Should You Tip for Takeout? & The Weird Ways People Get into The Guinness Book of World Records

Oct 22, 2026 · 47m

Ever meet someone for the first time and then spend the next hour wondering what they thought of you? Did you say the right things? Were you interesting? Did you make a good impression? It turns out we're not particularly good at judging how these encounters go. Researchers have discovered something surprising about what happens when two strangers meet — and understanding it might change the way you think about your next conversation. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30183512/ Should you tip when you pick up takeout? Is it okay to let someone cut in line? And if everyone around you gives a standing ovation to a performance you thought was terrible, should you stand too? Life is full of these little dilemmas, and the answers aren't always as obvious as they seem. In fact, thinking them through can be surprisingly entertaining — and reveal a lot about how you make decisions and what really matters to you. Joining me to explore the hidden logic behind these everyday puzzles is Ward Farnsworth, professor at the University of Texas School of Law and author of Should You Tip for Takeout?: Solving the Puzzles of Everyday Life (https://link.amazon/B0d9xGyRN). You'll probably find yourself r…

On this episode

Nobody's credited on this episode yet.

The show's regulars