Most asked web question...

[Claude Remains]

How to tie a tie? (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40461531/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets)

1. Who the fuck has no clue how to tie a tie?
2. How can there be so many clueless?

[Marley23]

1. Who the fuck has no clue how to tie a tie?
A lot of guys. Especially younger guys who are more likely to use the web to look for an answer.

2. How can there be so many clueless?
Probably because men are not wearing ties as often as they used to because people aren't dressing as formally.

[Claude Remains]

And yet the crux of the buiscuit is - How is this even close to being the most asked question online in 2010?

[Noone Special]

How to tie a tie? (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40461531/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets)

1. Who the fuck has no clue how to tie a tie?
2. How can there be so many clueless?

:Raises hand:

See, I live in a society where, as a rule, we just don't do ties (and really, really formal wear in general.)

And then every so often (like once a decade) I find I actually need a tie, just this one time....

So yeah, I end up re-learning every. Damn. Time. It's not even like I can keep the tie knotted for next time -- it will have been lost, found, devoured by hyenas, defecated and picked on by crows and recycled three times over by the time I need it again.

ETA: I was just reacting to the "who the fuck has no clue...?" part of your question. I don't know how that is the "most asked" question either. There's only like, maybe, 2 million Israeli males in the age group that may occasionally need a tie.... :D

[GuanoLad]

I have only had to wear a tie briefly in my life, for a job, and I learned to do it (inexpertly) for those occasions only. I have since forgotten how.

Ties are stupid meaningless things anyway. They should die out.

[Claude Remains]

I'm a US Navy vet. Ties of every imaginable sort are near and dear to my heart.

[GESancMan]

I'm 39 years old and I have no clue how to tie a tie. I've had to wear one maybe ten times in my life (and that was ten times too many). The one tie I own has remained in its knot since I bought it... I dunno, eight years ago?

[Claude Remains]

Hello!?

How is it that How to tie a tie (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40461531/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets) is the most asked question of 2010?

Is this the wrong forum?

[Lynn Bodoni]

I have only a vague idea of how to tie a tie. I think that you start out by adjusting the narrower end to hit around the bellybutton, and then you flip the wider end this way and that, and you end up making a sort of hangman's noose around your neck. Which I find to be appropriate.

I've never had to wear a tie in my life that wasn't a clip on (part of a theater's uniform for both men and women). When my husband feels the need to wear a tie for some reason, he goes and buys a cheap clip on. After the wedding or funeral or whatever, he gives that tie to some charity or other, because it's going to be out of style before he needs to wear one again.

Ties on women look even more ridiculous than ties on men. And that's saying something.

[EvilTOJ]

I just leave mine tied all the time, hung around the collar of my shirt which is nested into my jacket. Pants are hung inside that. I know, the horror, right? The suit only comes out for court and job interviews, it works fine.

[Claude Remains]

HOLY SHIT! did you read my OP?

"How is it that tying a fucking tie became the most asked question on the web"?

[Lynn Bodoni]

It became the most asked question on the web because most people DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT, and don't care enough to learn. However, sometimes they NEED to tie a tie, and they ask on the web because that's how many people get information.

Hell, I've been checking on how to make fireplace logs out of newspaper lately. It's something that I had a vague idea of how to go about it, but I was a bit foggy on the details. I guess that a lot of men are preparing to go to church during the Xmas season and are concerned about tying their ties properly.

[Claude Remains]

nm

[Claude Remains]

Just ran a Google search and found that "why does England suck at football"? was number one until I started this thread.

No joke.

[2square4u]

I've never had to wear a tie in my life that wasn't a clip on (part of a theater's uniform for both men and women). When my husband feels the need to wear a tie for some reason, he goes and buys a cheap clip on.:dubious:

Clipons are for kindergarten kids. Anyone older than primary school age should wear a real tie (even if they have to have daddy tie it for them or research the web every time they're gonna wear a tie). IMNSHO, even bow ties should be hand tied.

But to the OP, I think it's good that so many guys actually try to learn how to tie a tie for the holidays rather than wearing *ugh* clipons. Honestly, how many do wear a tie frequently these days?

[Joey P]

I own two ties I think. Both of them are hanging in my closet all ready tied so all I have to do is slip them on and tighten them. If one of them comes undone, I'd have no idea how to redo it without looking it up, even then it's not going to look good. Yes, I'm 30, and still have to have someone tie my tie for me. But since I really only have to wear a tie for funerals and when I stand up in a wedding it's not much of a problem.

A few years back, I was going to my grandmother's funeral. I walked in complaining to my then wife that I needed to find my dad or someone else to tie my tie for me. The person that was directing us to the room where the viewing was offered to tie it for me. Hey, great. I handed him the tie and he put it around my neck and tied it perfectly. I still remember looking at him and saying "You're the first person that's tied a tie for me from the front, most people have to stand behind me to do it...ooooh :smack:"

He normally ties ties on corpses

[UncleRojelio]

I've always like knots so I can tie a tie several different ways.

[FasterThanMeerkats]

HOLY SHIT! did you read my OP?

"How is it that tying a fucking tie became the most asked question on the web"?

Respectfully, the original OP was two specific questions, neither of which directly asked the question you just asked. Appending a clarification two posts down doesn't change the original OP and it's to be expected that some folks won't read everything and answer your amended question. There's no need to be rude about it. If you can't be bothered to ask the question right the first time, how can you possibly have such high expectations of others?

To address your question, rather than looking at how many people don't know how to tie a tie, it might be possible to look at the runners up for top question and see how it compares.

"While "How to tie a tie" was the No. 1 question in 2010, it was followed by searches on "how to lose weight", "how to kiss" and "how to write a resume.""
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40461531/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/ (Couldn't find an actual list, maybe someone else can?)

"How to kiss" is as bizarre to me as how to tie a tie. My only conclusion is that there are a lot of ignorant people trying to cure their ignorance using the web, which is ok with me. :)

[PlainJain]

I too believe ties have outlived their time. Design of mens formalwear will never advance as long as ties are the default.

I'm a US Navy vet. Ties of every imaginable sort are near and dear to my heart.Just curious, what does one have to do with the other?

[corkboard]

Seriously- an adult wearing a clip-on Windsor (straight) tie is a joke, right? Please tell me it's a joke.

Here's a hint- the next time you learn to tie a tie, instead of doing it once, do it like ten times. Then wear it to that event, and a few years later when you have to wear it again, you'll remember. It's really not that hard.

I've never had the opportunity to tie a bowtie, but I just bought a tux and decided to eschew the standard pre-tied bowtie you get with most tux rentals. I checked it out online, tied it a bunch of times, and now I know how.

[tdn]

It became the most asked question on the web because most people DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT, and don't care enough to learn.

Isn't the fact that they're asking an indication that they're willing to learn?

A few times I was going to start a thread on this very subject. Not that I need to learn how to tie one, but that I wanted to learn how to tie one BETTER. Mine sometimes get twisted around and look funny.

As for ties being an outdated and useless accessory, I actually take great pride in my tie collection. I get compliments on them all the time. I guess that they look good on me because I take the time to pick ones that are actually stylish rather than a necessary evil. A throwaway nylon clip-on is going to look like a throwaway nylon clip-on.

Oh, and Lynn, I don't care where the narrow end starts out. The wide end starts at the bottom of my crotch. That way it ends up hanging just about to my belt. Too short and it looks clownish, too long and it looks derelict.

[silenus]

I have to hold tie-tieing lessons every year for my debaters. Most of them have never worn one until then, or have had them tied by others. We keep it simple and teach them the Half-Shelby (aka The Debate Knot). Fast, easy and can be done on a dead run if you are late to rounds.

[PlainJain]

Here's a hint- the next time you learn to tie a tie, instead of doing it once, do it like ten times. Then wear it to that event, and a few years later when you have to wear it again, you'll remember. It's really not that hard.

Neither is googling it. Seriously where's the economy in practicing vs looking it up?

[ITR champion]

HOLY SHIT! did you read my OP?

"How is it that tying a fucking tie became the most asked question on the web"?
That's not what you said in your OP. What you said in your OP was this:
Most asked web question...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to tie a tie?

1. Who the fuck has no clue how to tie a tie?
2. How can there be so many clueless?
So people have been answering what you wrote in your OP. Why are you so upset about it? Further, if you want to participate in these forums, you should consider developing a bit of patience and politeness. (Those things are helpful in real life too, as it happens.) Using less profanity and treating other people with respect will get you responses a lot faster than throwing a temper tantrum.

To answer you questions: 1. Did you come out of your mother's womb already knowing how to tie a neck tie? If not, then you should understand that people don't know how to tie a neck tie until they learn it.

2. See 1.

3. It's the most common question for the obvious reason that nearly all men (and a few women) have to learn it at some point in their lives, yet it's not the sort of thing that most people learn in school or from parents. Hence it's exactly the sort of thing that one would expect people to look up in the internet.

In any case, knowing how to tie a neck tie does not make you superior to everyone who doesn't. There are plenty of things which millions of other people know how to do, but you don't.

[dhkendall]

My only conclusion is that there are a lot of ignorant people trying to cure their ignorance using the web, which is ok with me. :)

Not with me. I mean, my God, have you seen the amount of plain-out wrongness on the Internet? If curing ignorance on the Web was acceptable, Cecil would have been out of a job more than 10 years ago! Taking it for Gospel just because "it's on the Internet" is a bad mistake most people make.

[Lynn Bodoni]

Seriously- an adult wearing a clip-on Windsor (straight) tie is a joke, right? Please tell me it's a joke. Not a joke. The clip on bow tie I wore in the theater was part of the uniform, and most of the workers were kids. However, my husband only needs to wear a tie once every 5 to 20 years. Why bother spending the money for a good one? He's only going to wear it for a couple of hours, tops, so it makes no sense to us to spend the money to purchase a good one, or the time to fiddle with it. He's only wearing it because his family expects certain dress in certain circumstances.

However, the men all got together before the last funeral (earlier this year) and decided that they were NOT going to wear neckties, just business casual dress. And I applaud them. Neckties are evil. The only good thing I can say about them is that if I am obliged to get a man a gift, and I know he wears ties on a regular basis, then I can safely get him a decent necktie.

[davidm]

..."While "How to tie a tie" was the No. 1 question in 2010, it was followed by searches on "how to lose weight", "how to kiss" and "how to write a resume.""...
I think the "how to write a resume" question may be a clue as to why so many people are asking about ties. Job interviews are one of the handful of circumstances where I've actually worn a tie in recent years.

[mhendo]

It doesn't surprise me at all that lots of people search the web for instructions on how to tie a tie.

I went to a selective boarding school, and in the winter term we wore ties to school every day. 25 years later, even though i rarely ever wear a tie, i can still put together a perfect Windsor knot.

But if i hadn't spent 6 years of high school doing it, i'd probably still need to look it up on occasion.

[tdn]

What's funny is that my father taught me when I was maybe 15 or 16. From then until I was around 23, I almost never had occasion to wear one. But I never forgot how to tie one.

[Marley23]

And yet the crux of the buiscuit is - How is this even close to being the most asked question online in 2010?
It would be interesting to see how often this question got asked in other years. It's true there are a lot of people out of work, but that was true last year, too. My guess is there are always a lot of guys asking how to tie a tie. People graduate from high school and college and go to proms and weddings and things every year. I'm not very good at it myself. I can fake it but it doesn't look as good as I'd like. I think the last time I wore a tie (which might've been Halloween 2009) I untied the tie after I was done with it. I either needed it cleaned, or maybe I wanted to take another stab at it the next time I was going to wear a tie. Whenever that is, I'll probably be using the internet again.

[Markxxx]

We had to learn that in the Cub Scouts. We also had to learn how to tie a BOW TIE as well.

Unfortuantely I've only had one job where I didn't have to wear a tie

[nolonger lurking]

I have to hold tie-tieing lessons every year for my debaters. Most of them have never worn one until then, or have had them tied by others. We keep it simple and teach them the Half-Shelby (aka The Debate Knot). Fast, easy and can be done on a dead run if you are late to rounds.

Some googling fails to turn up the Half-Shelby. Are you thinking of a Pratt-Shelby or a half Windsor or something else? I always tied a windsor for debate because it is the knot my dad used and he is the one who taught me. A lot of the guys used what appears to be a four-in-hand. I wasn't much for the narrow lopsidedness, but it's an easy knot and beats no tie at all.

[garygnu]

I know only one way to tie a tie, and if I wanted to learn one or two of the other ways, I'd probably use teh intertubes.

[suranyi]

What's funny is that my father taught me when I was maybe 15 or 16. From then until I was around 23, I almost never had occasion to wear one. But I never forgot how to tie one.

Yeah, my dad taught me when I was a teenagers as well. The difference is, I did have occasion to wear them. I went to a surprising number of formal events when I was a kid, and afterwards as well -- weddings, bar mitzvahs, that sort of thing.

When you're a Jewish teenager, and you have a lot of Jewish friends, you go to a lot of formal events when you're about 13 years old.

[corkboard]

Neither is googling it. Seriously where's the economy in practicing vs looking it up?

I guess there isn't any, but at least you can say you learned something new. Which I understand is meaningless to many people, but that's what comes from the ability to have immediate access to just about any piece of information. It goes to the larger issue of "I don't have to know it- I can find out in a few seconds, and then forget it again."

And if everyone learned the first time they looked it up, then we could get on with the really important things in life, like "how to lose weight", "how to kiss", and "how to write a resume", and all will be right with the world.

[perfectparanoia]

My dad taught me how to tie a tie (Full and Half Windsor) when I was about 9 or 10.

I am a girl.

I still tie my husband's ties when we are going out somewhere (he still can't get the full Windsor and if we are going somewhere that needs a tie, I believe it should be a full). When he goes to work he just does a half (and he chooses to wear a shirt and tie instead of a golf shirt. He's weird that way).

We used to wear ties in band in highschool. Every year I would teach the new members how to tie a tie. I was the only girl. It was pretty bizarre.

I also agree that if you are a grown person, you should wear a tie that requires tying not a clip on. It's just not that hard to do and they are cheaper than clip ons (if you get them at second hand stores or at walmart, anyway). And if you get a fairly boring pattern, it should not go out of fashion.

[DCnDC]

FYI there are certain professions where clip-on ties are either required or recommended e.g. policemen, security guards, etc.

However in one's personal life I believe there's no reason to not know how to tie a tie. It's Man 101.

[silenus]

Some googling fails to turn up the Half-Shelby. Are you thinking of a Pratt-Shelby or a half Windsor or something else? I always tied a windsor for debate because it is the knot my dad used and he is the one who taught me. A lot of the guys used what appears to be a four-in-hand. I wasn't much for the narrow lopsidedness, but it's an easy knot and beats no tie at all.

A Half-Shelby skips one of the wraps of the Shelby. Start from the same position. Under, over, around, tuck. Makes for a tighter knot and saves seconds.

[Hal Briston]

Catholic school did it for me...you can get away with the clip-on for first grade, maybe second. After that, you damn well better know how to tie a tie.

Hmmm....one second, I need to check on something.

Yup...still know how to tie it. Glad I got something out of St. Pete's.

[Lynn Bodoni]

at least you can say you learned something new. Which I understand is meaningless to many people, but that's what comes from the ability to have immediate access to just about any piece of information. I like learning new things, IF they are things that I'm interested in. I'm not interested in learning how to tie a tie properly, and since it's not something that I need to know, I'll go on and learn about that new type of life form they found in a salty lake or something like that. Heck, I've studied up on random things just out of curiosity, and learned how to do things just to say that I can do them. But tying a tie, either long or bow, just doesn't interest me, and I have no intentions of learning how to do it unless I can see a benefit for me in it. Note: the sheer joy of learning is enough of a benefit, for some subjects. But not tie tying.

[Picard Kills Kirk]

I'm the only one in my family who knows how to tie a tie. I learned by googling it. When the unfortunate occasion comes where everyone needs to wear a tie, I end up tying one for myself, one for each of my brothers, older and younger, and last but not least my father. None of them have jobs that require anything more than business casual at most.

[Bootis]

And yet the crux of the buiscuit is - How is this even close to being the most asked question online in 2010?

I share your doubt. 1. Its a question only, (or mostly) males ask 2. It's a question that anyone who's worn a tie more than a dozen times wouldn't ask 3. It's a question someone who never has worn or will wear a tie will never ask
I'd think the most asked question would be something with a much higher % potential asking pool. I don't believe them, and in fact I'm certain the question "what time is it", among others has been googled far more often than "how do you tie a tie"

[BigT]

What I want to know is, is there a way of tying the tie where you can easily adjust the front?

[drastic_quench]

Seriously- an adult wearing a clip-on Windsor (straight) tie is a joke, right? Please tell me it's a joke.

Here's a hint- the next time you learn to tie a tie, instead of doing it once, do it like ten times. Then wear it to that event, and a few years later when you have to wear it again, you'll remember. It's really not that hard.

I've never had the opportunity to tie a bowtie, but I just bought a tux and decided to eschew the standard pre-tied bowtie you get with most tux rentals. I checked it out online, tied it a bunch of times, and now I know how.

Prison guards in Illinois wear clip on ties so they can't be chocked or dragged around by a real tie. I bet a lot of police officers that have a tie as a part of their uniform wear them too.

[Rack-a-Bones]

As recently as 6 months ago I googled "how to tie a tie" because I wanted to do a full Windsor. I only knew how to do the basic slip knot style. I think the Windsor is a nice knot. I found a site that had a printable "how to" -- still have it in my garment bag with my coats and ties.

[kenobi 65]

I had to wear a tie through four years of Catholic high school, and then for the first 7 years of my business career (before "business casual" became the norm at my employers and clients). I now wear a tie perhaps 10 times a year, usually for big business meetings or formal occasions.

However in one's personal life I believe there's no reason to not know how to tie a tie. It's Man 101.

15 or 20 years ago, I would have agreed with you. The norm in U.S. society for male attire has changed. The number of businesses for which a tie is an expected part of a male employee's attire has dropped dramatically -- and, if, a guy doesn't have to wear a tie every day, in many cases, it means he's never going to wear one *at all* now (save for the occasional funeral or wedding...and, even then, many will just skip it then, too).

[Waffle Decider]

I'm surprised that the most asked question is so mundane and not something more... inappropriate, shall we say.

I had to wear a tie as part of my school uniform, so that took care of that.

[panache45]

I used to have to wear a tie every day, for work. In those jobs, ties are really the only part of a man's wardrobe where he can express himself a little. As a result I've got several dozen beautiful ties, including many that are hand-made. Unfortunately, now I have no occasion to wear a tie, except for a bow tie when I wear my tux.

[AnalogSignal]

I had to wear a tie every day for work from 1990-1997. Then casual Fridays were introduced. Then the DotCom boom occurred and ties disappeared from many offices. Thankfully ties didn't return after the DotCom crash.

I attended a wedding recently and was pleased that I could still tie a tie from muscle memory with a good knot on the first try. I could also probably still develop 35mm black & white film, code in Assembly Language, etc. but times change and certain skills become obsolete.

[RandMcnally]

My older brother taught me how to tie a half windsor, even though it takes me ten minutes to get the length right. I still can't tie a full windsor, despite being taught in Basic training. What I ended up doing is going to one of my friends in my flight who knew and just had him tie mine, and I kept it in the knot my entire enlistment.

I'd still like to learn though, but I couldn't figure it out.

[DCnDC]

I'm surprised that the most asked question is so mundane and not something more... inappropriate, shall we say.

I'm surprised that it's not "Do people know if they've been unfriended on Facebook?" if the frequency of that question's appearances on this board alone are any indication.