Roommates Mark and Liz are planning a party of sorts for this Saturday night at the House of Rock. For those that don’t know me, i’m not a huge partier. Being a member of the non-drinking social club, I don’t find the same enjoyment as others in events planned around alcohol consumption. My scene is much more the double dutch, making dinner, rock climbing sort of scene. Furthermore, I think I’m much more of a ’small group’ person than a ‘big group’ person. I’d rather share some quality chat time with one or two persons than mix and mingle mini-conversations with lots of people.

And while I’d hate to be seen as a downer for skipping out on a social gathering, I’ve been considering planning an escape. A sabbatical from the hustle and bustle of the House of Rock to somewhere serene where rock doesn’t need amplification. I like the sound of that. A place where rock doesn’t need amplification.

It’s more likely however, that I’ll be at the party. Maybe playing DDR and drinking Orange Juice spiked with Pineapple or Cranberry. I suppose I could always retreat to my room with an acoustic and some Journey if a sensory overload is immanent.

I’m at 109 days since my last hair cut. If I can hold off for 12 more days I will be able to perfectly trisect the year with haircuts. thus saving an additional 14-20 dollars.

The Question

Dear Shaun,

I have some burning questions about Halloween. I know the usual 2nd grade equivalent of All Hallow’s Eve, but I want to know more about where it originated and for what purpose. In addition, I’m particularly interested in how the transition from scary costumes (ghosts, bats) to less scary (Smurfette - what I am this year) and plain stupid (post-its, fish) came about. Further, what is the most popular candy given out on halloween? And moreso, what is the ettiquette for people living in apartments or top floors of houses? How are they supposed (are they?) logistically give out candy??

Yours,
Theresa.

The Answer

Wow, Theresa, you have somehow managed to sneak at least 3 questions into one. Bravo!

Scary costumes were the norm for Halloween until around the 70’s. Somehow, the 70’s were scary enough, and people decided that it might be a good idea to go goofy. Hence, He-Man made his appearance at Halloween. This was not a good move, since He-Man wasn’t much less frightening than the Grim Reaper himself, but it was a start.

The most popular candy in the past has always been that friendly, reliable Snickers. HOWEVER! Your question comes at an opportune time, since Snickers has been body-slammed from the top quite recently, not once, but TWICE! In 2004, Snickers was relegated to #2, as Candy Corn took the top slot. And THEN, to add insult to injury, in 2005 the Lemon Head took #1! Amazing!

One way that some high-rise apartment buildings handle Halloween is that they create a “list” of some kind where “residents” can sign “up” to “receive” Halloween “trick-or”-treaters.

Okay, done with the quotation marks. Sorry.

The “list” mechanism (My finger slipped! Honest!) is generally enough to get hordes of children into an apartment building, completely disregarding the list and banging on every door in the place, demanding sweets.

Generally, etiquette calls for residents of high-rise buildings to have candy available in a volume proportional to the resident’s floor. For example, a resident on floor 7 needs less candy than someone on the first floor. Keep in mind that the top floor is a kid magnet, so the same rules apply for the top floor as the bottom floor.

I hope this clears up some of the confusion you’ve been experiencing. It appears that you asked this question around Halloween of 2005. Hmm….have I been this lax with question answering?