Smart Streak

Funny thing happened at work the other day. A group of us were sitting in the staff lounge having lunch, when someone turned on the t.v. and the game show “Cash Cab” came on. For those that don’t know, “Cash Cab” is a game show held in a New York City cab. Contestants (passengers) get asked trivia questions that earn them money. They basically play till they get to their destination and if they get three wrong answers before arriving, they get kicked off the cab.

So, anyway, the show comes on and a table full of guys, sitting closest to the tv was really getting into the show. I was half watching and half having a conversation with the two people I was eating with ... when I heard the question “what South American animal, that closely resembles the llama, is bred for its fur which is used to make sweaters, socks and coats?” and without really thinking I blurt out “alpacas”. The room is quiet and when the Cash Cab host says, “The answer is alpacas”, the guys yell out “You’re a genius!”.

The next question was “which Middle Eastern capital is declared by NATO as the most unsafe place to live and work?”. One of the guys yells “Iraq!”. To which I said, “Iraq’s capital is Baghdad.”. Honestly, I didn’t really know if the answer was Baghdad, I was just saying it is the capital of Iraq (and the question had asked for a Middle Eastern capital, not country). The host then says, “The answer is Baghdad” ... I swear they all looked at me like I was Albert Einstein.

Next question was “Who was the first of Henry VIII’s 6 wives?”. I didn’t really want to answer since I didn’t want them to think I was some know-it-all, so I didn’t say anything. But then one of the guys said to his friend “I’ll bet $5.00 Joanne knows the answer”. And he looks at me expectantly and I said “I think it's Catherine of Aragon” which turns out to be right. It was so funny how amazed they looked.

After that my “smart streak” ended because the next question was a Science one and had to do with acidic compounds - I didn’t know the answer to that (I can’t even remember the question). Good thing no one bet anything on my knowing that! Anyway, after that, I think they started thinking I was normal again and not some freakishly smart alien being! =)