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Poll Results

All Previous Polls: 351-400

Poll 351: I had an argument with a friend at work the other day. Who was right?

Total votes: 2510

You: 1553 (61.9%)
The friend: 957 (38.1%)  

The Allosaurus received 28 hacked-in votes, despite not having any opinions worth mentioning during the argument in question.


Poll 352: Which river would you most like to cruise down?

Total votes: 2817

Nile: 531 (18.8%)
Amazon: 492 (17.5%)
Rhine: 398 (14.1%)
Mississippi: 311 (11.0%)  
Danube: 284 (10.1%)
Colorado: 235 (8.3%)
Yangtze: 155 (5.5%)
Volga: 90 (3.2%)
Tigris: 70 (2.5%)
Congo: 59 (2.1%)
Ganges: 58 (2.1%)
Murray: 56 (2.0%)
Mekong: 37 (1.3%)
Brahmaputra: 32 (1.1%)
Niger: 9 (0.3%)


Poll 353: When was the last time you wore a necktie?

Total votes: 3283

I'm wearing one now: 104 (3.2%)
Earlier today: 59 (1.8%)
Yesterday: 59 (1.8%)
Within the past week: 299 (9.1%)
A week to a month ago: 350 (10.7%)
1-6 months ago: 716 (21.8%)
6-12 months ago: 314 (9.6%)
More than a year ago: 739 (22.5%)
Not since I was at school: 177 (5.4%)
I've never worn a necktie: 466 (14.2%)  


Poll 354: Must you repeat everything I say?

Total votes: 3189

Must you repeat everything I say?: 990 (31.0%)  
Rabbit season!: 811 (25.4%)
No: 542 (17.0%)
Must I repeat everything you say?: 425 (13.3%)
Duck season!: 320 (10.0%)
Yes: 101 (3.2%)


Poll 355: What was the last situation in which you wore a necktie?

Total votes: 2642

A wedding: 342 (12.9%)
Work: 338 (12.8%)
I've never worn a necktie : 316 (12.0%)
School: 224 (8.5%)
A funeral: 216 (8.2%)
An interview: 204 (7.7%)
To church (not for a wedding or funeral): 198 (7.5%)
A formal dinner: 194 (7.3%)
As fancy dress: 159 (6.0%)
As an acting costume: 130 (4.9%)
As part of casual clothing: 117 (4.4%)
To bed: 69 (2.6%)
Part of a uniform unrelated to work/school: 68 (2.6%)  
A ball: 67 (2.5%)

One person nominated, "At an Iron Ring ceremony."

Another said, "In honour of the Shabbat."


Poll 356: Mobile phones are:

Total votes: 3766

Natural, highly useful, of course I have one: 1178 (31.3%)
Now common enough that I've succumbed and got one: 1035 (27.5%)
Fairly new inventions, useful in some circumstances: 754 (20.0%)
Evil, unnatural, magical witch-boxes of the Devil!: 365 (9.7%)
New technology that I don't need: 235 (6.2%)
Like breathing; how could anyone live without one?: 111 (2.9%)
A way of life; they're always been around, right?: 54 (1.4%)
Newfangled doohickeys; I'm still not sure how they work: 34 (0.9%)  


Poll 357: Which will be last?

Total votes: 3681

The chicken: 2397 (65.1%)  
The egg: 1284 (34.9%)


Poll 358: What proportion of English sentences that are being said this week have been said, word for word, previously in history?

Total votes: 3628

0-10%: 207 (5.7%)
10-20%: 213 (5.9%)
20-30%: 242 (6.7%)
30-40%: 259 (7.1%)
40-50%: 209 (5.8%)
50-60%: 254 (7.0%)
60-70%: 327 (9.0%)
70-80%: 452 (12.5%)
80-90%: 544 (15.0%)
90-100%: 921 (25.4%)  


Poll 359: Stickers on fruit:

Total votes: 3406

Bloody annoying: 2853 (83.8%)
An important brand identifier improving consumer awareness and enhancing the fruit-buying experience: 553 (16.2%)  

As one respondent pointed out, this is a classic case of a false dilemma. By not providing any option for "I don't really care", I've artificially polarised the responses. This is exactly the sort of thing politicians do, particularly with statements like, "If you're not with us, you're with the terrorists." Actually, no... you can still oppose what the politicians are saying without supporting the terrorists. Everyone should be aware of this.

And you thought this was a frivolous poll. You're being educated whether you like it or not.


Poll 360: What time do you usually eat your first meal of the day?

Total votes: 3238

00:00-02:00: 20 (0.6%)
02:00-04:00: 11 (0.3%)
04:00-05:00: 20 (0.6%)
05:00-06:00: 75 (2.3%)
06:00-06:30: 162 (5.0%)
06:30-07:00: 237 (7.3%)
07:00-07:30: 371 (11.5%)
07:30-08:00: 320 (9.9%)
08:00-08:30: 257 (7.9%)
08:30-09:00: 168 (5.2%)
09:00-09:30: 181 (5.6%)
09:30-10:00: 103 (3.2%)
10:00-11:00: 221 (6.8%)
11:00-12:00: 215 (6.6%)
12:00-13:00: 290 (9.0%)
13:00-14:00: 117 (3.6%)
14:00-16:00: 55 (1.7%)
16:00-18:00: 33 (1.0%)
18:00-20:00: 25 (0.8%)
20:00-22:00: 14 (0.4%)
22:00-24:00: 9 (0.3%)
It varies way too much: 334 (10.3%)  

This is almost a textbook example of a bimodal distribution, with a clump of people who have breakfast around 7am, and a clump of people who skip breakfast and don't eat anything until lunchtime..


Poll 361: Which word best describes your personality?

Total votes: 2850

Tangent: 537 (18.8%)
Prime Factor: 326 (11.4%)  
Identity: 311 (10.9%)
Empty Set: 202 (7.1%)
Argument: 200 (7.0%)
Remainder: 189 (6.6%)
Inverse: 173 (6.1%)
Exponent: 140 (4.9%)
Root: 131 (4.6%)
Modulus: 117 (4.1%)
Logarithm: 109 (3.8%)
Product: 104 (3.6%)
Sum: 83 (2.9%)
Denominator: 75 (2.6%)
Cosine: 64 (2.2%)
Quotient: 45 (1.6%)
Numerator: 44 (1.5%)


Poll 362: You toss a coin five times, and it comes up heads 5 times in a row. What is the chance the next toss will be tails?

Total votes: 3821

Exactly 50%: 3169 (82.9%)
Less than 50%: 459 (12.0%)  
More than 50%: 193 (5.1%)

I'm not going to discuss this poll here. I'll run a follow-up poll in a few days, after which I'll discuss the results of both of them together. Be patient. :-)


Poll 363: Best Doctor?

Total votes: 3254

Who?: 1463 (45.0%)
Tom Baker: 571 (17.5%)
David Tennant: 533 (16.4%)
Christopher Eccleston: 291 (8.9%)  
Sylvester McCoy: 161 (4.9%)
Peter Davison: 68 (2.1%)
Jon Pertwee: 60 (1.8%)
William Hartnell: 34 (1.0%)
Colin Baker: 32 (1.0%)
Patrick Troughton: 24 (0.7%)
Paul McGann: 17 (0.5%)


Poll 364: Coins, part 2: You toss a coin five times, and it comes up heads 5 times in a row. You don't know if the coin is fair or biased. What is the chance the next toss will be tails?

Total votes: 3785

Exactly 50%: 1830 (48.3%)
Less than 50%: 1602 (42.3%)  
More than 50%: 353 (9.3%)

So, compare to the results of poll #362, which asked exactly the same question, except without the italicised bit (above).

The point of this pair of polls was to see how different I could make the results of two polls that are essentially identical in what information they give you. I seem to have done fairly well. The addition of the italicised sentence, "You don't know if the coin is fair or biased," doesn't actually tell you anything new that the original question didn't tell you. Its presence does, however, change the perception of how many people see the question, as evidenced by the quite large difference in the results.

In the original question, where the possibility of a biased coin wasn't even mentioned, most of you (at least 82.9%) made the assumption that I was referring to a fair coin - in fact an ideal fair coin, one that has exactly a 50% chance on any given toss of landing on heads or tails. Given the phrasing of the question, that is indeed a reasonable assumption. Usually when one asks probability questions involving coins, there is an implicit (or explicit) assumption of fairness.

However, looking at it from a less ideal context, you might notice that I never specified explicitly that the coin was fair. That was of course deliberate. If it's not specified at all, you can either make the assumption that it's fair (as most of you did), or dig deeper and ask the question, "What if it isn't necessarily a fair coin?"

If you ask this question, you have to look at the information given in the question to try to determine how likely it is that the coin is indeed not fair. A reasonable assumption to begin with is that the coin might either be (a) fair, (b) biased towards tails, or (c) biased towards heads. Given that you know the outcome of five successive tosses, and they are all heads, it should be reasonably obvious (I hope) that it is more likely that the coin is biased towards heads than that it is biased towards tails. You can't figure out exactly how much more likely it is without making some further assumptions*, but the fact that it is any more likely at all is enough for us to work with.

[* You can use Bayesian probability analysis to come up with exact answers, if you make some assumption about the probability distributions of fair and biased coins or the distribution of results of coins. In fact several people did such an analysis and reported it on the forums or to me by e-mail. Their results differed, because their assumptions differed. But they all agreed that the next toss is more likely to be heads than tails.]

These chances of the coin being biased (rather than fair) may be quite small, but no matter how small they are, the fact that the coin is more likely to be biased towards heads than tails means that the next toss is necessarily more likely to be heads rather than tails. Again, you can't work out exactly how much more likely, but any amount at all is enough to make it so that the probability of the next toss showing heads is greater than 50%.

Up to 12% of you correctly followed this chain of argument the first time I asked the question. The second time I asked the question, I changed absolutely nothing about the events described, but I pointed out that you did not know something - something which you in fact also didn't know the first time I asked the question. In one sense, it was exactly the same question. In another sense, of course, I was subtly changing it by pointing out something that you really already knew, or were ignoring by making a different assumption.

With the new version of the question, around 42% of you recognised the implications of not knowing if the coin was fair or biased and made the argument above to select your answer. That's a 30% difference in answers, between what are - arguably - two instances of exactly the same question.

This is not to belittle the 48% of you who still thought the answer should be exactly 50%. Even when it's pointed out that you don't know whether a coin is fair or not, the best working assumption is that it most likely is. Five heads in a row is not terribly unusual for a fair coin, so it's not strong evidence that the coin is biased. The point of the chain of argument above is a fairly subtle one - that if the coin is biased, it's more likely to be biased towards heads than towards tails.

The point of all this is not to examine coin tossing probabilities, but how the way we think about things differs depending on what we think we know about a situation. In both these questions, you didn't know if the coin might be biased or not. The first time around, most of you assumed it was a fair coin, despite that not being stated, because that's what you've been led to expect by your prior experience. The second time, all I did was point out some lack of information. That made many of you question your prior assumptions and think through the question more deeply.

Think about that next time you are asked to make an estimate of what the result of some course of action (by yourself, a relative, a friend, or some political leader) might be.


Poll 365: Do you wear corrective lenses?

Total votes: 4074

Glasses for shortsightedness: 1583 (38.9%)
No, my sight is fine: 1117 (27.4%)
Contact lenses for shortsightedness: 335 (8.2%)
Glasses for astigmatism: 211 (5.2%)
Glasses for longsightedness: 192 (4.7%)
Glasses, but I don't know what for: 160 (3.9%)
No, I should, but I hate them: 159 (3.9%)
A monocle: 126 (3.1%)
Bifocals: 91 (2.2%)
Contact lenses for longsightedness: 29 (0.7%)
Contacts, but I don't know what for: 27 (0.7%)
No, my sight is so impaired it would be silly: 25 (0.6%)  
Trifocals: 19 (0.5%)

About a dozen people wrote to say that they used to, but have had laser corrective surgery, so no longer need to. :-)


Poll 366: Is the customer always right?

Total votes: 3609

Heck no.: 3248 (90.0%)
Yes. Always.: 361 (10.0%)  


Poll 367: Pick a flavour!

Total votes: 3468

Chocolate: 685 (19.8%)
All of the above!: 572 (16.5%)  
Vanilla: 338 (9.7%)
Cinnamon: 328 (9.5%)
Garlic: 324 (9.3%)
Raspberry: 312 (9.0%)
Lemon: 255 (7.4%)
Peppermint: 222 (6.4%)
Barbecue: 141 (4.1%)
Cheese: 141 (4.1%)
Chili: 116 (3.3%)
Tomato: 34 (1.0%)


Poll 368: Which moon looks the right way up to you?

Total votes: 4891

Moon A: 310 (6.3%)
Moon B: 453 (9.3%)
Moon C: 506 (10.3%)
Moon D: 909 (18.6%)
Moon E: 322 (6.6%)
Moon F: 133 (2.7%)
Moon G: 191 (3.9%)
Moon H: 179 (3.7%)
Moon I: 140 (2.9%)
Moon J: 215 (4.4%)
Moon K: 123 (2.5%)
Moon L: 130 (2.7%)
I don't really know: 843 (17.2%)
They all look equally right: 437 (8.9%)  

The idea of this was to see what way up people normally see the moon. This depends on where you live, and whether you tend to see the full moon more just after it rises around sunset, or just before it sets in the morning. The image is a photo I took of the moon myself, which I rotated to various positions. The original unrotated photo is moon A. That's what the moon looks like from where I live, at latitude 34° south, around 9:30 pm.


Poll 369: When was the last time you rode in the back seat of a car?

Total votes: 3376

2 to 7 days ago: 821 (24.3%)
2 to 4 weeks ago: 701 (20.8%)
1 to 3 months ago: 511 (15.1%)
Yesterday: 493 (14.6%)
Today!: 288 (8.5%)
4 to 6 months ago: 189 (5.6%)
6 to 12 months ago: 149 (4.4%)
1 to 3 years ago: 128 (3.8%)
Over 3 years ago, but after I got my drivers' licence: 61 (1.8%)  
Not since I got my drivers' licence, over 3 years ago: 13 (0.4%)
Over 3 years ago, but I don't have a drivers' licence: 13 (0.4%)
I've never ridden in the back seat of a car: 9 (0.3%)


Poll 370: If I were to ask a serious question in a poll, how would you answer?

Total votes: 3959

Honestly, to the best of my ability: 1829 (46.2%)
I'm really not sure, I'd have to see the question: 1087 (27.5%)  
The Allosaurus: 909 (23.0%)
Deceitfully, in an attempt to be funny: 66 (1.7%)
Randomly: 49 (1.2%)
Deceitfully, in an attempt to mess up the results: 19 (0.5%)


Poll 371: Three polar bears versus a TIE fighter. Who would win?

Total votes: 3843

The TIE fighter: 2537 (66.0%)  
The bears: 1306 (34.0%)

There was quite a bit of interesting dicussion on this one, pondering questions like where is this battle taking place, does the TIE fighter actually include a pilot, is one of the bears a mother protecting her cubs, do the bears have armour, and so on. When someone pointed out that the most likely pilot of the TIE fighter would be a cloned stormtrooper, it became obvious (to me) that the bears can't possibly lose. I guess most people didn't think of that. But still, this came out closer than I expected.

This poll question was inspired, by the way, if you were wondering, by a conversation that arose naturally during a game of Blokus Trigon.


Poll 372: Best Shakespeare comedy?

Total votes: 2491

A Midsummer Night's Dream: 675 (27.1%)  
Much Ado About Nothing: 424 (17.0%)
The Taming of the Shrew: 370 (14.9%)
Twelfth Night: 261 (10.5%)
The Comedy of Errors: 158 (6.3%)
The Tempest: 148 (5.9%)
The Merchant of Venice: 126 (5.1%)
As You Like It: 108 (4.3%)
All's Well That Ends Well: 44 (1.8%)
Love's Labours Lost: 33 (1.3%)
Two Gentlemen of Verona: 32 (1.3%)
The Winter's Tale: 25 (1.0%)
The Merry Wives of Windsor: 22 (0.9%)
Measure for Measure: 20 (0.8%)
Troilus and Cressida: 17 (0.7%)
Cymbeline: 14 (0.6%)
Pericles, Prince of Tyre: 14 (0.6%)


Poll 373: Which fruit is most improved by being dried?

Total votes: 2461

Apricots: 516 (21.0%)
Grapes: 467 (19.0%)
Cranberries: 330 (13.4%)  
Bananas: 237 (9.6%)
Dates: 194 (7.9%)
Figs: 174 (7.1%)
Pineapple: 132 (5.4%)
Apples: 120 (4.9%)
Mango: 119 (4.8%)
Plums: 76 (3.1%)
Pawpaw: 47 (1.9%)
Peaches: 32 (1.3%)
Pears: 17 (0.7%)


Poll 374: How far do you live from where you were born (measured around the Earth, not through it)?

Total votes: 3714

Under 10 km (6 miles): 705 (19.0%)
10 to 20 km (6 to 12 miles): 356 (9.6%)
20 to 50 km (12 to 30 miles): 399 (10.7%)
50 to 100 km (30 to 62 miles): 299 (8.1%)
100 to 200 km (62 to 125 miles): 328 (8.8%)
200 to 500 km (125 to 310 miles): 455 (12.3%)
500 to 1000 km (310 to 620 miles): 315 (8.5%)
1000 to 2000 km (620 to 1250 miles): 298 (8.0%)
2000 to 5000 km (1250 to 3100 miles): 317 (8.5%)
5000 to 10000 km (3100 to 6200 miles): 122 (3.3%)  
Over 10000 km (6200 miles): 120 (3.2%)


Poll 375: Dungeons & Dragons, 4th Edition?

Total votes: 3549

No, I don't play roleplaying games: 1020 (28.7%)
I might get it some time: 754 (21.2%)
No, I use a different game system: 592 (16.7%)
No, I'm sticking with an older edition: 425 (12.0%)
Have it, but need to digest it first: 232 (6.5%)
Already got it! Already playing it!: 197 (5.6%)
I don't even know what you're talking about: 138 (3.9%)  
Will be buying it soon to play: 81 (2.3%)
Will be buying it to read/scavenge ideas: 61 (1.7%)
Have it, but for reading/scavenging ideas: 49 (1.4%)


Poll 376: Best Shakespeare tragedy?

Total votes: 2749

Macbeth: 809 (29.4%)
Hamlet: 674 (24.5%)
Romeo and Juliet: 418 (15.2%)
Othello: 270 (9.8%)
King Lear: 267 (9.7%)
Julius Caesar: 167 (6.1%)
Titus Andronicus: 98 (3.6%)
Antony and Cleopatra: 20 (0.7%)  
Coriolanus: 13 (0.5%)
Timon of Athens: 13 (0.5%)


Poll 377: How often do you use algebra?

Total votes: 3187

Almost every day, including weekends: 628 (19.7%)  
Almost every working day: 360 (11.3%)
A few times a week: 638 (20.0%)
About once a week: 201 (6.3%)
A few times a month: 315 (9.9%)
About once a month: 147 (4.6%)
A few times a year: 261 (8.2%)
About once a year: 44 (1.4%)
A few times since I left school: 237 (7.4%)
Once or twice since I left school: 107 (3.4%)
Never since I left school: 195 (6.1%)
I've never used algebra, ever: 54 (1.7%)


Poll 378: Do you/would you eat raw egg?

Total votes: 3548

Yes, I do, straight out of the shell with nothing else: 106 (3.0%)
Yes, I do, blended with other ingredients in a drink: 227 (6.4%)
Yes, I do, but only in food like home-made mousse or ice cream: 797 (22.5%)  
I don't, but sure, I'd try it straight, why not?: 353 (9.9%)
I don't, but I would if it was blended into a drink: 121 (3.4%)
I don't, but I would if it was an ingredient in food: 564 (15.9%)
No, I have a dietary objection to eating eggs at all: 66 (1.9%)
No, I am allergic to eggs: 35 (1.0%)
No way, that's just icky: 637 (18.0%)
No way, that's somewhat risky because of bacteria: 547 (15.4%)
No way! That's deadly dangerous!: 95 (2.7%)

Poll 379: Best pasta shape?

Total votes: 2669

Spaghetti: 411 (15.4%)  
Penne: 259 (9.7%)
Ravioli: 239 (9.0%)
Tortellini: 235 (8.8%)
Lasagne: 203 (7.6%)
Macaroni: 187 (7.0%)
Fusilli: 158 (5.9%)
Fettuccine: 140 (5.2%)
Gnocchi: 135 (5.1%)
Farfalle: 130 (4.9%)
Tagliatelle: 107 (4.0%)
Rotelle: 77 (2.9%)
Linguine: 67 (2.5%)
Ziti: 67 (2.5%)
Rigatoni: 65 (2.4%)
Vermicelli: 64 (2.4%)
Conchiglie: 48 (1.8%)
Orzo: 42 (1.6%)
Cannelloni: 35 (1.3%)

No love for cannelloni? A few people wrote to say that gnocchi isn't pasta, it's made of potatoes. But gnocchi actually refers to the shape - a small blobby dumpling - not the ingredients. Yes, gnocchi are usually made from potatoes, but you can also make them from flour like other pasta.


Poll 380: Have you ever contributed materially to a webcomic artist?

Total votes: 3112

A - I've bought one or more webcomic book collections: 456 (14.7%)  
B - I've bought other webcomic merchandise: 253 (8.1%)
C - I've donated money to a webcomic artist: 111 (3.6%)
D - I've donated goods/services to a webcomic artist: 28 (0.9%)
A and B: 320 (10.3%)
A and C: 103 (3.3%)
A and D: 18 (0.6%)
B and C: 55 (1.8%)
B and D: 5 (0.2%)
C and D: 10 (0.3%)
A, B, and C: 181 (5.8%)
A, B, and D: 12 (0.4%)
A, C, and D: 3 (0.1%)
B, C, and D: 1 (0.0%)
All of the above: 44 (1.4%)
No, I haven't: 1512 (48.6%)


Poll 381: Favourite spiky thing?

Total votes: 3347

Hedgehog: 963 (28.8%)
Triceratops: 575 (17.2%)
Caltrops: 428 (12.8%)
Roses: 382 (11.4%)
Cactus: 223 (6.7%)
Horned lizards: 172 (5.1%)  
Barbed wire: 146 (4.4%)
Sea urchin: 138 (4.1%)
Porcupine: 114 (3.4%)
Rail spike: 83 (2.5%)
Thumbtacks: 71 (2.1%)
Spurs: 37 (1.1%)
Burrs: 15 (0.4%)

A few people wanted to answer "echidnas", which was a serious oversight on my part.


Poll 382: If you met an exact copy of yourself (same memory, same personality), do you think you'd get along?

Total votes: 3575

We'd be good friends since we share a lot of interests, but not best friends: 697 (19.5%)
We'd be best buddies! We'd laugh at each other's jokes! It'd be the best possible friend ever!: 671 (18.8%)  
We'd find the situation a bit weird and mostly try to avoid one another: 593 (16.6%)
We'd drive each other completely nuts and have to avoid each other for our sanity: 399 (11.2%)
We'd find each other somewhat annoying, stealing punchlines, trying to one-up each other: 379 (10.6%)
We'd get along okay and be casual friends, but wouldn't hang out together very much: 343 (9.6%)
We'd become implacable enemies and do anything to bring the other down: 295 (8.3%)
We'd find each other very annoying and be actively hostile: 152 (4.3%)
We'd just be acquaintances and only go out with mutual friends: 46 (1.3%)


Poll 383: How often do you cook?

Total votes: 3145

Once or twice a week: 545 (17.3%)
I cook about one meal a day: 487 (15.5%)
3 or 4 times a week: 479 (15.2%)
A few times a month: 392 (12.5%)
5 or 6 times a week: 328 (10.4%)
Once in a blue moon: 279 (8.9%)
I cook roughly two meals a day: 221 (7.0%)  
A few times a year: 218 (6.9%)
Never: 88 (2.8%)
I cook three meals a day: 62 (2.0%)
My full-time job is cooking: 25 (0.8%)
I have a part-time job cooking: 21 (0.7%)


Poll 384: Have you ever had that dream where your teeth fall out?

Total votes: 2924

Uh... no...: 2202 (75.3%)
Yes! I have!: 722 (24.7%)  

I was interested in this because someone at work mentioned dreaming about their teeth falling out, and we were surprised to discover that all three of us present at the time had had the same dream at some point. After posting this as a poll question, I did a bit of Googling and discovered that this is actually one of the more common dreams amongst the population. As this result confirms.


Poll 385: Other than plane, how would you most like to travel the world?

Total votes: 3050

Train: 784 (25.7%)
Sailing ship: 739 (24.2%)
Balloon: 337 (11.0%)
Driving: 319 (10.5%)
Walking: 257 (8.4%)
Motorcycle: 256 (8.4%)
Bicycle: 153 (5.0%)
Horseback: 137 (4.5%)
Animal-drawn cart: 54 (1.8%)  
Bus: 14 (0.5%)

Yeah, I expected bus to come in dead last in this one. I left out zeppelin deliberately, as I wanted to restrict this to realistic possibilities.


Poll 386: Clowns.

Total votes: 3213

Hilarious: 55 (1.7%)
Funny: 122 (3.8%)
Amusing: 672 (20.9%)
Uninteresting: 583 (18.1%)  
Tedious: 640 (19.9%)
Disturbing: 841 (26.2%)
Scary: 128 (4.0%)
Terrifying: 172 (5.4%)


Poll 387: Best fruit-related exclamation?

Total votes: 2633

Peachy!: 1252 (47.6%)
Kumquredible!: 297 (11.3%)  
Bananatastic!: 247 (9.4%)
Guavellous!: 191 (7.3%)
Lemoniferous!: 155 (5.9%)
Mangonificent!: 131 (5.0%)
Strawberiffic!: 127 (4.8%)
Limazing!: 126 (4.8%)
Plumsational!: 107 (4.1%)

Someone hacked in "Applosaurus!"...


Poll 388: What do you think of mezzacotta?

Total votes: 3309

It's just a silly attempt to make money by selling Internet hype: 742 (22.4%)
It's a GREAT idea to make money by selling Internet hype: 741 (22.4%)
I have no idea whatsoever, but I can't wait to find out!: 577 (17.4%)
It's just a stupid joke site with no actual idea behind it: 422 (12.8%)
I'm really not sure; it might be good, or it might suck: 404 (12.2%)
It will probably be a decent site, but not worth that asking price: 189 (5.7%)
OMG! I totally need to buy this! I'm sending the money now!: 118 (3.6%)
It will be awesome and everyone will be kicking themselves they didn't buy it: 116 (3.5%)  


Poll 389: Do you ever lick food off a knife?

Total votes: 3353

Yes, occasionally: 1347 (40.2%)
Sure, all the time: 1048 (31.3%)
Only if doing something else would be more awkward: 355 (10.6%)  
Only when nobody is looking: 338 (10.1%)
No! That's dangerous!: 173 (5.2%)
No! That's disgusting!: 92 (2.7%)


Poll 390: What's worse?

Total votes: 3383

A really bad headache: 1879 (55.5%)
A really bad stomachache: 1504 (44.5%)  


Poll 391: Which current Olympic sport should not be?

Total votes: 3008

Aquatics, Synchronised Swimming: 530 (17.6%)  
Equestrian: 282 (9.4%)
Table Tennis: 258 (8.6%)
Volleyball, Beach: 244 (8.1%)
Football (i.e. soccer): 212 (7.0%)
Baseball: 153 (5.1%)
Badminton: 148 (4.9%)
Shooting: 131 (4.4%)
Gymnastics, Rhythmic: 128 (4.3%)
Gymnastics, Artistic: 114 (3.8%)
Handball: 95 (3.2%)
Softball: 92 (3.1%)
Weightlifting: 79 (2.6%)
Gymnastics, Trampoline: 75 (2.5%)
Boxing: 69 (2.3%)
Sailing: 58 (1.9%)
Basketball: 54 (1.8%)
Canoeing: 53 (1.8%)
Athletics: 50 (1.7%)
Wrestling: 32 (1.1%)
Taekwondo: 27 (0.9%)
Modern Pentathlon: 25 (0.8%)
Tennis: 23 (0.8%)
Hockey: 19 (0.6%)
Aquatics, Diving: 13 (0.4%)
Judo: 12 (0.4%)
Aquatics, Swimming: 7 (0.2%)
Volleyball: 7 (0.2%)
Fencing: 6 (0.2%)
Rowing: 6 (0.2%)
Archery: 4 (0.1%)
Triathlon: 2 (0.1%)


Poll 392: What bit of Australia would you most like to see?

Total votes: 4212

Great Barrier Reef: 1210 (28.7%)
Uluru (Ayer's Rock): 940 (22.3%)
Sydney: 668 (15.9%)
Tasmanian Wilderness: 367 (8.7%)  
Australian Alps: 156 (3.7%)
Melbourne: 156 (3.7%)
Great Ocean Road: 93 (2.2%)
Perth: 86 (2.0%)
Kakadu: 72 (1.7%)
Canberra: 64 (1.5%)
Far North Queensland: 61 (1.4%)
Adelaide: 58 (1.4%)
Simpson Desert: 56 (1.3%)
Brisbane: 52 (1.2%)
The Kimberley: 51 (1.2%)
Lake Eyre: 42 (1.0%)
Lord Howe Island: 42 (1.0%)
Nullarbor Plain: 38 (0.9%)


Poll 393: Vanilla ice cream goes best with:

Total votes: 2919

Apple pie/crumble/strudel: 667 (22.9%)
Chocolate cake/brownie: 493 (16.9%)
Chocolate sauce: 360 (12.3%)
Root beer: 271 (9.3%)
Chocolate: 140 (4.8%)
A waffle cone: 137 (4.7%)
Strawberries: 127 (4.4%)
Strawberry/raspberry/cherry sauce: 94 (3.2%)
Chocolate ice cream and strawberry ice cream: 81 (2.8%)  
Nothing! Yuk!: 73 (2.5%)
Cookies: 67 (2.3%)
Liqueur: 63 (2.2%)
Pancakes: 63 (2.2%)
Some other fizzy drink: 53 (1.8%)
Cherries: 50 (1.7%)
Iced coffee: 45 (1.5%)
Whipped cream: 39 (1.3%)
Peaches: 37 (1.3%)
Coloured sprinkles: 34 (1.2%)
Gelatin desserts: 15 (0.5%)
Custard: 10 (0.3%)


Poll 394: Who is the richest?

Total votes: 3328

Scrooge McDuck: 1101 (33.1%)
Jabba the Hutt: 449 (13.5%)
Bruce Wayne: 370 (11.1%)
Montgomery Burns: 268 (8.1%)
Tony Stark: 213 (6.4%)
Willy Wonka: 209 (6.3%)
Richie Rich: 183 (5.5%)
Artemis Fowl: 132 (4.0%)
Lex Luthor: 130 (3.9%)
Captain Nemo: 97 (2.9%)
Auric Goldfinger: 60 (1.8%)
Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks: 45 (1.4%)  
Jay Gatsby: 24 (0.7%)
Jed Clampett: 22 (0.7%)
Thurston Howell III: 15 (0.5%)
J.R. Ewing: 10 (0.3%)


Poll 395: Which would you rather be?

Total votes: 2392

Dead: 1615 (67.5%)
A zombie: 777 (32.5%)  

An interesting result. I expected more people to vote for zombie than dead, and when I polled a group of friends, they all agreed (except for one who said, "I'm going to say dead, but only to be contrary.") I think we all figured that people would tend not to take this poll too seriously and merely think that being a zombie would be kind of cool, and hey, anything has to be better than dead, right?

But I suspect what has happened is that most people have actually considered the question with some thought and realised that being a zombie, really, is not all that it's cracked up to be. Of course it depends on exactly what definition of "zombie" you use, but if we consider the classic "animated corpse" definition, then (a) you're dead anyway, and (b) it's rather undignified and not very conducive to being remembered fondly by your friends and relatives. So (in that case at least), you probably are better off being simply dead.


Poll 396: If you invited your future self to a party, and you refused, would you assume that you knew something that you didn't know?

Total votes: 3539

Yes: 2552 (72.1%)  
No: 987 (27.9%)


Poll 397: Which of these most deserves more taxpayer funding?

Total votes: 3028

Education: 1103 (36.4%)
Science: 507 (16.7%)
Health: 319 (10.5%)
Public Transport: 214 (7.1%)
Crime Prevention: 194 (6.4%)
Military: 187 (6.2%)
Environment: 158 (5.2%)
Urban Infrastructure: 95 (3.1%)  
Welfare: 88 (2.9%)
Arts and Culture: 80 (2.6%)
Rural Infrastructure: 46 (1.5%)
Housing: 22 (0.7%)
Business: 7 (0.2%)
Sport: 6 (0.2%)
Tourism: 2 (0.1%)

I deliberately didn't specify more than what. You could interpret this as "more than it gets now" or "more than any of the other options on the list". I'm guessing most of you took it the first way. It's also dependent on where you live, of course. And wow, I'm amazed that in a poll with this many responses, one of the options could only scrape up 2 votes.


Poll 398: Best mint?

Total votes: 3353

Peppermint: 1323 (39.5%)
Spearmint: 844 (25.2%)
Both equally good: 741 (22.1%)  
Both equally bad: 445 (13.3%)


Poll 399: Do you have a portable music player?

Total votes: 3767

Yes, a non-iPod brand digital music file player: 1254 (33.3%)
Yes, an iPod: 1198 (31.8%)
No, I don't want one: 508 (13.5%)
Yes, a portable CD player: 263 (7.0%)
No, but I want one: 209 (5.5%)
No! They're the work of the Devil!: 102 (2.7%)
Yes, a Sony Walkman: 63 (1.7%)
Yes, a transistor radio: 62 (1.6%)
Yes, a MiniDisc, DAT or other obscure format player: 45 (1.2%)  
Yes, a non-Sony brand cassette player: 37 (1.0%)
No, but I'll be getting one soon: 26 (0.7%)


Poll 400: How often do you normally use public transport?

Total votes: 3337

Rarely; less than once a month: 951 (28.5%)
Never: 547 (16.4%)
At least 5 days a week, often more: 291 (8.7%)
Once a month or so: 268 (8.0%)
Every day: 263 (7.9%)
Once every week or two: 254 (7.6%)
1 or 2 days a week: 232 (7.0%)
5 days a week, pretty much: 207 (6.2%)
3 or 4 days a week: 190 (5.7%)
At least 5 days a week, sometimes more: 134 (4.0%)  

One option it was remiss of me not to include, as evidenced by two comments I received, was "I work on public transport."


My comics: Irregular Webcomic! | Darths & Droids | Eavesdropper | Planet of Hats | The Dinosaur Whiteboard | mezzacotta
My blogs: dangermouse.net (daily updates) | 100 Proofs that the Earth is a Globe (science!) | Carpe DMM (long form posts) | Snot Block & Roll (food reviews)
More comics I host: The Prisoner of Monty Hall | Lightning Made of Owls | Square Root of Minus Garfield | iToons | Comments on a Postcard | Awkward Fumbles
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This work is copyright and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International Licence by David Morgan-Mar. dmm@irregularwebcomic.net