My wife and I were sitting at he cricket the other day when we heard a resounding "Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" ring out across the crowd. It was then that I knew the most recent Coke advertising campaign had permeated social culture as the cold drink vendor advertised his product (Coke) to the crowd and the crowd responded with appreciative Brrrrrrr's in return.

Emerging from the metro at the L’Enfant Plaza Station, he was pretty nondescript as he positioned himself against a wall beside a trash basket. He pulled a small violin from a case. Placing the open case at his feet, he threw in some small change as seed money, swivelled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play.

It was the middle of the morning rush hour. In the next 43 minutes, as the violinist performed six classical pieces, 1,097 people passed by. Each passerby had a quick choice to make ...  read more »