Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a hyphen in your name?
No. Danny Pitt Stoller is three separate words. It's like Teresa Heinz Kerry or Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza (she's a feminist scholar).
Is Pitt your middle name?
No, Anno is my middle name. My birth certificate says Daniel Anno Pitt Stoller. Sometimes people call me DAPS.
If your wife kept her name when the two of you got married, then what will you do when you have kids? Give them all three names??
My wife, Wendy Wisner,
did keep her own name when we got married. But our little boy is just a Pitt Stoller, like his dad. I had mixed feelings about it, but Wendy feels fine and I guess it's better than giving him a long list of names.
Why do you have so many names? Where did they come from? What does Anno mean?
We've already spent enough time on the name thing. If you still want to know more about my name, click here.
How long have you and Wendy been together?
We've been together continuously since October 23rd, 1993. So, more than twelve years. We also dated before that, from October 17th, 1992 to January 2nd, 1993. We have been married since August 19th, 2001.
Are you a vegetarian?
Yes, I am. I've been a vegetarian since June 1990. That's more than half my life!
Even before I was an official vegetarian, I grew up eating lots of vegetarian foods. My mother has been a vegetarian since before I was born. So when I decided to stop eating meat altogether, it wasn't a very tough transition.
I eat eggs and dairy products. But no red meat, fish, or fowl.
Why do you know so much about kids' pop culture?
Partly because I work with kids, and I like to know what they're watching and listening to. Partly because I'm close with my sister, who is fifteen years younger than I am. But mostly just because I'm interested. There's actually some cool stuff out there!
There wasn't always a separation between adult culture and children's culture. The classic works of "children's literature" (Grimm's Fairy Tales, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, Peter Pan) were originally read and enjoyed by adults as well as children. Now we believe children are supposed to have their own separate culture, just as we believe that ages 18-24 and 25-40 and 41-65 are all supposed to have their own separate cultures. It's just a marketing strategy.
What's your favorite color?
Right now I have a few different comfort objects that are blue, including my pillow and my cup. So I've been saying blue is my favorite color. But, in general, I don't really like picking favorites.
When I was in elementary school, my favorite color was pink but I had to keep quiet about it: boys weren't supposed to like pink. Then, in middle school, I developed a fondness for green. After that I developed my principled stance against favorite colors; but lately I've softened up and admitted my fondness for blue.
Why isn't my question listed in this article?
I guess your question hasn't been asked very frequently. This article is strictly for answering questions that are frequently asked. But you can feel free to send me your questions, and I'll do my best to answer.