I have a couple of party tricks that I break out when I'm meeting people in a big group. Sometimes I tell the joke my brother, Billy, taught me:
Q: What did the Budhist say to the hot dog vendor?
A; Can you make me One with everything?
Sometimes, if I'm at a dinner, I teach people this trick involving two wine corks that my buddy, Spaly, taught me. You pass corks from one hand to the other without letting go of them. It's harder than it sounds. [Below is a shot of Lisa teaching her mom the trick]
I have a few other little ice breakers, but I can only bust out my favorite one every so often, because it requires a specific situation: The person has to be from Somerville, Massachusetts. If you're at a bar, a business dinner, a friend's party, whatever, and you're introduced to someone from the quaint town of Somerville, ask them the following question:
What grade do you teach?
Invariably their response will be something like, "3rd grade, wait... How did you know I was a teacher?!" In the off chance that they say they don't teach, ask them if their parents or roommates do. It's the weirdest thing, and I'm telling you it works every time. Somerville is only 4 square miles, and with ~20K residents per mile, it's the most densely populated town in New England. I'd argue that, of their 80K population, 50K are teachers, and the rest of the people are so surrounded by teachers that it consumes their life.
Give it a shot the next time the situation presents itself. If you really want to freak the person out, don't even tell them how you knew they were a teacher. Or make something up. Just say, "I could tell by the way you drink your drink. Only teachers hold a glass like that." Maybe I'm a jerk.
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