No column this week—and here’s why: my daughter graduates from college today (and tomorrow, in a smaller ceremony for her journalism school) and I have too many ideas, and no idea at all, in the end, about what to say.
It may well be that Maggie Rose is entering the post-collegiate world just in time—if my writer’s block proves to be more than temporary, she can pick up the slack.
So, for those leery of devoting the two to three minutes that The Inside Edge usually demands, you’re in luck. Move on with your day!
This is especially true if you have zero interest in the polls that I drop into this column on occasion. Stop reading right here—just press “delete.” (Instructions below, in the accompanying video, if you need ’em.)
Still here?
OK, you may well be among those who have wondered, “What are the results of these poll questions that Matt asks from time to time?” Or maybe you’re just wondering where this non-column is going. Either way, let’s get into it:
From April 12, with “Five pictures, not quite 1,000 words,” I posed this query:
One reader took me up on the offer to be a smart aleck and self-identified as a Sanitary Door Opener salesman. If you need more context about the subject, simply click on the link in the preceding paragraph, which will bring you to that column. (You knew that already, right? Hardly anyone clicks on these links, so just checkin’.)
From the May 3 column, “Here’s the Non-Scoop,” (yes! another link!) I delved into artificial intelligence and offered two sets of one-liners to describe the below photo.
Here were those one-liners:
Group I:
Poop happens. Signs ignored.
Instructions unclear. Pile remains.
Bold move, mystery scofflaws.
Right under your nose.
Group II:
A doggone shame.
I guess nobody was watching.
Notice? Notice THIS!
Growl movement.
And here were the two poll questions, along with the results:
I was pleased to see that about two-thirds of those responding could identify my handiwork (Group II) vs. that of AI—and even more pleased that a similar majority preferred my writing.
From May 17’s column, `Your Friend on the Other Side’, there was this set of questions, along with your responses:
The next week, I turned to a lighter topic: “Pitching the Penny”:
…and asked: A penny for your thoughts: do you support or oppose their continued production?
Of the 13 who responded, 10 echoed my position and opposed their continued production. As for how many pennies folks have in their possession, who cares?1 I really don’t know why I asked that.
This is scintillating stuff, but there’s more! Check this out below, from May 31’s column, “Oh, Canada!”
Fun with numbers (at the pump)
On April 28th, I put gas in my car. I didn’t specify an amount in advance, but just let it go until the pump was done with its business. And this is where it stopped:
Wow! What are the odds?2
No, I’m not going to create a poll question here—we’ve already that done quite enough. But what do you think is the likelihood that the pump would randomly stop at that figure?
Ponder this: when’s the last time you saw 6.332 out in the wild? Pretty special moment.
You Couldn’t See This Coming
I read this music review last month and loved it so much that I just had to take its photo. Best line: “It’s amazing to think that his real name isn’t Engelbert Humperdinck.”
Engelbert is now an 89-year-old crooner, by the way.
And this is a pretty fantastic review—well done, Jim Summarla, wherever you are. For anyone having trouble reading the above image, I’d be glad to e-mail it to you…just drop me a line.
Oh, I guess you care, since you’re down here in the footnotes. Not one of those 13 respondents had no pennies, while three had 1-50, two had 51-100, four had 101-200 and another four had 201 or more. Happy now?
The odds are 1-in-100 that you’ll land precisely on a dollar figure. But you already knew that. Strangely, I’ve pumped gas hundreds of times in my life and I don’t recall this ever happening before. I was overdue!
What kind of car are you driving that six gallons is a fill-up? It's eight or nine on my Prius.