Tuesday 19 June 2007

Why I'm Smarter than 220 UK University Graduates

I had a massive victory on Friday night. On the train home, I got a text from 82ASK, the text service where you can ask questions for £1 a pop and they'll answer it. Its excellent for settling pub arguments.

Anyways, the text I received said "You used to text 82ASK and now, nothing. As we don't hold grudges here's a free question for you to use tonight. Ask us about music, sport, anything."

My question was "why did you answer my last question incorrectly?"

They had records of my last question, which was "what is the only question which is its own answer?" Their answer was "What?" They said as much, and said "If you feel we have got it wrong, why not venture your solution? No charge."

My response was that "what is the only question which is its own answer?" is the answer to "what is the only question which is its own answer?"

No response from 82ASK for three hours (and six pints). So I texted again. "I assume from your silence that I am correct. What now? Do I win money or anything?"

Their response was "Your riddle is correct. The original answer was to a similar riddle. We have aded a free credit to your account. Thank you for the brainteaser."

So there you have it. An admission of error from 82ASK (which is staffed by 220 uni graduates from the UK, not some call centre in Inner Mongolia).

I basked in the glory of this relatively small victory (although its scale was amplified by alcohol) and will give careful consideration to my next free question. Any suggestions?

It's actually a really good idea for a business - they must make a bucketload.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

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