Written Tom Chivers
Quora, the ‘online knowledge market’, has been running for nearly a year. We pick 10 of our favourite questions from the site.
Plato (left) and Aristotle. Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Photo: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
For those of you who don’t know, the idea behind Quora is that users ask questions, those questions are answered by other users, and, finally, those answers are assessed by other users. Its creators envisage it as a storing-house for all the world’s information and a generator and exchanging-point of knowledge.
And perhaps it is. But it is also a repository for odd questions. Here are our favourites:
1. How many different methods are there for tying your shoelaces?
Some people might think that one method would be enough. These people would not only be wrong, they would be catastrophically wrong. They would also show a serious lack of ambition. As user Hema Manickavasagam would tell them, there are at the very least 18 methods: “Ian Knot”, Ian’s Secure Knot, Standard Knot, Two Loop Knot, Two Stage Knot, Surgeon’s Knot, Turq. Turtle Knot, “Better Bow” Knot, “Freedom Knot”, Loop the Loop Knot, Double Knot, Double “Ian Knot”, Crossed “Ian Knot”, Mega “Ian Knot”, Halloween Knot, One Handed Knot, Reef Knot and the Better Bow Knot. Hema herself prefers the Better Bow Knot. Who the prolific knot-inventor Ian is remains unclear.
2. A seagull pooped on my face. What should I do?
“Catch the seagull. Punch it in the crotch. It’s the only way it will learn.” This is the new wave of human knowledge-sharing, right here. Interestingly it is a follow-up question to “I stepped in dog poop. What should I do?” and related to “Is there scientific basis for the position that a dog’s poop should be firm?” Clearly, “poop” is among the hottest of hot topics.
3. Who would win in a fight between Aristotle and Plato?
The author of this article did philosophy at university, and is appalled to realise that at no stage was this question ever addressed, let alone satisfactorily answered. Educational standards really have slipped. We’d pick Plato – all that stuff about military service and philosopher-soldiers makes him sound pretty hard. One killjoy user says “Neither. They’re both long dead.”
4. How many ping pong balls can fit into a 747?
This is genuinely interesting. Apparently, it’s a job interview question at places like Google. The question is fairly satisfactorily answered: “The 747-400 has a passenger volume of 876 cubic meters, plus a cargo volume of 159 cubic meters, for a total of 1035; the balls have a diameter of 40mm; this gives about 22,870,000 ping pong balls.” The answerer notes that the weight of this many balls would prevent the aeroplane from taking off.
However, the really interesting answer is not, in a sense, an answer at all. It comes from a fund manager who claims to have asked the question in interviews, and he says it’s not so much to demonstrate the ability to estimate the size of a 747 and divide it by the size of a ping-pong ball, but instead the ability to think laterally: “Candidates who would ask things like, “What about the space in the galleys – can I use the ovens?” or, “What about the fuel cells in the wings?” were the ones who were distinguished in my mind.”
Interestingly one of the related questions is “How can I order 10,000 ping pong balls direct from the manufacturer?“, suggesting that at least one person is going to attempt to put it into practice.
5. How many cans of beer can fit in an upside-down regulation frisbee, taking surface tension into account?
Five and a half. You’ve always wondered, now you know.
6. If aliens from outer space landed in San Francisco, what should be the first thing I do?
Why San Francisco? No idea. “Put down the bong”, one wag suggests unhelpfully. But someone has put some serious thought into it, and produced this majestic breakdown of what to do if you are humanity’s first contact with aliens. “Most historians and scientists agree this would be the most important moment in human history”, it says. “So, you’re going to be the most important person in history. Think bigger than Jesus.” On the downside, “You’ll probably be killed”.
7. What have been the most absolutely mortifying, horrendously awkward social moments for Quora users?
It’s your classic “tell us your embarrassing stories” angle, but it’s pretty funny. We particularly like the high-school boy who didn’t know why the girls in his class sat out swimming lessons for one week a month, the misunderstanding over the phrase “man beats off bear”, and the following: “On a conference call, using a wireless phone with headset. Head to the loo and urinate, forgetting to put the phone on mute. 100+ people on the call.”
8. Where is God?
Sure, lots of classic “God is everywhere and nowhere” stuff. But also, some good ones. “God is the tea in Russell’s teapot, the sauce in theFlying Spaghetti Monster” says one guy, who we think may be an atheist. And “I saw him having coffee at the Starbucks just 10 minutes ago. He was having a discussion with the Devil about the fate of humanity. He ordered his coffee black.”
10. • Am I an elitist to think that most people are stupid? Or am I just too smart?
Well, we’ve all thought that from time to time, haven’t we? Because, seriously, people are idiots. It’s somewhat frowned upon to say it out loud, though.
11. • What will happen if I ask a nonsense question on Quora?
Quora goes meta. It’d be nice if the answers were “A universe-ending paradox” or “you unlock Secret Quora and receive tribute from all users”, but actually someone just says “A Quora user will either attempt to salvage the question by editing it, ask you to edit it directly in a comment, or, if the question is entirely unsalvageable, delete the question.” Hey ho.
Bonus: Batman needs to toughen up
