Decisions Decisions

Ok, so what am I talking about exactly? In a nutshell, you'll send some very simple, seemingly random questions that are tied to a whole list of things you've planned for the date: activities, food, drinks, music, your clothes, a gift, or whatever. Let's say you're doing something together on Saturday; you can send a message on Wednesday that says:

"We're going to play a little game this week. I'll email you some questions and your answers will decide all of the things we do on Saturday. Don't ask any questions, just answer them.

What do you prefer, fast or slow?"

At this point their mind should be thinking "Wha...?" because not only do they have no idea what you're talking about, but the question could mean anything from fast food vs. a slow dinner to go karts vs mini golf or mountain biking vs hiking. You've already decided it will be either a day at the horse races or watching a golf tournament, but they have no way of knowing that! You can make this simple and only ask a few questions for an activity, meal, and maybe dessert, or go crazy and have it determine the color of the outfit you wear, the type of drinks, style of music, your perfume or cologne, whether it's a day or night date, and so on. Have fun with it!

To start off, you need to figure out two activities you'll both enjoy. They don't have to be earth-shattering events, they can be simple things like a picnic, hiking, a concert, kayaking, bowling, a beach bonfire, or whatever. Write them down. Now think of very simple adjectives that could describe them and turn it into a question.

• Rock climbing or scuba diving - High or low?
• Relaxing in a hammock or hiking a mountain - Easy or tough?
• Daytime or nighttime date - White or black?
• Ride Segways or go mountain biking - Man-made or natural?
• Share a Jacuzzi or swim in the lake - Hot or cold?

Once they answer this first question, you can figure out all the other ones and send them over as the week goes by. If you're worried about giving it away on the first question, start with an unrelated one like a gift. Ask if they like "Hard or soft?" and then buy chocolates with nuts or a soft creme filling. Another thing that adds some fun to the idea is, instead of just sending over an email asking "Hard or soft?", add a weird fact that relates to the question but not the activity. For example:

"Did you know that diamonds are no longer the hardest material on Earth? No kidding! Now it's these man-made things called carbon nanotubes. What about you, do you like it hard or soft?"

It's a little more work, but the added weirdness makes it a little more fun too. You can find out all kinds of bizarre things by doing a search for odd, random facts and whatever adjective you're using. Another idea is to opt for foods instead of adjectives, like soup or sandwich (wet or dry), salsa or ketchup (spicy or mild), beef jerky or marshmallows (tough or soft).

The fun is in the mystery, so don't let them know what they've chosen until the date unfolds. I mean, give them fair warning if they need to wear shorts or a suit, but pull the decisions out slowly. If the question was "Blue or green?" (swimming or tennis) and your date picked blue, say "So I hear you like blue. Ok. Let's go find you some blue."

Some more sample questions and weird facts:

• Did you know there's constantly enough water in the atmosphere to produce 2.5" of rain over the entire surface of the Earth? Tell me, do you like it wet or dry?
• The habanero is the spiciest pepper in the world, registering up to 1,000,000 Scoville heat units. That's up to 200 times as spicy as a jalapeno! What's your favorite, spicy or mild?
• Did you know that "Go." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language? What's your preference, short or long?
• Did you know that a hummingbird's wings beat at the amazingly-fast rate of 70 times per second? Tell me, do you like it fast or slow?
• Get this, more people die each year from falling coconuts than shark attacks! What about you, do you like to rise or fall?