Comments on: Gift suggestion that my mom will never guess.

Question: Gift suggestion that my mom will never guess.

emptybowl — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 10:41:25 -0800

It's time again for my family to engage in the dreaded tradition of the 20 Questions gift (you can find my post about it last year here). Last year my mother guessed her gift in about 5 turns, so this year I'm DETERMINED to destroy her. Anyone have any good suggestions?

By: omidius

omidius — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 10:49:12 -0800

Try an uncommon gift, something not found in a local department store holiday display. I've found plasma to be rather short-lived but NEVER expected.

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 10:57:01 -0800

emptybowl, if we post our suggestions in this thread, what's to stop your kinfolk from reading the replies? That's what your mother may have done last year. To make matters worse, it's probably too late to resubmit a reworded query anonymously.

The best alternative might be to get together with some of her friends and associates, and find something along the lines of their suggestions, but with a decidedly offbeat (yet tasteful) twist.

But to be a good sport, I'm emailling you a suggestion.

By: caddis

caddis — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:01:04 -0800

emptybowl: what did you get her last year?

By: bonaldi

bonaldi — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:02:07 -0800

An oddly-shaped menorah.

A haggis.

By: NotMyselfRightNow

NotMyselfRightNow — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:07:19 -0800

A bunch of paperclips in a plastic bag.

By: emptybowl

emptybowl — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:10:32 -0800

Mom knows nothing of Metafilter, and she's the only person I'm buying one for, so feel safe to post away here.

By: Plutor

Plutor — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:12:50 -0800

Not that the following specific examples will help with your problem, but the technique may. I find the best twenty-questions topics are the ones that play some sort of pun on common questions. One of my all-time favorites (which is absolutely inappropriate for a gift for your mother) is semen, since I find that the questions "is it man-made?", "does it move?", and "is it alive?" are quite common.

Think of the questions she usually asks. Think of an answer to one of those questions that would be a "trick" answer. Omidius' example of plasma is a good one because it exploits the solid/liquid/gas questions.

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:17:11 -0800

...feel safe to post away here.

Okay. (For those of you who were wondering, my message to emptybowl was to consider licorice coal, as well as some chocolate million dollar bills.)

By: argybarg

argybarg — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:25:44 -0800

A glossy photograph of Sebastian Cabot.
"Just Farr Fun," the autobiograhy of Jamie Farr.

By: Vidiot

Vidiot — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:27:12 -0800

Turn the tables.

(or, in other clicking around ThinkGeek, the Utili-Key may do the trick.)

By: caddis

caddis — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:27:26 -0800

I would never guess that this is a candle holder.

By: Sparx

Sparx — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:35:32 -0800

a big stick and a box of eggs, which is what my mother asks for every year (and I may just get her, one day).

Failing that , if she's unaware of metafilter, that could mean she's unaware of the many subcultures that decorate our landscape like christmas lights on a moebius strip - so get her something from one of those, like Furry art or something.

By: Vidiot

Vidiot — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:36:02 -0800

Wind-up hopping lederhosen? The Pig Catapult? Smittens? A flamingo hat? Some really big underpants?

By: emptybowl

emptybowl — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:38:03 -0800

Here's the rules for the 20 Questions gift that I posted last year:

"The 20 Questions Gift is a small gift wrapped in tissue paper, usually worth no more that $5-10. The object is to guess what the gift is based only on touch and the answers to Yes or No questions."

So, gifts that work well are oddly unique in both function and shape/feel. Vidiot's two suggestions are great. Too bad the "Turn the tables" one is sold out, or I'd totally get it.

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 12:15:45 -0800

No specific recommendations, but you may want to keep an eye on Who Would Buy That?

By: smackfu

smackfu — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 12:42:17 -0800

The most expensive obscure canned vegetable/soup you can find at the supermarket.

By: argybarg

argybarg — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 12:48:05 -0800

There are wonderfully odd items for sale in agricultural supply catalogs. Try Nasco especially the artificial insemination category, or the gifts, toys and collectibles section.

By: rafter

rafter — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:03:13 -0800

Octodog?

By: emptybowl

emptybowl — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:09:16 -0800

Octodog?

Considered it last year, but a little too expensive for something she'll never ever use.

By: graventy

graventy — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:32:01 -0800

Simply put, rafter: that is awesome.

By: Alt F4

Alt F4 — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:50:33 -0800

Easy.

1. Figure out your price range.
2. Open a book at random, pick out the first word you see.
3. Search eBay for that word.
4. Align the matches with your price range.

By: kenko

kenko — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:58:50 -0800

A baseball card.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 14:54:23 -0800

How about those Russian doll-within-a-dolls (matryoshka).

By: roboto

roboto — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 14:55:39 -0800

The LeeValley Catalog has provided some winners for my mom. I would be surprised if she could guess a victorian cloche, a rooter pot, or a flower aquarium.

By: coriolisdave

coriolisdave — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 15:28:49 -0800

Ebola

By: christin

christin — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 16:12:46 -0800

Oh oh oh I got one!

20q - Pocket Mind Reader

It's over $10 ($19.99 to be exact), but I bet she won't guess Twenty Questions itself!

By: kenko

kenko — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 16:19:10 -0800

Oh, check in American Science and Surplus too.

By: kenko

kenko — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 16:19:56 -0800

You could get a mystery box; then not even you would know what you got her.

By: Wet Spot

Wet Spot — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 19:52:58 -0800

A metafilter account.

By: keep the aspidistra flying

keep the aspidistra flying — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 20:44:42 -0800

Aerogel.

By: jackofsaxons

jackofsaxons — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 22:52:14 -0800

crap in a box.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 23:30:23 -0800

A charity goat. From heifer.org.

By: misteraitch

misteraitch — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 01:30:39 -0800

Some Australian 'bush spices'.