The Barguments.com Leaderboard

Barguments.com has begun attracting some submissions of new barguments from longtime barguments fans (read: my friends).

Meanwhile, the site seems to be getting OK traffic-- some of the barguments have 30 votes, and the site only allows one vote per IP address. That means there shouldn't be too many duplicate votes, unless you're voting at home and at work (which is encouraged).

It seems like a good time to analyze how these new barguments are doing. I've found it's hard to tell which barguments will be hits, and which will be guillotines.

[Guillotine is the term I use for barguments where everyone picks the same option. It was born late one night at Flannigans when a friend of mine, Tadd, thought he had a golden bargument: If you're in a guillotine, would you want to face up or face down? We couldn't think of many people who would pick face up. I believe Tadd was face down fairly quickly after that night ended.]

Have we had any hits yet from the Barguments.com submitters?

YES! Mike V. of Easton, MD (really, my cousin, Michael Valliant; read his blog about his insane jogging addiction) came up with one that has garned 26 votes and has remained almost tied since appearing on the site. The bargument: Pick the superior guitar legend between Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page. Hendrix has the edge now, but expect that to change soon. And I thought classic rock died off in the early 90s...

Now, to balance that out with a couple guillotines....

Prolific submitter Drew H. of NYC (an old college buddy and long-time fixater on all things odd) has given us a couple that haven't exactly divided the room. Drew came up with one I thought was gold: would you rather get a check for $500 or $1,000 worth of loose pennies? Everyone picked the pennies.

Not me-- how could you even receive 100,000 pennies? How could you cash them in? Wouldn't there be a fee involved? Would the spread be worth it?

Then again, I've produced quite a few guillotines. How many slices of pizza make a meal? Almost everyone picked three. Shouldn't have put that one in the book.

Another Drew-gument: would you rather jog a mile on a hot day in jeans and a sweater, or on a sub-freezing day in shorts and a T-shirt? Everyone picked the cold day. I was surprised. Can you even survive wearing shorts in 15 degrees? I know I can't run fast enough to stand that cold, but I live in Miami.

Today Drew sent me an email headlined "I plan to prove my worthiness..." with a bargument I think will be a hit:

Would you take steroids for a year if you thought your current salary would triple?

A tempting choice. A kooky dilemma. Personal risk for material gain. Many of the elements of BARGUMENTS GOLD!