The question I get asked most often is, Where do you get your ideas?

我经常性被问到这个问题，你是怎么有灵感的?

idea 主意，想法，灵感，构思

I never do a good job of answering that.

我一直未回答出比较好的答案。

I usually say something vague about how people tell me things, or my editor, Henry, gives me a book that gets me thinking, or I say that I just plain don’t remember.

我常常把别人告诉我的事情说得很含糊（参考译文:通常我的答案都模棱两可，有时是说有人会讲些故事给我听），比如说我的编辑亨利，给了我本书然后我有灵感了，或是说我啥都不记得了。

When I was putting together this collection, I thought I’d try to figure that out once and for all.

当我把他们（文章）归集到一起时，我意识到我是在尝试一次性弄明白这个问题。

once and for all 一劳永逸地，彻底地

There is, for example, a long and somewhat eccentric piece in this book on why no has ever come up with a ketchup to rival Heinz.

比如，这本书中有篇有些古怪的长文:为什么没人能创造出一个亨氏番茄酱的对手呢？

come up with 提出，追赶上，设法拿出

(How do we feel when we eat ketchup?)

（我们在吃番茄酱时会想什么呢?）

That idea came from my friend Dave, who is in the grocery business.

这个灵感来自我的朋友戴夫，一个开杂货店的老板（参考译文:做杂货店生意）。

We have lunch every now and again, and he is the kind of person who thinks about things like that. 时常

我们时常一块吃午餐，他很那种会思考这种问题的人（比如 我们吃番茄酱会想啥）

every now and again 时而，偶尔

(Dave also has some fascinating theories about melons, but that’s an idea I’m saving for later.)

戴夫也有一些甜瓜的奇特想法，但是这是我现在要保留是想法（后面揭秘）。

Another article, called “True Colors,” is about the women who pioneered the hair color market.

另外一篇文章，《真正的颜色》，是讲述一个开创头发颜色市场的女人。

I got started on that because I somehow got it in my head that it would be fun to write about shampoo.

我开始思考它，是因为脑子里突然就有写洗发露一定很好玩的念头。

(I think I was desperate for a story.)

（写不出来小说，我都绝望了。参考译文:我真是文思枯竭了）

Many interviews later, an exasperated Madison Avenue type said to me, “Why on earth are you writing about shampoo? Hair color is much more interesting.” And so it is.

之后许多采访后， 一个麦迪逊大道型的人（柚子注:应该是现在说的kol，宣传能力广告能力很强那种人）生气地问我:你干嘛要写洗发露?头发颜色明明更有趣啊。于是就有那篇文章了。

why on earth 干嘛，究竟，到底

PS:麦迪逊大道，美国纽约市广告业大本营。美国罗曼有一本书《麦迪逊大道之王》， 本书介绍了“现代广告教皇”大卫·奥格威的生平事迹。在广告世界，大卫·奥格威以其多彩的个性和过人的才气留下了抹不去的足迹。