5 Great In-Car Arguments To Pass The Miles
A bit of debate can liven up a long journey; here are some to try for a bit of variety.
The one problem with a long road trip is that, for some legs, you’ll be covering quite a lot of miles (even more kilometres – that’s a ratio joke) and it’s all too easy to allow the car to fall silent. You might have started with some great tunes, but no playlist lasts forever, and music is no substitute for conversation.
Dan and I are Englishmen, and it has to be said that the thing about the English is that we’re prone to, let’s say, exaggerated debate. Indeed ‘wit’ is much prized in the UK, where we use the ability to come up with an amusing riposte as a substitute for doing anything useful. It’s why the British recently elected a man who used to appear on comedy shows on TV as Prime Minister. Also, to be fair to them, they were probably drunk.
We suggest a mix; if you think your friendship can survive, do dip your toes into the political; you really will get to know each other better and who knows, you might actually come up with the solution the world has been waiting for. Just, for heaven’s sake, mix and match – it’s just as important that you solve the longstanding ‘chicken or egg’ issue.
Which is the Greatest Roadside Franchise Chain & Why ?
McDonalds are well known, and it’s actually hard to pull off a long road trip without visiting one.
Wendy’s have square burgers which feels like a more efficient way to cram food into your mouth. White Castle, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut…
The list is endless (to the joy of nearly all heart surgeons in private medicine), but there must be a ‘best’, or, failing that, a ‘best for a certain mood’.
Drive Electric ?
If you’re driving in an electric car, is it going well? If you’re not, why not? They accelerate like a rocket but they don’t make the engine sound, and their range is half that of a petrol equivalent.
Some think they’re boring, others just don’t think they’re “there yet.” Have you driven one (Dan hasn’t and thinks they’re shite, Adam has had 3 and loves them). {ED – They are shyte}
Do photographers affect what they’re capturing ?
A physicist will tell you the effect of observation inevitably changes the outcome. When you test the pressure in tyres, the gauge will use a little of the pressure. When things get down to the quantum level, the Weizmann experiment (1998) fared no better.
But, in a serious way, does the news change depending on how many photographers turn up? (You can take this one down a street photography direction or, if you’re feeling a little political, feel free to consider any narcissistic folk residing in Pennsylvania Avenue or Downing Street.)
Will Americans ever come to love Football (which they call Soccer) ?
It’s called Football. It’s the most popular sport in the world but, well, it has subtlety. And low scores. Even a high-scoring game has low numbers compared to points-based games like Basketball.
Is it more of a ‘girls game’? Apparently it’s the 3rd most-watched sport in the US (Gallup, 2017), but not as fast-growing as Lacrosse? And when Americans do watch, it’s mostly The Premier League – British football – and Liga Mexico.
A Sense of Adventure
Remember you’re going on a road trip, things WILL go wrong, stupid stuff WILL happen and you WILL be in the thick of it. Every trip I have ever taken has left me with a lifetime of “oh shit did we really do that !” memories; which at the time seemed like a big deal. Thinking about them always raises a smile.
So whatever goes wrong on the way, treat it as part of the trip. Especially if you’re going far !
America v Britain
Both now former world number one powers, though if you’re American it might be difficult to accept that China now has the world’s largest GDP (measured by Purchase Power Parity for you economists). The UK, though, has ridden the downward side of the world dominance wave for rather longer, so we’re thinking more movies, accents, food, teeth, that kind of thing. In any case, you can be sure it’ll come up a bit during the Camera Caper.
Alright, that should get you started. Plus I didn’t say anything about moon landings (obviously real), who shot JFK (it was Dan, he’s got a time machine and a fondness for grassy knolls), and whether 5G causes COVID-19 (it doesn’t).
Adam is a career “tech-splainer,” explaining technology to everyone from his mum to the millions of readers of Digital Camera and other publications. He’s never abandoned his connection to creating original content, but he also turned that into a two decade career in publishing the work of other leading photographers at independent and major publishing firms.
Books Adam has devised, edited, pitched, and marketed have sold in excess of five million copies but he has managed to get his name on the front cover for a series of books including The Complete Guide to Drones – a category bestseller. All told these have sold over 100,000 copies in six languages.
Never afraid of mixing media, Adam has juggled production and technical roles on live and recorded broadcasts, content creation for tutorials, and even juggles occasional appearances on BBC Radio into the mix. As a photographer, his work has been seen in major publications including RangeFinder.
Great read Adam, Britain is the winner !