Quizzical

One of my favorite pass times has started to become quite a bit of a time killer.  You've probably heard of it.  It's called Sporcle.  Basically it is this killer website that has a whole bunch of quizzes created by users that anyone can take.  And the topics range from everything from the countries of the world to the lyrics of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song.  Whatever is on your mind there is probably a quiz on Sporcle about it.  But probably ten or more.  The variety is enormous.

And it also helps you to realize some of the things you never even knew you knew.  I took a quiz a couple of days ago about fonts.  That's right, fonts.  In this particular quiz it had Sporcle written in fonts from well known brands, like Google and ESPN, and you had to type in the company that matches the font.  I did pretty well, and it really made me realize some of the things a see everyday stick in my mind, and instead of the names of the companies being recognizable, the fonts are too.  You can play that amazing quiz here.

But one of the best features of this website is not the search feature where you can look for quizzes about things you know, or even browsing through all the quizzes about TV shows or sports, but the button that takes you to a random quiz.  It gives you a really happy feeling when you look down at the loading screen and realize you could in fact name all of the Disney Princesses.  Or maybe just miss one.  The correct answers are almost always shown to you when time runs out, or you can give up early to see the answers you did not know.  However there are some quizzes where that does not work quite as well. 

Some quizzes have answers that build off of each other.  This particular Harry Potter quiz requires you to know the previous answer before you can go onto the next question, and if you are a true Harry Potter expert, take it and you will see why.  It requires you to know things such as who killed Dumbledore and who is the headmaster or Victor Krum's wizarding school.  And one stumped answer is the end for you on this quiz.

There are also quizzes where one answer you don't know is nothing, because you'll probably never finish them anyways in the amount of time allotted.  Who could name all the countries in the world (especially spelled correctly) in just a few minutes.  Go ahead, try.  It is pretty difficult.  Or name the top 200 characters in the Harry Potter series by how many times their name is mentioned.  It really is quite difficult.  But to me the type of quiz I am taking does not really matter, as long as I know a few answers to the questions.  It really is a fun way to waste more than a few hours on end.

Shell's are all the rage

Case in point, Marcel the Shell.  If you haven't seen this viral video yet, well I don't know where you've been.  Marcel is probably the cutest creature that's "partially a shell" ever been exposed to humans.  I don't know anyone else who can make pulling around a piece of hair tied to a piece of lint so unforgettably adorable.  I even pity poor Marcel at some points, so weak she can't even lift a crayon and can't fulfill her life dream of owning a dog.

But Marcel's best quality isn't her shoes, her face, or her unbelievably adorable voice.  I think it's her ability to create extremely quotable phrases out of hardly anything, and stream them together into the best video I've ever seen.  Out of nowhere, I feel as if I can just say, "Guess what I do for adventure?" and someone will surely respond, "Hang-glide on a Dorito."  This quality might only be topped by the fact that in a crowded room, if someone yells "Now this is a story all about how...", the whole room can finish The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song with no troubles.  But I think Marcel is getting there.

Voice performed unedited by SNL star, Jenny Slate, she has the background to create hilarity out of anything.  USA Today interviewed her, and she claimed there is over a half-hour of unused audio.  Apparently Marcel feels like she has a real talent for musical performance.  Jenny Slate says they want to leave Marcel the way she is, but personally I'm hoping for a sequel.  I want to hear Marcel's beautiful voice again.  And just for my own entertainment I've come up with a top five list of Marcel's quotes.

1) "My brother once got in a fight with someone else and guess how he killed him.  He impaled him on the brush.  (Sounds very violent.)  We won't fight unless we're provoked."
2) "Sometimes people say that my head is too big for my body, and then I say 'compared to what?'"
3) "My name is Marshell and, uh.  Oh no, that's not the first time I've done that.  My name is Marcel, and I'm partially a shell as you can see on my body, but I also have shoes and, um, a face, so, I like that about myself, I like myself and I have a lot of other great qualities as well."
4) "His name [the piece of lint] is Alan.  Guess where I found him?  Under a tooth.  Well you know what they say?  Lint is a shell's best friend."
5) "Guess what I use to tie my skis to my car?  A hair.  Guess what my skis are?  Toenails from a man."

I'm optimistic that Marcel will continue to make me laugh as long as I can perfectly quote her, and hopefully Marcel will make everyone else laugh as well.