Sunday, January 24, 2010

The Chris Butler Social Experiment Olympics

Chris, our hilarious phone conversation the other day inspired this post. Thanks for always trying to make me laugh.

The next time you are in a public place, try some of these "activities" or experiments.

1. The Door Run: In this experiment, hold a door for someone that is more than a few steps away.  The goal is to see if you can make them run to the door that you are holding open for them.  The further away they are when they start to run, the more points you get. Bonus points to anyone who can get someone to run through the door who didn't actually need to use the door.

2. The Awkward Half-Smile Stare: Try this experiment when you are walking down a hallway and spot someone you know (or don't know, it doesn't really matter).  Make eye contact with them as soon as you can.  Note, this experiment is a lot more effective if it is a long hallway.  Once you get their attention, proceed to show them a half-smile (no teeth). The goal is to get them to acknowledge your half-smile with one of their own. Distribute the points as you see fit.

3. Shooter: This is my personal favorite olympic event. This experiment would probably work best with someone that you know fairly well. The next time you pass them in an open space, pretend that you are shooting them with your fake gun hands. Sound effects are permitted. The distribution of points is as follows: 2 pts. if they do nothing but give you an awkward expression- hey, you tried.  5 pts. if they shoot you back- good job, you picked a good one.  10 pts. if they actually act like they are getting shot; bonus points if they fall on the ground- superb job, you picked a real weirdo.

Well that's it. Let me know the results of your experimenting. As the great scientist Bill Nye would say, "Science rules!"

2 comments:

  1. These all sound like marvelous experiments for the workplace! I like the idea of the door run best, even though I'm at a total loss as to technique.

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  2. These are perfect workplace experiments! I'm sure you could make Sharron run! All you do is hold the door open way before the person actually needs to enter. Keep me posted :)

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