I have to admit - some children's games are still pretty cool 25 years later. I was recently reminded of one interesting kid's activity, but didn't remember all the details. A Web search resulted in only a few hits, so I consolidated what I could and edited things to make it work better...
The "game" is discovering the names of your alter egos / secret identities.
Here are some of the formulas and how it turned out for me:
YOUR ACTION HERO NAME:
(first name of a main character in the last movie you watched + last food you ate)
Because of the formula, this changes depending on what you ate and watched most recently.
I got the following:
- Harry Pasta (Sounds too much like a bizzaro Harry Potter)
- Albus Zwiebelrostbraten (German foods just don't work too well here...)
- Jason Satay (Sounds like a character from The Office U.S., but not too bad)
- Bourne Goulash (Just plain strange.)
- Bud Flammkuchen? (again, foreign food didn't work out)
- Jim Couscous (Not so great either.)
Verdict: There is potential here, but just doesn't work in practice. Especially with English names and foreign foods.
ACTION HERO [VARIATION]:
(first name of your favorite living politician + your favorite gemstone)
I got the following: Chris Diamond
Verdict: Not bad! Certainly better than the first formula.
BARFLY NAME:
(last snack food you ate + your favorite drink)
I got the following: Cookies Margarita, Spekulatius Schorle (German)
Verdict: Makes me sound like a poser or a floozy. Guess it works!
CRIMINAL/MAFIA/STRIPPER NAME:
(name of your favorite perfume/cologne + favorite candy bar)
I got: Aqua de Gio Nussini, Polo Reeces
Frau A got: Burberry Brit Crunchie (probably shorten to Burberry Brit or Brit Crunchie)
Verdict: Kinda funny, actually. In a cheesy mafia movie sort of way.
DETECTIVE NAME:
(favorite color + favorite animal)
I got: Blue Wolf
Frau A got: Green Leopard
Verdict: It's as funny as you find the Pink Panther or Sgt. Friday. Think Saturday morning cartoons.
DETECTIVE/POLITICIAN NAME VARIATION:
(name of grade/highschoool + county, not country, where you grew up... or switch these around as needed)
I got: Dudley, Perrin, Deland, Monroe... Wow! they ALL work in almost any order!
Frau A: wow, way too many schools and counties..... Frederica Glynn, Hutchison Shelby, Stratford Tift...I think we'll stop with three
Verdict: The best one so far! Probably because so many schools and counties are named after historical persons.
EASTERN NAME - warning, complex formula and definitely NOT politically correct:
(2nd letter of your first name + 3rd letter of your last name + any letter of your middle name
+ 2nd letter of your moms maiden name + 3rd letter of you dads middle name
+ 1st letter of a siblings first name + last letter of your moms middle name)
I got: Erolese
Frau A got: Nahaish (Not really sure what they mean by "Eastern"....doesn't sound Eastern European or East Asian. Maybe Middle Eastern, though not so much either)
Verdict: Pretty good, if pronounced with the right accent. Who the heck came up with this formula anyway?
EXOTIC FOREIGNER ALIAS:
(favorite spice + last vacation spot visited)
I got: Cilantro Maldives (but an herb?), Chile Male, Chile Doha
Frau A got: Cardamom Maldives
Verdict: Nope, just not funny. Except Chile Male, that elicits a smile at least. The vacation spot is the weak link here. Wonder what would work better...?
GHETTO NAME - warning, NOT politically correct:
(first 2 or 3 letters of your first name & -Shawn/-Quan/-Quita/-Niqua
+ last name of whatever President or Prime Minister is on the currency you have in your pocket/wallet)
I got: JeShawn Merkel (using German Prime Minister), JeQuan Van Rompuy (using Pres of the European Council)
Frau A got: Anniqua Merkel
Verdict: Assuming everyone understands this is a harmless joke, it's really funny. Sounds like characters on Saturday Night Live.
HIPPIE NAME:
(what you ate for breakfast + your favorite tree)
I got: Pretzel Oak, Butter-Breze Eiche (German)
Frau A got: Käsekrainer Poplar
Verdict: Again, foreign names/foods kill the joke. I do like Pretzel Oak though. Pass the granola!
MOB NAME:
(Dad's name + favorite Italian restaurant)
I got: Lew La Scala
Frau A: Don Zanotti
Verdict: Great stuff. This is clever and funny. Probably too easy, because of the Italian restaurant name, but hey...it's a kids' game after all...
NASCAR NAME:
(first name of your mother's dad + father's dad)
Verdict: Let's just say we self-edited content -- trust me, you didn't want to read the result.
OPPOSITE SEX NAME:
(name of [opposite sex] friend + phone company you use)
I got: Jennifer Vodafone
Frau A: Paul Telekom
Verdict: Terrible. Who decided to use the phone company in the formula?
PORN NAME:
(1st pet, a street you grew up on)
I got: Thor Heatherwood
Frau A got: Si St. Clair
Verdict: For me, it is unbelievably great. Thor Heatherwood? Name says it all. Frau A's is pretty funny too, but a little too much like a character in the board game Clue.
ROCK STAR NAME:
(current pets name + current street name)
I got: Buda Prinz, Lyka Prinz
Frau A got: Loki Sendlinger, Gus Sendlinger
Verdict: This has potential... but I'm not convinced just yet. Gave a chuckle, but not really memorable.
ROCK STAR VARIATION:
(your first pet & current car)
I got: Lyka Bahn
Frau A got: I have the same "car" as Herr J...it's called Munich Public Transportation.... Si S-Bahn?
Verdict: There HAS to be a better algorithm for Rock Star names, right? This is bad. Although Frau A's is getting better the more I hear it...
ROCKSTAR TOUR:
("The” + your fave hobby/craft + your fave weather element + “Tour”)
I got: The Trekking Sun Tour
Frau A: The Cooking Sun Tour
Verdict: Mine is, well, interesting. Frau A's is a total fail. Not impressed with this formula.
SOAP OPERA Name:
(middle name, city where you were born)
I got: Tom Rochester
Frau A: Elizabeth Columbus
Verdict: Not bad. City name is a good choice for this algorithm, especially for me.
SOCIALITE NAME:
(silliest childhood nickname + first town where you partied)
I got: Einstein Evanston (it's easy to get that childhood nickname when you play football and study even a little)
Verdict: No, I did NOT get that name because I am so smart. It came from some football players (low standards). And no, the formula does not work so well.
SPORTS NICKNAME:
("The" + favorite car maker + second favorite animal)
I got: The Porsche Dolphin
Verdict: Huh? Car maker? Animal? The logic of this one escapes me, or maybe this is more like sports nicknames in the 1950s and 1960s?
SPY NAME:
(middle name + county, not country, where you grew up)
I got: Tom Monroe
Frau A: Elizabeth Glynn
Verdict: Nice! Again, when you use counties, you get those general yet regal sounding names.
STAR WARS VARIATION X:
(the first 3 letters of your last name & first 2 letters of your first name
+ first 2 letters of mom's maiden name & first 3 letters of the town you grew up in)
Verdict: Did not work for either Frau A or myself. Not worth the electrons to show the results. Bad formula.
STAR WARS JEDI NAME:
(First syllable of mothers maiden name & first syllable of city born in + mom's name spelled backwards)
I got: Al Ro Ydnic
Frau A: Haco Yllas
Verdict: the creator of this formula was on crack... but good crack I guess. Kinda works!
Well, that was a great (and I truly mean that in the purest sense of the word) waste of time. Good regression therapy. Hope your results are even better. Feel free to share the good ones with us all