Most days, I’m quite flaky.
Originally asked
Vox, to writers and thinkers, 9 Questions, 2017
The exact question was part of every retrieved Vox 9 Questions installment.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Sophie Roell, Five Books interview, 25 July 2022 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 44 →In one month, two of my old prejudices were reversed. Two things that I was prejudiced against.
July 2018, when I married my third husband, Roger, after two years of proclaiming that marriage at 76 was stupid.
A year ago. My understanding of what love is has changed immensely since.
More from A.J. Jacobs
View profile →Saying something dumb on Twitter and getting yelled at by thousands of strangers. Also, catastrophic climate change.
The inventor of the modern zarf. “Zarf” is the name of the cardboard sleeve that goes around your coffee cup and keeps your fingers from getting burnt. I love the little masterpieces all around us that we take for granted. By the way, zarfs have a long history — there were gold and tortoise shell zarfs back in ancient China. But the modern zarf was created in 1992 in Portland by Jay Sorensen. It’s called the Java Jacket. Thanks Jay!
That is a good question. Well, one thing I do love is my elastic shoelaces. ... So, you just replace the cloth shoelaces with these elastic… I think it’s called “Lace Lock” is the brand I use. And, yeah, shoelaces seem like such 18th century technology.
Well, I’m in the midst of writing 1,000 handwritten, personalized thank you notes to readers of my books. It’s simultaneously a major pain in the butt — it’s taking me several weeks — and also delightful. I feel like I’m getting to know the readers of my books, which is great, since writers often have a solitary existence.
To me, part of what I love about puzzles is that they fuel my curiosity and I’d say curiosity and gratitude are my two favorite virtues. My last book was about gratitude; this book is all about curiosity. Curiosity is what drives puzzlers. They’re like, ‘Why is it? What is it?’
I was the answer to one across in the Dec. 26, 2017, New York Times crossword puzzle.
Also answered this
Richard Ford, Ursula K. Le Guin, Alain de Botton, François Ozon, David Lynch, Marina Diamandis
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