The Swimming Pool Question

Every year at Freshman Orientation, several current students go in to help out, and to tell the incoming freshpeople what life at the IA is like. I always volunteer, as I think it's a really fun way to get to know the incoming freshpeople, and it's a nice transition from summer to the school year. One of the activities we do to help them get acquainted with each other is an interview. Each person in the group (of about 30 who are in any given classroom at any given time) must pick a partner to interview. If there's an odd number I'll be with a freshperson, and if there's an even number I'm usually with another volunteer. The questions are usually something like, "What district are you from?" "What is one strength you will bring to the IA?" "What is one fear you have about the IA?" "What is one interesting fact that few people here know about you?" and my favorite, "If you had an empty swimming pool that you could fill with anything you wanted, (besides water,) what would you fill it with and why?" The interesting part is that you have to pretend to be your partner. For example, let's say that two people named Joe and Bob are partners. Joe would say, "Hi I'm Bob from Rochester, and I will bring my great sense of humor to the IA. I'm scared of all the homework. I...err...hey- what's my interesting fact again? Oh yeah, right...I have been to four different continents. And I would fill my swimming pool with money." Then Bob would do the same, pretending to be Joe. For the last question, money is a very popular answer. There are, however, many interesting ones. Several people always ask if they have to pay for whatever they put in. If they don't, gasoline is a surprisingly popular answer. They say the can sell it when the price goes up some more. A lot of people say books, too. One time I was partners with a girl from IA East named Elizabeth. That ended with me saying, "My name's Elizabeth and I'd fill my pool with hot guy models." Thanks Elizabeth. Anyway, I've taken to saying that I'd fill mine with liquid dihydrogen monoxide, to scare the guests. It's funny to hear them try to pronounce it. And besides, there's almost always one who gets it.