On Tuesday 8 Apr 2003 19:42:00 -0700, Paige Townsend wrote:
>Please help me fill in the blanks.  I need some questions with True or
>False type answers that your typical ferret illiterate person may not
>know....
 
HI Paige --
Just a consideration: people tend to remember things they see in passing.
The problem with using true/false questions is that you will need to
state some falsehoods up where people passing by will see them.  OK,
if they play the game, they may remember the correction, but the casual
passers-by will see and quite likely remember the misinformation.  (Oh
yeah, I'm sure ferrets are rodents.  I read that somewhere...)  So, if
you possibly can, it would be better to ask "to what animal family do
ferrets belong?" (or, to be less formal, "what other animals are most
closely related to the ferret?")
 
Maybe you could use a Yes/No question format rather than a True/False
format.  That way, the person passing by will read a question rather
than an assertion.  This business of casual reading is a real problem,
by the way.  I'm an instructional designer, and one of the things we
study is how information (and misinformation) is absorbed and retained.
 
Even Yes/No questions will require explanations.  "Do they bite?" is
a common question, but no truthful answer will be just yes or no.  (I
usually answer, "as babies, they're just like kittens or puppies; they
nip in play.  Whether they will nip as adults depends on how they're
treated.  This one is very gentle and has never bitten anyone."
 
Other common questions:
- Are they wild animals?
- What do they eat? (for yes/no, "do they eat xxx?")
- Can they be housetrained?
- Can they be trained to come, heel, and do tricks? (I saw Beastmaster!)
- Don't they smell a lot?
- Are they legal?
- Don't they carry rabies?
- Aren't they dangerous around babies?
 
Hope this helps...
-Claire (Sam, Frank, and Missy)
[Posted in FML issue 4113]