A. Oh shit that's not fair. I'm trying really, really hard right now but there's just no logical way of trying to get to the correct number.

If I get this wrong, are you going to give me a 1? Please don't do that. Other than giving you a umber, let me give you 10 reasons why you shouldn't give me a 1 if I get the answer wrong, which, to be fair to me, is a 90% change. Come on now, I think I deserve a change to appease you.

1. I've been working very hard to get 10's. All of my ratings this past week have been 9's or 19's.

2. You will make me sad if I got a 1.

3. I will have temporary low self-esteem.

4. You seem like a nice person and wouldn't do such a thing.

5. You will make the world a sadder place if you do such a thing.

6. By not giving me a bad rating, you know for a fact that you've made the world a better place.

7. Giving me a high rating will encourage me to make more quality answers, therefore making QuestionSwap a happier place!

8. I was nice to everyone today, so I don't think I deserve such a thing.

9. You'll feel like a nicer person afterwards if you give me a good rating.

10. I'm nice. I never cut people off on the road. I never talk loud in movies. I hold the door open for people. I ask you what floor you need to get on in the elevator. I say "Bless you." when you sneeze.


And my guess is 7.

A. Actually, classical aside, I really recommend the music by Mike Oldfield, especially "Ommadawn" and "Hergest Ridge" as good starting points, and of course "Music Of The Spheres" which is Mikes first classical piece.

Anyway, as for classical music, Vaughan-Williams is a good composer to begin with, with his "English Folk song Suite" and of course anything by Einaudi if you like the piano.

if you like string works (like your question says) then give Vaughan Williams "Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis" a try, it is something truly special.

A. Well, I guess I could just pop 'round to the store and buy one, but that wouldn't be terribly interesting, would it?

I'd set up and elborate path of Slip-n-Slides from my house to the grocery store across town. Then I'd dress as an Emperor Penguin and pretend that the Slip-n-Slides were ice floes, and I had to use them to escape an invisible polar bear. Once I got to the store, I'd waddle to the frozen treats aisle, purchase my Klondie bar, and devour it messily to show those polar bears who's boss!

A. Me: Mid-to-late twenties, female.

I'll start it by running at my opponent full speed, screaming like a girl at the top of my lugs, throwing myself at her and hopefully landing on top of her, pinning her to the ground.

From there, I'll grab and pull her hair with my left hand while alternately slapping her and clawing at her eyes in an effort to bewilder and blind her. I'll pay careful attention to stay away from her mouth; I assume she's rabid.

Once I've got her blinded, I'll use my hold on her hair to ram her head into the concrete. Did I mention this duel is happening in the parking lot of the local 7-11? Yeah, it is.

While I'm ramming the back of her skull into the pavement, I'll start hopping up and down on her chest and attempt to break a rib or two. But, oh snap! This psycho-bitch. Argh! She's stabbed me in the ass!

As I roll off of her, grabbing my bloody ass in agony, I let out an air-piercing whistle. From the darkened alley behind the 7-11 comes my pack of 35 specially-trained, long-haired attack chihuahuas! And, my god, they're STARVING!

Taking advantage of my foe's blindness and broken ribs, they swarm over her, and she's engulfed in a cloud of snarling, salivating, vicious, fuzzy cuddleness! It's like ants on an abandoned ice cream cone! Before anyone knows what's what, the chihuahuas have ravaged her to the bone. All that's left is her raggedy-ass weave and that damned, butt-mutilating shiv.

My attack chihuahuas abandon their meal to comfort me. Of course, there's a medic chihuahua that comes over to assess the damage.

"Thanks, Chico," I say as he pulls the last stitch through with his little chihuahua teeth.

I pat him on his tiny, tiny little head, and he wags his tail as if to say, "De nada, mi amiga."

I pick him up, and we head into the 7-11 for a Big Gulp. Today was a good day.

A. Bird, is the word. It began being the word in 1963, with the release of the song 'surfing bird' by the band Trashmen.

At that point, and for the next 46 years, 'bird' has consistently been the word every month of every year, besides a short time in 1992, when the word briefly became 'Ai Caramba'.

With that one exception, bird has been the word for longer than many of us have been alive, and I'm surprised that you weren't aware of this.

Well don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word!
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word...