The World is a Strange Place / Heavy or Light?

During a grocery shopping trip with the roommates this weekend (even though they live in the same apartment as me, it seems like we only see each other when we need to buy food - we have some serious hanging out to do over Spring Break), we played an impromptu game: "The World is a Strange Place." The rules are simple - point out some example of the strange nature of this world. It's all about the subtle things.

I started. "The World is a Strange Place. In between a McDonalds, a Dairy Queen, and a nail salon is a place where you can buy home-owner's insurance. That's strange."

"The World is a Strange Place. If you buy a box of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, you get a coupon for two-for-one haircuts at Great Clips. That's strange."

"The World is a Strange Place. 'Pepsi Natural' is a real product that's really for sale. That's strange."

"The World is a Strange Place. I saw two different packs of Lightsaber-shaped Nintendo DS styli. Not two different Lightsaber styli - two entirely different packs featuring different sizes and designs. That's strange."

These weren't all of the examples, but they are the ones I remember; the ones that leap most readily to mind. What does it say about the world that all of these cases prominently feature brand names? Or, maybe, about me?

* * *

Okay, double post tonight, 'cause I've been reminded of another game I recently played with the roomies, and I was surprised to learn they'd never played it. If you haven't heard about this one yet, it's time to get excited. It's time to learn about America's fastest growing game!

Heavy or Light?

Here's how it works: Pick an object. It needs to be an obeject near you, something you could physically lift. Then ask another player if they they think that object is "Heavy or Light?" For what it is.

That player will then guess that the object is "Heavy" for what it is, or "Light" for what it is. You must then lift the object and judge it as either heavy or light, for what it is.

Here's a real-life example. I pointed to a jar of peanut butter and asked, "Heavy or Light? for what it is?" One of the roommates guessed, after several minutes of rules clarification, "Light." Too bad. For a jar of peanut butter, it was heavy.

We moved on. "This fork," I said. "For what it is, Heavy or Light?"

"Heavy?"

I slowly wrapped my fingers around the fork, feeling its mass weigh down on me, a smile crossing my face. "Heavy," I said. "For what it is."