I’ve tried to spice up the boredom of dishing out curried chicken salad by adding a new element of surprise to my job: The Deli Counter Trivia of the Day.So far, I’ve only come up with four questions, two of which were blatantly stolen from a Trivial Pursuit: Know It All edition, so I’m looking for suggestions for others.
[Edit: the original content of this post was ludicrously boring, which is why there is nothing left of the trivia part except this picture of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.]
Trivia helps with the awkward stage when my customer’s meatloaf is heating up in the microwave, and I’m trying to pretend I’m busy by wiping down the same countertop yet again. It’s so much easier to cut the tension by saying something like, “SO, do you know the etymology of the word ‘yo’?” than it is to act as if I’m meticulously clean. So I’m open to trivial suggestions.
PS: A customer actually sprung the above etymological question on me. I didn’t know the answer, but a combination of Internet research and his explanation has led me to this conclusion: The word ‘yo’ has roots not in the African-American community, but a tiny subculture of Italian immigrants in the Philadelphia area, all of whom hailed from a certain part of Italy that somehow involved the sound ‘yo.’ The word was used as an identification of heritage, and then turned into a greeting:
Q: Yo?
A: Yo!
[Translation: Q: Are you from the part of Italy that Mydogischelsea doesn't know the name of? A: Why yes, kind sir, I am]
Who knows. Other sources indicate that the word has much a older history. In any case, the word was glorified in the 1979 movie Rocky, which to this day, I still haven’t actually seen.
I’m going to stop procrastinating now. Goodnight.
8 responses so far ↓
1 TimsHead // Jan 20, 2006 at 1:49 am
Something must have inspired them to name the yo-yo, don’t you think? And according to that Wikipedia entry, the yo-yo is believed to be the second-oldest toy in existence, behind only the doll. There’s a trivia question for you.
2 Didya_evawonda // Jan 20, 2006 at 1:49 am
Hey…that’s my bridge! (No, I didn’t buy it- that was the Broolyn Bridge, and it was such a deal!)
Trivia: What is the world’s largest island? (The too easy/incorrect answer: Australia. The correct one: Greenland)
3 jaki_o // Jan 20, 2006 at 2:49 am
I never knew that about the word Yo. Thanks for sharing!
A piece of trivia I like: FDR comissioned the National Highway committee to build the interstate system through the US. One mile out of every 5 is straight in the event that a plane will have to make an emergency landing.
I’m not sure how you could use that, but I think it’s interesting. Also, FDR’s last words were, “I have a terrific headache.”
4 sr323 // Jan 20, 2006 at 4:19 am
I think Yo is derived from an italian word, “Guagilone”, which means little boy…..but often pronounced in Brooklyn “Y-O.”
5 geekgoddiss // Jan 20, 2006 at 4:26 am
I just want you to know that this is one of the most interesting blogs you’ve ever posted. That’s how I know you’re a genius of a writer. You posted something that you could have been drunk while writing, and that held my attention. Your writings when you have nothing to write about are great, and your writings when you do have something to write about are that much better!
6 geekgoddiss // Jan 20, 2006 at 4:27 am
The stuff I write is the kind of stuff you want to make sure you are drunk when I write
(Or you might just sit there and wish I had been…might jive it up a lil’ bit) 
7 aropeofsand // Jan 20, 2006 at 6:18 pm
I didn’t ever stop to think about “yo”s origins. When I worked in a deli we just played “I used to work in a _________ but now I work in a deli.”
8 chicagoartgirl23 // Jan 22, 2006 at 6:39 am
wow–I can totally see “yo” as an Italian thing. And I can’t tell you how happy I would be if a deli person played trivia with me. I love games!
Thanks for your comments–nice xanga peeps like you have really given me an outlet to vent about this shitty ordeal this week. I was fired not for poor job performance, but because I expressed disent when our new director censored student work. My writing skills and tutoring skills are up to par, but it’s just my pesky backbone that keeps getting in the way of things. rar.Hey–what job did the dude you interviewed have to make him work oly 5-10 days a week??