Why do baseball dugouts still use the old fashioned phones that have the ugly long cords that get tangled up, to call the bullpen to warm up a pitcher? Have they never heard of cordless phones?
With most airlines cutting back 15% of their flights, isn’t there a huge number of extra planes? Where are they?
Why does every retail and convenience store sell movies and a movie theatre doesn’t?
Whatever happened to the hit show Ally McBeal. They had 5 seasons, 112 episodes but the show seemed to end overnight and to my knowledge has never been in syndication. Why? Were they blackballed?
With most states going hands-free for cell phone usage, how long will it be before car rental companies offer a Bluetooth option for $15.00 a day?
- Do you have any thoughts as to what I am curious about?
- What are you curious about?
I look forward to reading your comments.
Paul Kirch says:
There are hundreds of shows you could have referenced, but you picked Ally McBeal?
Now I’m curious what made you think of that.
I never thought about the idea of theaters selling movies, but it seems a great retail opportunity. In fact, they could add those movie rental kiosks and rent them. When people returned, they might just decide to stay for another movie. As for the rental cars, I have no doubt that this will happen, but maybe even better would be hands free calling systems activated for an upgrade price. Markets that don’t allow calling from cell phones could charge a premium.
I’m still stuck on why you picked Ally McBeal, but I know someone who had a major crush on her and probably is still waiting for it to show up on cable, so now I know he’s not alone.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Paul,
I think the reason I picked Ally McBeal in my mind it was just a huge hit and all of sudden gone… off the air… cancelled….. and never to be heard from again…… Seems very odd to me…..
It was very quirky and odd… and I just thought that would be so successful in todays world….. All of us can relate to the characters in that show.
Glad you licked the movie question – I was thinking the same thing theatres have so much room no idea why they don’t utilize it in revenue generating ideas.
Merrill
Christopher Dallion says:
Just so you know Budget & Avis have Bluetooth offerings – granted it’s through their Garmin GPS unit and maybe not at all locations but here are links.
Budget $13.95/day:
http://www.where2.com/budget/why.asp
Avis $13.95/day:
http://www.avis.com/car-rental/content/display.ac?contentId=where2-GPS-US_en-004316
Merrill Dubrow says:
Christopher,
Interesting and thanks for sharing. I usually rent with Hertz and was surprised they never offered it.
Thanks.
Merrill
Michael Halberstam says:
I think you’re going to take Andy Rooney”s job on 60 minutes or be the next Jerry Seinfeld. I’m sure you picked Ally McBeal because it was based in Boston and we all know how obsessed Boston natives are with anything from that city.
What to I wonder about? I am constantly wondering why my wife has to run so many errands. She is a full-time Mom but runs thousands of errands each day. Do you really need to go to the dry cleaner EVERY day?
Why don’t kids like peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwiches as much as PB&J?
How come more men don’t wear Tommy Bahama type shirts? They are certainly more comfortable that “Normal” button down” shirts. Merrill, don’t you agree?
I always wonder why movie theatre’s smell so bad. Yes, I know people are constantly spilling food but you’d think some would have come up with a solution for the smell by now!
I wonder, does anyone really care that Paul Abdul won’t be on American Idol any more? Why is the media making such a big deal about this?
I wonder whether Merrill should be a Private Investigator instead of a researcher. He’s much more observant than most folks and could solve a lot of crimes. Or, maybe he could replace Paula Abdul!
I wonder why Bud Selig is such a hard-ass about Peter Rose.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Michael,
GREAT stuff. Lots of comments. Yes Ally McBeal was Boston in Boston and I liked Cheers so maybe you are on to something. Dry cleaning everyday… Wow – you guys must go out on the town alot!!!
You look great in Tommy Bahama type shirts I think I look good in button down shirts and not Tommy Bahama shirts – maybe its a CA thing. Funny about fluff. I love it and they DON’T sell it in Texas so I need to have it shipped in….. Yes shipped in from the east coast.
Not sure about the Paula Abdul comments – maybe the media are bored and need to comment on something.
I hope Pete is reinstated although he won’t get in for awhile it will be a start.
Merrill
Krista Joyce says:
Those are some good queries Merrill – i think you’re really on to something w/ the Movie Theater retail thought…
I ponder about random things all the time (I think its a sign of genius really)
1.) why do men have nipples?
2.) what is the purpose in a Capri Sun’s juice pouch design?
3.) whats the point with oxymorons like “found missing” or “act naturally”
4.) why does the doctor leave the room when you have to change? they’re gonna see you naked anyways…
5.) why is it that on a cell phone the number five has a little dot on it?
6.) how fast do hotcakes really sell?
7.) why do people say “heads up” when you should duck?
8.) why do men’s razors cost more than women’s? are women not worthy of a smoother shave?
9.) why is there a light in the fridge but not the freezer?
10.) do people who spend $2 a piece on those little bottles of Evian water know that spelling it backwards is Naive?
Christopher Dallion says:
5.) Maybe it was done to match the 5 on the numeric keypad of a computer keyboard – they have some style of dot or bump to assist touch entry.
Okay, now I’m being entirely too literal. Guess it’s time to leave this post alone
Krista Joyce says:
hmmm… I see…
I have another questions specifically for you Christopher
is it possible to allow readers to opt’ in to receive notification(s) when others comment on the same post? I, for one, would sign up!
Christopher Dallion says:
If you use a feed reader like Google Reader, Bloglines or My Yahoo then you can use the link titled “RSS 2.0″ nestled comfortably between the actual post and the comments section. You can even use this in Outlook.
In Internet Explorer, right-click and choose “Copy Shortcut” then paste that into the feed reader of choice.
In Firefox, click on the link and choose the feed reader to which you would like to add it.
Let me know if this works for you or if you need some more assistance and I can email you directly if needed.
Krista Joyce says:
Thanks Christopher! At one time I was on RSS overload and I think I’ve become immune to the numerous updates – totally spaced this as an option
I’ll clean house w/ my feeds & will add Merrill’s Blog for sure!
~Krista
Merrill Dubrow says:
Krista,
I am still laughing! GREAT STUFF!!!!!
Thanks for sharing.
Merrill
PS -so glad there are other people who think of some of this crazy stuff! Maybe we should start a club!
Christopher Dallion says:
I can’t explain the lack of syndication but Ally McBeal is finally coming to DVD in October so now you can watch it all you want
http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Ally-McBeal-Complete-Series-and-Season-1/12394
The problem they had was one that was similar to other shows & some movies – music licensing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_licensing#Home_video
As far as the extra aircraft I would HOPE that the airlines are scrapping the planes that are probably a little to old to be reliable anymore.
We’ve already discussed the movie rentals at movie theaters and I still have no answer for that one.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Christopher,
Just so you know – I will be buying the Ally McBeal DVD’s the second they come out!
Thanks for the heads up.
Merrill
Diane Bullion says:
Why do they send men to review chick flicks? You know it’s not going to get a good review!
Kristy Hoover says:
I wonder why my dentist offers soft drinks in the waiting room. She lost my credibility once I saw that.
S. Wright says:
If a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose?
Whatever happened to preparations A through G?
Why do they sterilize needles for lethal injections?
Why don’t they just make mouse-flavored cat food?
How come abbreviated is such a long word?
If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?
Is it true that cannibals don’t eat clowns because they taste funny?
Jeff Adler says:
I wonder when the following teams will wake up and recognize their nicknames should have been left behind with their former cities:
Utah Jazz (New Orleans)
Los Angeles Dodgers (Brooklyn — trolley dodgers)
Los Angeles Lakers (Minneapolis — lakes)
Jeff Adler says:
I wonder how there is such a thing as jumbo shrimp.
I wonder — if 7-11 stores are open 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, why are there locks on the doors?
Merrill Dubrow says:
Jeff,
The 7-11 comment is so funny and true!
Thanks for sharing.
Merrill
Ed Sugar says:
The answer to your question why there are still phones with cords instead of cordless phones in MLB dugouts was reported in today’s baseball headlines –
” Cleveland Indians owner Paul Dolan projects the team will lose $16 million this season”.
Now add into that equation the number of cordless phones that each team would have to replace on a weekly basis, the sport would be broke in 3 years.
The main perpetrators behind the disappearing cordless phones would not be limited to underpaid coaches, adolescent rookie pranksters or high strung veterans letting off some steam. These devices would be easy prey to one of the worst bottom feeders known to Western civilization – the baseball beat writer. If you have any doubts, then you have never witnessed them swoop and devour a post game deli spread. Not a pretty sight.
Louis Ygartua says:
There is radio show on Dallas public radio (90.1 FM) at noon where you ask any question and anyone can answer. It’ called Anything You Ever Wanted to Know. It’s off the air now until Aug. 28th. http://www.kera.org/radio/anything/index.php and you can email in questions. Just FYI. This reminded me of that. I’m curious about the street naming process. How do they decide what is a street vs. avenue vs. drive vs. lane. Circle is easy. I think about this on the way to work. There’s a part of Dallas where the street names are all Disney characters: Pinocchio, Snow White, etc. Why?
Also I wonder if anyone else thinks it’s odd that along Dallas’ Central Expressway there are these 2 businesses next to each other: The Casket Store and Boxes-To-Go.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Louis,
Thanks for mentioning the show – I will need to check it out. Good question about the streets/avenues. Never thought about that.
Merrill
Louis Ygartua says:
There’s also a national public radio show called Radiolab whose subtitle is “On a Curiosity Bender”. http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/
check it out.
Sven Goonsen says:
Does anyone know where I can get a new toner cartridge for my HP LaserJet III? The remanufactured ones seem to bleed all over the place.
Bob Graham says:
Why do they call it a foul pole? If the ball hits it, it’s considered fair?
As for Ally McBeal, it was one of those shows that came, became instantly popular and then faded quickly from public conscientiousness. Two more recent examples are HEROES and LOST. The lasting TV shows seem to start small and them build big audiences: Cheers (which was almost cancelled in its first season) Seinfeld, The Office, and 30 Rock.
Amy Shields says:
I am personally very curious why more companies don’t realize that happy employees almost always mean happy customers. OR, why, every time I turn around now, it seems like companies are going out of their way to make sure I am not only NOT a loyalist, but that I have such a negative view, the go on my “list”! (No; it’s not a good list to be on!)
On a lighter note, because of some of the other posts, this topic reminded me of an email I received a long time ago from a friend, “The Most Interesting Questions of All Times”. I noticed some from this list have been submitted by others, but there are a few others that I laughed out loud over:
-Why is it that people say they slept like a baby when babies wake up every 2 hours?
-Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dogs face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?
-How is it that we put a man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
-Who was the first person to look at a cow and say “I think I’ll squeeze these pink dangly things here and drink whatever comes out”? (I AM STILL LAUGHING AT THIS ONE!)
-(THIS ONE TOO) Who was the first person to say, “See that chicken over there? I’m going to eat the next thing that some out of it’s bum”?
-(AND….ONE FOR THE ROAD) If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
Happy Monday!
pbracken says:
You crack me up. As I watched the Yankees play the Red Socks this weekend, I wondered about the phone thing too…..seems a bit out of place.
Sorry about your Red socks, Merrill…..
Don Y says:
As for the corded phones…an additional reason might be that if they are attached…they won’t be bouncing off the ‘noggin’ of umpires or players.
Many surplus or obsolete planes are parked in the desert for storage.
What *I* want to know is…what the HECK is fat-free sour cream? If you actually took sour cream and removed all the fat…you’d have…NOTHING since it’s all fat. (OK, maybe a SMALL amount of whey/water; but still you’s basically have an empty container).
It’s like petroleum-free gasoline. Just not happening.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Quick update – I just BOUGHT THE FIRST SEASON OF ALLY McBeal at Best Buy. I will not only admit it – I am excited to watch the DVD’s!
Merrill