone notable, who’s on your I-want-to-see-them list?

3. The other night I found an odd message inside my fortune cookie: “Money or Love? OR NEITHER?” (All caps.) On the other side of the slip, the fortune cookie copywriters helpfully informed me of the Chinese word for “milk.” What’s the strangest fortune cookie wisdom you’ve ever received?

4. After years of dedicated service, my wife and I recently canceled our Netflix account (and immediately reserved a dozen DVDs from our local library). What’s on your DVD rental list for May?

If you’re into the whole Twitter thing, you can follow the _floss.

1. Yesterday was Take Your Daughter (Or Son) To Work Day. Did any of you take your daughter (or son) to work? Did you ever go to work with one of your parents as part of a past installment of TYDTWD? How’d that go? Charlotte is a little young to fully appreciate the magic that happens in the mental_floss office. But she did enjoy her mom’s wrist support system during her last visit to her office.

2. Here’s one for political junkies. Which would you rather have on your resume: that you worked on the first season of The West Wing or, say, 24; or that you worked in the White House under either President Obama or President Reagan (depending on how you swing politically)?

3. Jason Plautz’s FreeCreditReport.com quiz yesterday managed to get that commercial jingle stuck in my head all day (”I was shopping for a new car, which one’s me: a new convertible or an SUV?”) It’s OK. I like that song. What commercials do you find particularly annoying right now?