Best ice breaker questions you've had or could come up with?

[Benzine]

Title. I have a bunch but am looking for more. I'm replacing the AI at work because I hate it's banal questions. My peers are clever and silly enough so most not rude questions (but I can filter these myself) should be good!

 

[Mark]

Start with the ethical questions and break it. Lead with the trolley problem.

 

[Benzine]

Oooh, I like the idea of having those sorta questions in the fold - except I won't be leading with it. Thank you.

 

[shortkut]

Start with the ethical questions and break it. Lead with the trolley problem.

View attachment 28527

 

[Smacktard]

I used to have a bunch of these to start off my classes. Here's a few. Tweak them as the conversation peters out, like the first example:

• Would you go live on Mars as one of the first pioneers? Tweak: What if your safety was 100% guaranteed? Tweak 2: What if there was no Internet speed delay?
• What superpower would you want and why?
• If you could be any animal, which animal and why?
• Would you want to be able to hear people's thoughts whenever you wanted? What about all the time?
• Would you slap your mother for $1m? What about $10m? What if you could NEVER tell her the reason you slapped her?
• What's your favorite PG swear word/phrase?

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Where were you on 9-11?

 

[shortkut]

Where were you on 9-11?

 

[A Maybe Baker]

I dunno about best question, but the best answer I've ever heard was to "If you were in a shortstack of pancakes which would you be and why?"

"THE TOP ONE SO I WOULD GET ALL THE SYRUP FOR MYSELF"

As an immediate and excited response

 

[Gloom-is-good]

-What was the last argument you had with ____? (And then let people chime in on who is right)
-What is an irrational fear of yours? (It's gotta be something that isn't considered a typical phobia like... opening those Pillsbury containers that pop)

 

[Benzine]

I dunno about best question, but the best answer I've ever heard was to "If you were in a shortstack of pancakes which would you be and why?"

"THE TOP ONE SO I WOULD GET ALL THE SYRUP FOR MYSELF"

As an immediate and excited response

This is at the 95% range of what I’m looking for and this is definitely going in the list

 

[Quagmire]

Start with the ethical questions and break it. Lead with the trolley problem.

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[A Maybe Baker]

Another one I thought of:

"If you were in charge of a food blog, what would your main food of choice be?"

Someone once answered "I actually do have a food blog and it's about grilled cheese sandwiches"

 

[Kat]

Would you go live on Mars as one of the first pioneers? Tweak: What if your safety was 100% guaranteed? Tweak 2: What if there was no Internet speed delay?

I love that the two tweaks to this question are "you'll be safe" and "you'll have good Internet". Because let's be real, most people nowadays would probably rather be a bit unsafe than not have fast Internet.

(It's gotta be something that isn't considered a typical phobia like... opening those Pillsbury containers that pop)

My "party trick" is popping those solely with my hands/fingers (no spoon or counter edge). You should see people's faces! Apparently most people have been traumatized by those things, because they always look like they're convinced I'm about to die.

I don't have anything to contribute because I've never heard an interesting ice breaker, but I'm totally stealing the pancake stack one.

 

[Benzine]

My "party trick" is popping those solely with my hands/fingers (no spoon or counter edge). You should see people's faces! Apparently most people have been traumatized by those things, because they always look like they're convinced I'm about to die.

I don't have anything to contribute because I've never heard an interesting ice breaker, but I'm totally stealing the pancake stack one.

are you saying you can open a crown cap with just your hands? that is impressive. i can do it with anything except my hands (although if i was committed enough i probs could).

i've taken the ice breakers over at work because they were so boring. i don't even necessarily contribute, but i'm basically trying to show that i'm a fun guy

 

[Kat]

are you saying you can open a crown cap with just your hands? that is impressive. i can do it with anything except my hands (although if i was committed enough i probs could).

What's a crown cap? I mean these things:

 

[Benzine]

oh right. i mean a glass bottle top that doesn't screw off and would typically use a bottle opener for.

 

[Kat]

Ohh. No, I use a bottle opener even for screw caps because I'm pathetically weak.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Ohh. No, I use a bottle opener even for screw caps because I'm pathetically weak.

it's just easier sometimes. I have one mounted to my wall. Don't even need to pluck it out of a drawer.

 

[Gloom-is-good]

I dunno about best question, but the best answer I've ever heard was to "If you were in a shortstack of pancakes which would you be and why?"

"THE TOP ONE SO I WOULD GET ALL THE SYRUP FOR MYSELF"

I asked the lead singer of my favorite band last night this question. He said the bottom because of all the syrup and I told he was wrong

 

[shortkut]

I asked the lead singer of my favorite band last night this question. He said the bottom because of all the syrup and I told he was wrong

I guess it depends on how much syrup. If it overflows, the bottom gets to soak it all up and stays syrupy the longest, also eaten last

 

[Kat]

I'd pick the bottom pancake because the other pancakes would become a syrupy weighted blanket. Imagine how cozy it is.

 

[Benzine]

I dunno about best question, but the best answer I've ever heard was to "If you were in a shortstack of pancakes which would you be and why?"

"THE TOP ONE SO I WOULD GET ALL THE SYRUP FOR MYSELF"

As an immediate and excited response

this one wasn't very popular, i'm disappointed (in them).

but i do need more!

 

[Ants!]

I've always felt like the first question at any job interview should always be "what is your favorite dinosaur."

 

[Fool's Requiem]

I've always felt like the first question at any job interview should always be "what is your favorite dinosaur."

I'm using this.

 

[dimmerwit]

I've always felt like the first question at any job interview should always be "what is your favorite dinosaur."

Either chicken or duck. Chicken thighs are elite and fried chicken is glorious, but duck in plum or hoisin sauce is a strong challenger.

 

[BigDaddy]

I've always felt like the first question at any job interview should always be "what is your favorite dinosaur."

 

[Ants!]

I was looking for that meme! lol

 

[Ants!]

(Plesiosaurus, for anyone who's interested)

 

[Ants!]

 

[shortkut]

 

[Quagmire]

Imagine you are single, you meet your celebrity crush and you two hit it off. They are very flirty and handsy.

They reveal they are your long lost cousin.

Do you still bang them?

 

[Benzine]

that isn't going in and no

 

[Mark]

Imagine you are single, you meet your celebrity crush and you two hit it off. They are very flirty and handsy.

They reveal they are your long lost cousin.

Do you still bang them?

Pretty sure they have HR departments in Kiwiland.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Imagine you are single, you meet your celebrity crush and you two hit it off. They are very flirty and handsy.

They reveal they are your long lost cousin.

Do you still bang them?

If Scarlett Johansson is my long lost cousin and I didn't know it, I'm going to be extremely disappointed in whomever fumbled that.

 

[Benzine]

If Scarlett Johansson is my long lost cousin and I didn't know it, I'm going to be extremely disappointed in whomever fumbled that.

... what?

 

[Benzine]

typically you become cousin via birth not marriage so wtf are you talking about

 

[Fool's Requiem]

I don't know what marriage has anything to do with.

If someone in my family knew we were connected to a celebrity through blood and didn't pass it on, someone messed up.

Imagine the discussions you can have with people ("You'll never guess who I'm related to") and the potential benefits.

You gonna tell me you wouldn't have loved to personally know your favorite celebrity?!

 

[Benzine]

I don't know what marriage has anything to do with.

If someone in my family knew we were connected to a celebrity through blood and didn't pass it on, someone messed up.

Imagine the discussions you can have with people ("You'll never guess who I'm related to") and the potential benefits.

You gonna tell me you wouldn't have loved to personally know your favorite celebrity?!

yeah that sounds shit

 

[Gloom-is-good]

They reveal they are your long lost cousin.

Do you still bang them?

Ok but like.. how distant? First cousin..?

(I probably still would if I was single)

 

[Ants!]

Loved that part of Joe Dirt.

 

[Mark]

 

[Fool's Requiem]

"It's just a joke, don't take it so seriously," they say as they have HR breathing down their necks because of employees casually sexually harassing people.

 

[Ants!]

View attachment 29484

I've been training for this.

 

[Mark]

I've been training for this.

“Training”

 

[Ants!]

Get in line!

 

[Quagmire]

Ok but like.. how distant? First cousin..?

(I probably still would if I was single)

They didnt say on the podcast I heard this on nor did they ask. 2nd is a slam dunk for me

1st.....if I didnt grow up with them and we arent reproducing, who am I to say no to Natalie Portman?

 

[Kat]

Imagine you are single, you meet your celebrity crush and you two hit it off. They are very flirty and handsy.

They reveal they are your long lost cousin.

Do you still bang them?

As others have alluded to, you can be cousins and only distantly related. I have "cousins" I'm not blood related to at all (cousins through marriage/adoption). But let's assume first cousins by blood to make it interesting.

The social taboo/natural aversion exists in general because incest results in bad results when reproducing and tends to create situations ripe for abuse. Neither problem is present in this hypothetical scenario, so I say yes, I'd bang them. I probably wouldn't advertise that I'd done so, though.