a little something in the back of my mind

i'm done with TA-ing physics 1CL this week, and this week i get to make more money by grading two sections.

there's a question in the pre-lab homework, however, that's been bugging me. it goes like this:
"if you were the inventor of the night vision scope, what applications would you exploit to make your first million?"

when i first saw that question, i smiled. no, seriously, i did. i was thinking that i'll be having a good time grading these prelabs because people are gonna put down some ridiculous answers that are just hilarious. something like: "i'm all against capitalism and i shall not exploit anything to make my first million. capitalism can die. long live the communist."
or something like that. come on, we TAs like to see funny answers too, once in a while. and CREATIVE answers.

apparently, out of about 50 people whose works i have to grade this week, all but one appear to lack creativity. and that one wasn't funny either. it said something like "i would invent TV that works in infrared scale so that you have to use night vision goggles to watch it. this way i can watch late night show without pissing off my sleeping roommate." everyone else, wrote something along the lines of "sell it to the military, they got hella money." oh psh. where did these guys leave their creativity? in the back seat of the car? at home, safe with parents? brush up your creativity, people. if there's an open ended question like this again, and people actually have the guts to write something funny for the answer. I WOULD GIVE THEM EXTRA CREDIT.

here's some examples of good answers, or at least the kinds of answers i would expect:
"i would sell night vision goggles to guys so they can see their penis when they're masturbating in the dark."
"i would sell night vision goggles to french people so they can actually see how those french hookers look like."
"i would distribute night vision goggles among raccoons so they can forage without ransacking the whole dumpster."
"i would implant some night vision goggles so those doves don't fly straight at my windshield when im going 85mph in the freeway."what would YOU put down as an answer?

the french hookers one is courtesy of david phang. a person with the most twisted mind i've ever met. he's a natural born jerk.

aimee, just IMd me the best poem i've ever read:

There was a young lady named Bright,
Whose speed was far faster than light.
She went out one day,
In a relative way,
And returned the previous night!