Sunday, January 24
A blast from another past (Or: The “Ask Mr. Smarty Competition” is open for business!)
Around the same time as the ‘Hollywood goes hockey-extravaganza’ went down, in the late 80’s and early 90’s, in Winnipeg, Canada, a young boy was sitting in his dad’s house in Haparanda, Sweden doing research and writing essays for his teacher. Not because he needed to, just because he wanted to. Looking back, one might think: “What a geek!”
Whenever I visited my dad we used to camp out up in the spare bedroom, which also doubled as a study, where there was/is a beautiful old wooden desk complete with stationery and bookshelves filled with books. My dad has an amazing collection of books about anything and everything; so we were never short for reference material.
For our research sessions we used to pick a subject, most of the time my dad would give me some pretty cool suggestions, and then we would get going! I would do all the writing and he would provide the books with all the facts, pictures etc. One of the topics that really stuck with me that have interested me ever since was ‘the mutiny on the Bounty’ when Fletcher Christian and his men took over the Bounty from the vicious and unfair commanding officer William Bligh and set sail for Pitcairn Island where they torched the ship and settled.
Other topics could include Sioux indians, pirates, the Easter island, airplanes and more. Clearly, not as glamorous as a celebrity hockey event, but being cooped up in the study together doing research and producing these reports was a great way of spending quality time with my dad. I wonder if those essays are still around somewhere? If they are, I would love to get my hands on them! My dad, by the way, is the 'book smartest' person I have ever met! Ask him something, anything, and you’ll be sure to get a detailed and accurate answer along with a ”…and by the way, did you also know…”!
Actually; let’s try it, here’s a challenge for all of you readers around the world: Ask my dad, Stefan, a question in the comments section and he’ll give you the answer. Go on; give this smarty a run for his money!
Rules: If anyone of you can stump my dad, you will win a fancy prize, however, if no one can stump dad, the prize and the glory is his! Closing date for questions and answers is Valentine's Day.
Dad: You didn't know about this competition until now, but get your thinking cap on!
The “Ask Mr. Smarty Competition” is open for business!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I remember when you wrote about the old Nikkala bridge here from 1772
ReplyDeleteWhy do frog's legs taste like chicken? :o)
ReplyDeleteGrgg. Some people say that wild caught frogs has more taste than farmed and that it is a young alligatortail and fishy taste of the meat, the bone has a fishy taste. If you fry them with spices they will take taste from the spices. Frogs and chicken have white meat, white meat tastes different than red.Frogs and chicken eat insects and worms, same food give the same taste.By the way, the chicken's closest dinosaur relative is the T-Rex.Octopus tastes like porc. Why? We have a limited list of tastes to relate to, I can't compare a taste with something I haven't eaten.
ReplyDeleteManatees, white meat or dark meat?
ReplyDeleteWhy do dogs circle two times before they will lay down??
ReplyDeleteWhy do guys in rugby uniforms look so good? :o)
ReplyDeleteOn what day was the World Series canceled because of a strike?
ReplyDeleteSangerknaben, Manatees are elephantrelatives, so red meat.
ReplyDeleteChaos, it is a heritage from their wild ancestors, they want to have a more comfortable place to sleep, my own dog, a Sheltie never does that.
Grgg, it is in the eyes of the beholder, I think the ugly guys play bowling instead.
Mustang, September 14 1994
Hmm, I'm not so sure you should get points for that one - "eyes of the beholder" is an easy way out, especially when I think there's a general consensus!! ;o)
ReplyDeleteOk I got ya this time...
ReplyDeleteWhen using Relapse Prevention Therapy, a method (hint: method developed by Terrance Gorski), what aspect of the patient's addiction is worked with the most? :o)
Grgg, I am almost inclined to agree. Funny, and also correct answer ad beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, but there must be an alternative scientific explanation to this supposed phenomenon. Is it caused by a special rugby-DNA-string?
ReplyDeleteGrgg,it is difficult for me say why men in rugby uniforms look good, rugby isn't played in Sweden, but generally speaking, everybody looks good in a uniform. I have mostly seen rugbyplayers after the match has started, and they are very muddy. The muddier, the better, then you have done a good match, no mud, on the bench. The answer is, they look good because of the mud
ReplyDeleteCongrats,got them both right.I'm impressed.LOL my dog is to lazy to circle. http://chaos-this.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteHey dad, how did the rich people wash themselves in the 1700th century?
ReplyDeleteAbout the question about Relapse Prevention Therapy, I am sorry to say I'm not a doctor, I can't answer that kind of specialized medical questions
ReplyDeletePicachu, they didn't wash themselves, they used perfume to cover the smell of dirt
ReplyDeletefair enough stefan, even though it's not medical... :o)
ReplyDeleteGrgg: Well played! Seems you stumped Mr. Smarty! Double or nothing?
ReplyDeleteThe answer was "warning signs" - Relapse Prevention Therapy spends a good part of time working on discovering, analyzing and setting up a strategy for dealing with the clients most typical warning signs, so that the client's chances of "surviving" the warning signs in the future will be easier in the future.
ReplyDeleteNext question: What do the most recent additions to Danish Law about sick leave the individual counties more possibilities for?
Dang I feel so unfair and naughty asking such specialized questions, but Mr. Smarty seems impossible to stump otherwise :o)
Grgg. Thanks for the information, I'm sure it is very interesting for Alcohol Therapists and Socialworkers and to the next question, tell me one reason why I shall know anything about Danish Law? I live 100 km South of the Arctic Circle, I have visited Denmark once 1973.
ReplyDeleteAbout the last question about Danish Law, my English might be limited, I don't understand the question.
ReplyDeleteOk, I think we have established that Danish legislation and rehab are not areas where Mr. Smarty has spearhead knowledge and that the animal kingdom and even the world of sports are areas where he is hard to beat. Interesting! ;)
ReplyDeleteAllow me to post a question please! ^-^
ReplyDeleteIf a picture is worth a thousand words, and a silence is worth a thousand pictures, then how many words is a thousand and ONE silences worth?
Thanks!
one thousand one million words
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't sound right? Is that the correct answer?
ReplyDeletewhich sport dont allowed using right hand?
ReplyDeleteLOL
joegrimjow. Soccer!
ReplyDeleteWell, at least I know you're not using the internet :o)
ReplyDeleteWhere do the Cajun people originate from? (Cajuns, as in the french-speaking people of Louisiana - and the answer isn't France :o) )
Nova Scotia, Canada
ReplyDeletegrgg, you say on your blog that you know everything, I shall ask you a question,
ReplyDeletewho was Bronislaw Malinowski?
Good one Stefan - and did you also know that the word "Cajun" comes from the local pronounciation for "Acadian" - the name of the french settlers from the Nova Scotia region (I'm an acadian from New Brunswick :o) )?
ReplyDeleteBronislaw Malinowski was a polish ethnographer from around the turn of the century. He's from Krakow and studied at the Jagiellonian university (I used to study there, that's how I know - we covered him in history class). Did work in New Guinea, right?
Oh, and one thousand one million words IS the right answer :o) Also known as 1,001,000,000, or one billion, one million words :o)
ReplyDeleteYes, I know about Acadia, and thanks for the right answer about the words. Malinowski lived in the Trobriand Islands near New Guinea 1915-18, the islands is also called the love islands because of their sexhabits. Maybe you know about the Fortin Coast in East Canada? It was named after my Grand Son Ethan's ancestor who came there from France in the 1600 hundreds.
ReplyDeleteJulien Fortin? :o)
ReplyDeleteThat's Cap Tourmente today, right? I've heard about it, but I haven't had the pleasure of visiting
My grandmother always told me that we were decedents of the first baby born in Acadia - I've always been a skeptic - "il y a plus d'un âne qui s'appelle Martin"...
Julien Fortin, yes. I don't know the name today, but you are probaly right. The most famous Fortin today is Madonna.
ReplyDeleteOk, Madonna trumps "first baby born in Acadia" :o)
ReplyDeleteAndre' Lasnier 1632 right?
ReplyDeleteThis is about my question:
ReplyDeleteOne Thousand and One Million is NOT the correct answer! =D
Thanks for trying though
Sweet funshine, what is the correct answer?
ReplyDeleteThe correct answer is:...
ReplyDeleteNONE! =D
Am I an evil person?
The trick is that I never said how many words one silence is worth. They can both mean a number of pictures, but they DON'T have to be worth each other.
So officially, that amount of silences will contain no words!
However, mathematically speaking, Mr.Smarty was correct ^-^
ooooh, you bad!
ReplyDeleteWith the internet its impossible to stump anyone, i think.......... Here is my question. Who fronted the hardcore punk band tree?
ReplyDeleteYou got me there, but a guess is Black Flag.
ReplyDeleteWho wrote the manga One Piece?
ReplyDeleteWhat is the japanese name for death god?
ReplyDeletePikachu, the author is Eiichiro Oda and the Death God is shinogami
ReplyDeletenope
ReplyDeleteStarts with one, OK, I haven't a clue
ReplyDeletesweet do i win?
ReplyDeletestarts with one: Nice try, and thank you for playing! However; Grgg stumped Mr. Smarty before you, I'm afraid. Maybe, we can turn this into a stumping competition where the person with the most amount of stumps come Valentine's Day, wins? How about that? Stump away! :)
ReplyDeletestupid me i missed that. ok how bout this.... Whats the definition of a transverse mounted engine?
ReplyDeleteA transverse mounted engine, the crankshaft is oriented side to side. Sw. crankshaft=vevaxel
ReplyDeletewho invented the kickflip (a skateboard trick)?
ReplyDeleteKickflip, Rodeny Mullen
ReplyDeletewho started volcom clothing? Two people
ReplyDeleteRichard Woolcott and Tucker Hall
ReplyDeleteBY the way speaking of Madonna and the Fortin family , her mother was a relative from the family. She was born in the same town as Shaena's grandpa and is a cousin..just not sure whether she was second or thrid so we are related to Madonna.
ReplyDeleteMy question is who is the most famous Michelle Harrison?
A big fat Indian and a small thin Indian were sitting outside a teepee, each smoking a pipe. The little Indian was the son of the big Indian, but the big Indian was not the little Indian’s father. How come?
ReplyDeleteNo doubt, it is you.
ReplyDeleteIn what movie starred Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Antonio Banderas and Christian Slater together?
ReplyDeleteAnd which one of them were human in the movie?
She was his Mother
ReplyDeleteThe movie, Interwiew with a vampire:The vampire's chronicle. Christian Slater is human
ReplyDeletewhat band from Orange County, California covered the rolling stones song "under my thumb"?
ReplyDeleteSocial Distortion. I really didn't know this without googling.
ReplyDeleteI think that most of the questions are very Northamerican, try to answer this question, it is probably as impossible for you as a local punk question is for me. I which village in North Sweden is Mats Sundin's Summerhouse? His Mother was born there.
ReplyDeleteright, but they are not a local band. they are pretty big. Stolkhome? excuse spelling. I dont know. i googled the hell out of it and couldnt find it. I did know he is a hockey player.....but jeeeeez a small village in sweden!
ReplyDeleteThe answer is Kainulasjärvi, about 150 km from here, in the Torne Valley. Not many Swedes know that. Peak Performance is a very big clothe brand here, probably unknown in USA, I just give examples.
ReplyDeleteI think Mr. Smarty has a point here. We have to keep this competition on a fair level where everyone should at least have a reasonable chance of knowing the answer. Both of these questions, "Band from O.C" and "Small village in Sweden" are too narrow for a stumping on a global scale like this! ;) Keep it clean guys!
ReplyDeleteThe Stumping-Commissioner has spoken! :)
Peter
how many chucks would a woodchuck chuck if the woodchuck was chuck norris?
ReplyDeleteI chuck it!
ReplyDelete