It happened at a chat room the other day. I was on a virtual date with a girl called Beverly (asl: 21/f/USA). Things were beginning to get interesting, when a message popped up: 'This is Rinku's mummy. She hasn't done her homework, so I am making her log off now.'
Sounds familiar? Well, most kids do like to pretend they are older than they actually are. So, in order to safeguard oneself from overstepping the virtual line with a juvenile, it is important to recognise the 'top ten signs your online date is a kid' .
Having given up on virtual dates, I decided to try a blind date instead. Disaster! I encountered at least a dozen of the 'top 39 blind date nightmares' in the course of one evening. And, at the end of it all, when she asked me if I'd like to date her again, I was forced to resort to some of the 'top 22 lame excuses for getting out of a date'.
It's easy to find lists like these online. They range from the helpful, hilarious and inspiring to the disrespectful, annoying and brazen. Initially, I suppose, their compilers were simply victims of the 'Top 10' epidemic. Now, strangely enough, they have begun to swell their lists to include an infinite number of entries. Some, like list of the day allow you to add to their topics, thus enabling the compilers to run a masthead that reads: "If it's not funny…It's your fault!"
Others, like the funny bone challenge you: 'Submit an original topic for a top 10 list, and if we can't make up a list using your topic, you will win!' What would you win? You don't really want to know.
So who are the people responsible for such funny lists? David Grund of grund humour describes himself as "an ordinary person striving to bring laughter into the tedium of everyday life". "My collection of laughs is sure to bring a smile to your face," he promises, and views his work as "an eager attempt to make the world a better place...one person at a time."
Does his audience agree with this? "Of course. I always visit such sites in my spare time," says Julian Rodrigues, a 23-year-old with a lot of time on his hands. "Their lists have a way of pointing out the funny side of situations that are not always apparent". Anjali Verghese, 19, adds: "When I read a funny list about a certain topic, I begin to view that topic from a humorous angle. It helps cheer me up".
One could also recommend appropriate lists to your friends (and enemies). For a certain colleague of mine (you know who you are), I suggest '10 reasons to give your boss when you come in late for work' .