I received 30 entries for this contest. One of those entries, from The Lovely Mrs. Davis, got all the statements right. One entry managed to get all the statements wrong. On average, people managed to get 3.2 statements correct.
Anyway, in you're interested, here's a little background on each of the statements. If not, feel free to skip down to the Song of the Day.
1. I once won a Kurt Cobain look-alike contest without any prep work whatsoever.
This statement was true. 63% of all entrants got this statement correct.
Right around the release of In Utero, a local bar was having a "Nirvana Night." There were four local punk bands on the bill, and each one played a Nirvana cover. Between the second and third bands' sets, the bar had a Kurt Cobain Look-Alike Contest, which basically consisted of the bar owner standing on stage, scanning the crowd, and pointing at me. To be fair, I did have a goatee and shoulder-length lime green hair at the time. But we didn't know about the contest ahead of time, so I wasn't intentionally trying to look like Cobain.
I won a gift certificate to a local record store (remember those?) and a used copy of Check Your Head (yeah, I never understood that either).
2. I was once contacted by Amnesty International, who thought I was a death row inmate.
This statement was true. 60% of all entrants got this statement correct.
A long, long time ago, when I was an angry young man, I published a monthly satirical 'zine online. I would run parodies of current events, etc. Think The Onion, only nowhere near as funny or well-written.
Back in 1998, there was a site, Our First Time, that was allegedly about two virgins planning on losing their virginity together, live on the web (it turned out to be a hoax). Well, I decided to parody this site. I copied the design, altered a few graphics, and launched My Last Time, a site about a death row inmate chronicling his last days on Earth and planning to broadcast his execution live on the web.
And a few days before his/my scheduled execution, I got an email from Amnesty International wanting to know if he/I needed any help filing any last-minute appeals. This is one of the reasons I shut down my site. Too many people were believing my stupid crap.
3. I was once an award-winning livestock judge.
This statement was true. 40% of all entrants got this statement correct.
Yeah, I was a major playa in 4-H. I got into livestock judging (sheep, cows, and pigs) and I was quite good at it. I won trophies and ribbons at various events. In fact, I think I could've won the World Livestock Olympics in Topeka, Kansas had it not been for that freak tractor accident.
Ok. I made that last sentence up. But I really did know my way around a sheep.
Wait. That didn't sound quite right.
4. I have written an eco-friendly children's book about a walrus that I'm currently shopping around to different publishers.
This statement was false. 33% of all entrants got this statement correct.
I don't think I have a book in me. Not even a children's book. Especially not one about a walrus. Besides, didn't you guys learn your lesson last April?
5. My very first job was cleaning out rat cages for a laboratory.
This statement was true. 77% of all entrants got this statement correct.
I was fifteen and wanted to start saving up for a car. I found this ultra-glamorous job. Truthfully, it wasn't as bad as it sounds.
Plus, if my kids ever complain to me on down the line about their "shitty" jobs, I'll be able to tell them what a real "shitty" job is like.
6. I once wrote a fake Canterbury Tale that became required reading at several high schools and colleges.
This statement was true. 10% of all entrants got this statement correct.
This kind of hurt my feelings. While 67% of you think I'm capable of writing a children's book, 90% of you feel there's no way I could write a fake Canterbury Tale that ended up being taught at high schools and colleges.
In college, I wrote a rhyming, 220-line Canterbury Tale. One month, while trying to think of an idea for my headline article for my 'zine, I came across my old Canterbury Tale. I published it, along with a backstory about how it was recently found in an old trunk and was set to be published.
And I'm really embarrassed to say how many teachers and professors bought it hook, line, and sinker.
They began assigning the Tale to be read in their classrooms. I was constantly receiving emails from students doing reports on it. Some people got the joke and invited me to speak at their colleges (which I turned down, due to my fear of public speaking). But far too many people thought it was the real deal.
I'm still a bit ashamed that I fooled so many people.
7. I own a first edition copy of The Catcher In The Rye.
This statement was false. 37% of all entrants got this statement correct.
I figured this lie would trip a lot of people up. I do own a well-thumbed hardback copy of Catcher, but it's not a first edition. I do, however, own first editions of several Vonnegut novels.
There you go! Hope you all enjoyed this contest as much as I did.
Song Of The Day
SciFi Dad is back with another selection. This time, he chooses a song that I actually had in my queue to publish later. Enjoy!A long time ago, grunge ruled the alt-rock scene. And then, a few bands from Manchester came about, the most commercially successful of which was Oasis. The Manchester sound is kind of like the soundtrack to my university years and The Stone Roses were my favourite Manchester band.
Song of the day: Love Spreads by Stone Roses
