What's easier to say: "There's" or "There're"? It seems, increasingly, for many people it's the former. I've caught myself doing it. Example: "There's two ways to look at the problem." Don't contract, and you get: "There is two ways to look at the problem." That sounds terrible to my ears.

I think this is becoming common usage, to the point where most speakers don't even think it "sounds" wrong.

Here's a comparison done via google searches. (And assumedly, the comparison is even more extreme, as changes such as these appear in spoken English much earlier than written.)

"there's two" - 105,000 results >>>>>>>>> "there're two" - 5,980 results
"there's three" - 37,000 results >>>>>>>>> "there're three" - 1,710 results
"there's four" - 15,900 results >>>>>>>>>"there're four" - 4,620 results

Here's a long, and interesting, discussion, if you're interested in this sort of thing.
[snip]
What _has_ happened is that some nouns once indubitably singular
have recently acquired a plural sense, sometimes as a shadow
double and sometimes almost to the exclusion of the original
singularity..."Lot", for example, is now singular only when distinctly and
obviously referring to a collection as a single unit, typically
in commercial contexts...
[snip]

Polar adventurer Ben Saunders is attempting to ski alone from Russia to Canada by way of the North Pole. That's 1,240 miles towing a 400-pound sled (and sometimes being chased by polar bears). It's warm today: -14°C.

With the amazingly enhanced ability to reference knowledge, will "learned" knowledge decrease? Why learn the dates of the American Civil War when you can look it up on the browser on your cell phone?

Much like the paradox of the Internet -- a social technology that reduces social interaction -- the "Knowledge Economy" just might reduce what people actually know (along with a cruddy educational system).

A few years ago, I was buying tickets to a movie at the box office. Tickets were $8. I asked for two. She said that will be $20. "Excuse me?"

"$20," she said.

"Two $8 tickets are $20?" She nodded.

"8 + 8 = 20?"

"Oh, sorry," she said, punching in the right combination on the computer.

Please don't confuse my agenda with that of Operation Clambake.

I'm more in line with these teachings, either in English or Italian.