One of my favourite children's authors, Robert Munsch, once said (and I'm taking liberties paraphrasing) "The best ideas come in the shower, when the shower ions are hitting your head and stimulating those brain cells." The shower was exactly where I came up with the idea of the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon dinner party.

First of all, it's important to know what the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon concept is.  According to Roger Hiemstra at Syracuse University, the game was developed by three college students who created a theory that Kevin Bacon was the centre of the entertainment universe, and that any actor or actress could be linked back to him, typically within six degrees (six connections).  Similarly, a variation of the game was based on the fact that almost anyone in the world could be linked to anyone else in the world by six or seven degrees.  

Ingredients:

• a miscellaneous bunch of your friends that have never met - make sure to have a good mix of talkers, highly opinionated people, quiet people, artsy people, jocks, etc.
• miscellany of dishes
• a place of gathering (preferably your place)
• invitations

1. Send invitations out 5 days prior to the actual date of the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon potluck. (see below for template).
2. Ask guests to RSVP their presence, their guests' presence, and the dishes that will be brought.
3. Allow concept to marinate overnight, or for several days.
4. On day of potluck, mix together ingredients, and allow hilarity to ensue (approximately 25 mins).

• Make certain that people do not form a giant AA-esque circle of people, but rather, smaller factions of people.
• Make sure there are enough people that the room is sufficiently crowded, or that its small enough that you can fit at one table with no more than 8 people.
• You may want to add the proviso for your friends to bring the craziest person that you haven't met before.
• Ask people to bring their favourite music.

Comments or you want to share your Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon dinner party? Email it to kitty[at]keetologue[dot]com.

Invitation:

For PC users:
Right click on the image below, and save. Print off as many as you need, and fill in the necessary information. Distribute to friends.

For Mac users:
Go to http://www.keetologue.com/graphics/sixdegreesinvitation.jpg. Save as usual, print off as many as you need, and fill in the necessary information. Distribute to friends.