Monday, 6 June 2011

Fun Online Polls: Chris Huhne and E.coli

Last week's Trial By Internet returned a clear majority verdict:

Did Chris Huhne persuade his ex-wife to take his speeding points?

Yes - 85%

Case not proven - 15%
No - 1%


So that's that setlled then.

I'd like to ask those doubters who chose "Case not proven" or "No", do you really think that an embittered ex-wife would lie about something like this? Surely not! To everybody else, thanks for taking part, it was a good turnout. It's a pity that the internet can only decide guilt or otherwise but not pass sentence.
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In the same vein, this week's Fun Online Poll asks you to apply your vast knowledge of biochemistry, epidemiology and international hygiene standards (if these are not your specialist topics, then you can rely on petty prejudices) to the burning issue of who caused the E.coli outbreak.

Vote here or use the widget in the sidebar.

6 comments:

A K Haart said...

I have some knowledge of biochemistry, but prejudice seems to be much more popular than boring old science, so let's join in.

Mark Wadsworth said...

AKH, that's the game the Germans were playing.

Common sense tells us the source must have been north Germany, so the Germans gambled on people's prejudices about 'hygienic' Germans and 'sloppy' Mediterraneans.

View from the Solent said...

I was going to select 'other' on the basis that The Germans or The Spanish was pandering to prejudice. But your response to AKH swayed me. It'll be good to see the culprits stewing in their own beansprout juice.
There ought to be a word for it.

James Higham said...

Perhaps you should run a poll on possible sentences.

Mark Wadsworth said...

VFTS, I'm afraid I don't know the Spanish word for "Schadenfreude".

JH, go on, make some suggestions.

Span Ows said...

'júbilo' or 'alegria' mean joy but it is nowhere near schadenfreude, probably "regodearse", officially it just means 'to delight' but colloquially is also "malicious pleasure in an accident/trouble that happens to someone else" so a good candidate.

P.S. Wanted to specify the "other" in the poll but couldn't.