There are few better insights into someone’s personality than looking at the way she or he answers questions. Asking people what they would bring with them to a deserted island is a telltale way to find out their prized possessions, secret obsessions, and quirks. It can sometimes even reveal things about your closest friends that you would never otherwise know. Part personality test, part random questionnaire, and with a nod to Bowdoin alum and the first explorer to reach the North Pole Robert E. Peary, comes Stranded at the North Pole. A weekly profile of different Bowdoin students, as if it was just the two of us wrapped in fur coats sipping on hot cocoa in a dog sled. Sometimes serious, sometimes frivolous, but always entertaining, this questionnaire aims to familiarize you with faces that you might see walking across the quad or sitting in a back booth at Moulton.
Today, in honor of Date Week I am stranded at the North Pole with sophomore couple Aggie Kelly and Judy Yang…
If you were stranded at the North Pole in a Survivor-esque competition and had to compete to survive, who would win?
A: [Laughs hysterically]
J: I actually think I’d win.
A: Last week we had a discussion if there was anything Judy could beat me in.
J: I guess I’d say id win because I’m less of a picky eater; I could eat anything- raw fish..
A: You’re talking about prepared food, like sushi.
J: plus I think scientific studies show that if you enjoy the food you’re eating you absorb more nutrients.
A: I would say that I can’t think of one competition that she would beat be in. and may I remind the audience that I am a man so I would win any competition. Unless there were a sandwich-making competition I would definitely win.
J: You’re a jerk.
It’s date week at Bowdoin College. How would you keep the romance alive if stranded at the North Pole?
J: Oh, crap! I just realized, when I was thinking about being on a desert island, I totally thought we were at a desert island and there would be fresh fish…
A: You can put that down at our answer.
J: I would definitely change my survival techniques. But anyway, romance, bromance.
A: Period. NO, I would hit up my buddy Santa’s club “The Rocking Horse,” get it? Drink tons of eggnog, and go wild.
J: Drink lots of alcohol to keep warm. Or we could go wale hunting for blubber to stay warm.
A: That would be fun and romantic.
If you could each choose another person to strand with you at the North Pole, whom would you choose?
J: I probably wouldn’t pick a person but I would pick my dogs… all four of them because I can’t choose between them. I guess Bennie because Coffee’s cold and the other two don’t have long enough fur to keep them warm.
A: I would bring Jessica Alba.
J: Really? I guess I’d bring Snoop Dogg then… that’s a dog too.
If you two got separated from each other at the North Pole and could choose one thing to keep you company, what would you choose?
A: Carl Spielvogel. How do I phrase this? I like the way he works it.
J: I’d bring the Barefoot Contessa. I love Ina Garten. [Begins Ina Garten imitation]
If you could only watch one movie, listen to one CD, and read one book to keep yourselves entertained on the North Pole what would you choose?
J: I’d probably take the entire collection of Shrek DVDs though I haven’t seen the fourth one that’s in 3D.
A: I don’t want to watch Shrek. If I have to watch one movie for the rest of my life it’s not going to be Shrek. I was gonna say Borat.
J: He doesn’t even speak English in that movie, or a real language.
A: Hotshot by Shaggy is the best album. That album is timeless.
J: Well, ok, we can just go with Shaggy I guess. A box set: Shaggy and Billy Joel.
A: I’m sure everyone would agree that Shaggy is a better artist than Billy Joel. But for a book, I’d say Green Eggs and Ham.
J: All the Places You’ll Go!
A: Are you kidding? My mom bought me that for a graduation present…
J: Definitely Dr. Suess, he’s a great doctor.
A: In case we get sick.
If you were forced to put on a two-person show to acquire food while stranded at the North Pole, what kind of show would you perform?
J: Definitely magic.
A: I agree. That’s the first one I agree with.
J: We’d ride on Aggie’s hairy magic carpet…oops I meant to put “legs” somewhere in that sentence.