QUOTE (SpellBinder @ Aug 19 2012, 02:59 PM)

Another was a wish for everyone in a particular area to be dead. Granted, but fast forward a hundred years into the future where everyone had finally passed on from various causes.
Reminds me of a book where there was some kind of genie-of-sorts that got imprissoned in jars. When released, they'd go through their shpeal about how long they were imprissoned, which amounted to "more than 300 years but less than 400" you got a wish, but if it was more than 400 they'd kill you (and they always claimed it was over 400 years, because it was a point of pride to have killed someone in their society).
Anyway, bumbling moron "sidekick" opens the jar, the demon comes out, claims its been 408 years (or somesuch) so "I have to kill you, what method would you like?"
The main character says without pause, "Old age."
The demon is stunned, and she goes on to ask when it was that he was put into the jar. Manage to narrow down an event they both know, it's been only 300-and-a-few years. They strike a deal, she gets a wish, he goes back in the jar, and they label it to "not be opened until X date" whereupon the demon leaves without harming the poor fellow who opens it then, as by that time she
will have died by then, and he can go back and make the claim that he did kill some poor sucker. He agree, she wishes to find "an appropriate gift for some-other-character" (I forget the occasion).
Sidekick is flabbergasted that she wished for something so simple. Rational? "It's what I needed right now."