Yahoo! Answers

Photo by Jeff Sandquist

This past weekend, I attempted to participate in a mass water gun fight scheduled to go down in New York City’s Union Square. The event, which was doused at the last minute, was planned in conjunction with the upcoming Street Wars live RPG game, but apparently wasn’t authorized by the NYC Parks Department.

Despite being touted on a number of blogs and announced on the front page of last week’s Time Out NY (the uber-guide to what’s what in the city), the police decided (for reasons unknown) that the flashmob event had to be squelched. The one lone rebel who decided to ignore the warning and squirt her weapon was promptly arrested and taken away, much to the shock and anger of those of us standing around, water pistols hanging limply by our sides.

Now, flashmob scenes like this are not new to NYC. A few months ago I took part in a mass pillow fight in the very same park, and Improv Everywhere has been responsible for all kinds of notable public “scenes” in locations throughout the city. These seemingly spontaneous events can get a little wild and unruly, but they are basically goodhearted, creative, and plain old-fashioned fun.

I understand that the water gun fight wasn’t officially sanctioned by the city and granted, it was a busy day in Union Square with the weekly farmers market and art fair in full swing, but we’re talking water here. What harm could we have done? Did the city really need to shut us down and actually arrest those brave enough to shoot?

I’m curious about what other people think. Was the NYC Parks Department justified in drying up the Union Square water gun fight, or should the kids (and kids-at-heart) be free to squirt?

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Hey Guys,

The other day I saw a commercial with a voice I recognized but couldn’t quite place. It drove me nuts for a few hours until, suddenly, it hit me like a ton of bricks: Robert Redford.

The ad is for United Airlines, and, of course it isn’t the first to feature a familiar voice. In the past, I’ve noticed Tom Selleck gushing about orange juice, Joe Mantegna hocking luxury sedans, and David Hyde Pierce selling ice tea. I took a look through Yahoo! Answers and found many community members are just as interested in identifying the disembodied voices as I am. Here are a few examples…

Who did the voiceover for the “beef, it’s what’s for dinner” commercial?

The honor belongs to the one and only Sam Elliott. A character actor extraordinaire, Mr. Elliot is well known for his distinctively deep drawl. He also grows one heckuva mustache.

Who does the voice of the lizard in the Geico commercial?

English actor Jake Wood gives the gecko its cockney accent, according to regankc. Interestingly, he wasn’t the original voice. Kelsey Grammer of “Frasier” fame was the original insurance spokes-lizard.

Who does the voiceover for the Budweiser commercial?

Like the one with Robert Redford, the first time I heard this it drove me bananas. It wasn’t until a week or so later when I was watching “Ocean’s Eleven” that I figured it out. George Clooney. I should have just checked Yahoo! Answers.

Who does the voice on the new Chevron commercial?

It has a gravelly tone, authoritative, but not threatening. It’s familiar, but not too familiar. The answer is (drum roll please) Campbell Scott. The indie actor is probably best known for his work in “Singles” and “The Spanish Prisoner.”

Got any other mysterious voices driving your crazy? Leave a note below and maybe we can help you figure it out. Though, keep in mind, the companies in question probably don’t want you to know who they are. According to TIME, “voice-overs are most effective when people recognize the voice–but can’t quite put a name to it.”

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On a Friday night at a crowded club, I was doing the single girl thing — you know, drinking overpriced drinks and looking disaffected when a guy leaned over to me and said:

“Heeeey, is your shirt expensive? ‘Cuz you look so hot in it, I could totally rip it off of you right now. But I would totally replace it, if it’s not too expensive.”

I chuckled awkwardly, and then frantically looked for the exit sign.

Later that night, my friends and I had fun laughing about this frugal-minded Romeo. But we wondered: Why do men use these silly lines, and do they ever work? Most single women I know have endless stories about bad pickup lines that make us cringe and run for the door. These lukewarm icebreakers can run from the typically cheesy (”If I could rearrange the alphabet, I would put U and I together.”) to the creepy (”I’m new in town — can I have the directions to your apartment?”). It’s hard to imagine any woman falling for these come-hither tactics.

I’ll admit that approaching a stranger at a bar takes a lot of nerve — even women have trouble coming up with ways to start a conversation with men. But most women will agree that a clever come-on line is a big turn off and likely to backfire. A better approach might simply be a friendly smile or “hello” followed by genuine conversation.

Ladies, how are you likely to respond to an obvious pickup line, and what would you recommend as an alternative? Gentlemen, what do you think is the best way to approach women?

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Hey Guys,

Managing a ninth place fantasy baseball team is about as close as I’ll ever get to owning an actual sports franchise. Aside from my obvious lack of skill when it comes to trading and drafting players, the millions of bucks it takes to buy a team is enough to keep me in the bleachers. So, which professional sports franchise is worth the most money? (Or, in other words, which team am I least likely to own?)

I did some research and found a great list from Forbes. According to the financial experts, the title actually belongs to Homer Simpson’s favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys. That’s right, kids — the ‘Boys are worth an estimated $1.5 billion.

But, wait — does this list include soccer squads from across the Atlantic? I did some digging and found that, again according to Forbes, Manchester United is actually worth more than the mighty Cowboys. The Red Devils are worth an estimated 1.8 billion bucks.

As for the other major sports, the New York Knicks, despite their horrible on-court performance, are the NBA’s most valuable team. In baseball, the honor goes to the New York Yankees (congratulations, Mr. Steinbrenner), and in hockey, the Toronto Maple Leafs boast the highest value ($413 million).

So, that’s the scoop on professional sports. Is there anyway to tell which college sports team is worth the most money? Notre Dame’s football team? Duke’s basketball team? Erie Community College’s bowling team? Do some research and leave me a note below!

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Hey Guys,

Summer vacation is one of the greatest perks of being a kid. Working chumps would gladly trade their corner cubicles for three months of freedom. And yet, as great as the summer vacation is, some kids don’t get to experience them.

Year-round schools are often touted as being more efficient and better for learning. It seems like they’ve been around a while, but I wondered how many American kids are actually enrolled in this system. Finding the answer took some work.

My first stop was the Department of Education’s official site. There, I was able to locate some statistics on overall student enrollment but nothing specific to kids in year-round schools.

After several dead ends, I came across the National Association For Year-Round Education (NAYRE). The site offers a slew of statistics, including a chart on how many students go to school throughout the year.

According to NAYRE, a total of 2,764 public schools use year-round education programs. This translates to a student enrollment of roughly two million. California, by far, has the most schools with year-long enrollment with 1,322. Hawaii is next with 296.

So, about two million kids go to school all-year round. What percentage is this of the total student population? According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are 49.8 million kids in public elementary and secondary schools. That means around 4% of publicly educated kids go to school all year long. Meanwhile, 96% of kids still run wild from June through August.

What are your thoughts on year-round education? Do you feel a summer vacation is a sacred thing for kids? Would you rather see your children stay on the education track all year and have several smaller vacations instead? Raise your hand and leave a comment below!

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