Mr. Popper is depicted as a “dreamer” (2). He is absentminded and dreamy. When painting houses, he often thinks of his desire to travel to distant places. On one occasion, this leads to his painting “three sides of a kitchen green, and the other side yellow” (3) by accident. The housewife actually is pleased with this effect, and the decorating trend becomes popular. This sort of event is known as “serendipity,” or the coincidental occurrence of chance events in a beneficial way. In your opinion, are creative people more likely to experience serendipitous events? Is this solely the result of absentmindedness, or might they be more likely to experiment with commonplace traditions to achieve a new effect?

Mr. Popper is thrilled when the great explorer, Admiral Drake, radios him directly from the Antarctic. The Admiral tells Mr. Popper to await a “surprise,” but he gives no further clues about what he is sending. Mr. Popper is restless with anticipation the following day and wishes that he had the distraction of his daily routine to calm him. Is this a common reaction? Why are people comforted by a familiar routine? What elements of a routine help to relieve stress?