# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2022, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380 "2022-09-28T11:33:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 240
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4784 "2023-06-12T01:35:14Z")
My initial reply to all the weight/age questions would be, “Why do you ask?” and the time of that reply would get more aggressive as the question was phrased more rudely. I have no problem telling someone my age or weight, but there’s etiquette around these things, and I’m not averse to reminding rude strangers of that. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4785 "2023-06-12T03:49:49Z")
I have never been bitten by a bee (alive or dead), but I have been stung by one (alive). I didn’t even know bees could bite, but I was inspired by the poll question to google, and it turns out that some of them can. > **[Do Bees Bite? | Do Bees Bite Humans & Is It Venomous?](https://beeswiki.com/do-bees-bite/)** > > Bees do in fact bite, but why they bite depends on the circumstance. Learn about bee bites vs. stings, if bee bites are painful, and more. > **[Watch out for those mandibles! Honey bees bite!](https://www.honeybeesuite.com/honey-bees-can-bite/)** > > When we think of bees, we think of stings. But honey bees bite too, chomping down on an enemy with surprisingly strong mandibles. Ouch! ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4786 "2023-06-12T06:08:59Z")
I was puzzled by the lack of “I’ve been stung by a live bee” option. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4787 "2023-06-12T10:53:33Z")
Or the half a bee option. Which, philosophically, must half not be. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4788 "2023-06-12T10:56:19Z")
I’ve been stung by a bee, not sure if I’ve ever been bitten by one. I think dead bees/wasps can only sting very shortly after death - at least for the inject venom part of the sting. As for Jesus, Guns, or Babies — No, No, and No. Most emphatically no. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4789 "2023-06-12T11:05:56Z")
If someone approached and asked my age/weight I’d chuckle and walk away, looking for someone worth talking with. I guess I’m old enough to do things like that. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4790 "2023-06-12T11:30:33Z")
The age/weight questions were about a “gathering of people you don’t know well”, which implies _some_ familiarity, not a complete stranger asking questions out of the blue. I’ve been with just-introduced people when the discussion is about TV shows, or World Series games, or songs, etc., and been asked my age. It seems natural in that context - You saw the Immaculate Reception live on TV? How old are you? I also vaguely remember “dieting” discussions when I’ve been asked my weight, and that’s no big deal either. One thing I have always wondered about is why people pretend to be younger than they are. If I wanted to impress anybody I would claim to be much older and maybe get a response like "Wow! You don’t look a day over …(real age) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4791 "2023-06-12T12:10:28Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > was puzzled by the lack of “I’ve been stung by a live bee” option. Ditto. I’ve been stung by live bees – that is, I’m pretty sure that at least once in my life I’ve been stung by a bee, and entirely sure that I’ve been stung by more than one wasp (though not very often considering how often I’m around them.) I’m pretty sure that I’ve never been stung by a dead one. > [@Bayaker](#): > > I’ve been with just-introduced people when the discussion is about TV shows, or World Series games, or songs, etc., and been asked my age. It seems natural in that context - You saw the Immaculate Reception live on TV? How old are you? > > I also vaguely remember “dieting” discussions when I’ve been asked my weight, and that’s no big deal either. Yeah, that’s why I voted ‘other’. I can easily think of conversations in which either question would be relevant, possibly even along with an interjection of surprise (and I suspect the examples given were supposed to be along an increasing scale, but as some people use any of them for mild surprise and others only use one or more of them for astonishment they don’t seem that way to me.) I’d probably move away from a dieting discussion involving weight loss with people I don’t know well, and with some I do know well, because I don’t usually want to get into an argument starting with my saying ‘don’t do that, it’ll probably only make you fatter’. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4792 "2023-06-12T13:25:12Z")
I was stung by a bee… $35 dollars for a jar of honey !! c’mon ! you know someone was going to say it. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4793 "2023-06-12T13:33:31Z")
I might have picked Jesus if I needed someone to roll a lot of strikes. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4794 "2023-06-12T13:46:17Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Yeah, that’s why I voted ‘other’. I can easily think of conversations in which either question would be relevant, possibly even along with an interjection of surprise I forget what i voted, but my response certainly would depend on the circumstances. If a stranger in the mall asked me a question like that, I’d pretend i didn’t see them and keep walking. If the question came up organically in a social gathering, like you described above, I’d just answer. I don’t give my age here because i like to pretend I’m anonymous. But i weigh about 180lbs, and I’m a little over 60. And I’m reasonably comfortable with both of those. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4795 "2023-06-12T14:06:14Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I have never been bitten by a bee (alive or dead), but I have been stung by one (alive). I didn’t even know bees could bite, but I was inspired by the poll question to google, and it turns out that some of them can. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I was puzzled by the lack of “I’ve been stung by a live bee” option. It’s how we tell the good guys from the bad guys… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9dUZYI7rcuU/maxresdefault.jpg "Dead Bee can Bite You") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dUZYI7rcuU) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4796 "2023-06-12T14:17:48Z")
I wasn’t concerned about the live bee/dead bee issue, but the grammatical error in the poll bugs me (so to speak). ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4797 "2023-06-12T14:22:30Z")
If you watch the clip above all the way through, the only correct reply is given around 1:15. Were you? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4798 "2023-06-12T14:30:05Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I wasn’t concerned about the live bee/dead bee issue, but the grammatical error in the poll bugs me > (so to speak). Did it bug you a lot, or just a bit? mmm ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4799 "2023-06-12T15:50:30Z")
> [@saje](#): > > As for Jesus, Guns, or Babies — No, No, and No. Most emphatically no. I’ll take the babies, if I’ve got to pick one. But I’d rather think of it as babies coming to visit than as me being responsible for them – let alone my having them, at my age and physical condition! Babies coming to visit I’m fine with, that can be fun. (I’m still up to taking care of a baby cat or dog, come to think of it; so the species of the baby could also be a question. However my household is currently full up. Does the year-and-two-months old dog count?) ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4800 "2023-06-12T16:06:21Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I’ll take the babies, if I’ve got to pick one. But I’d rather think of it as babies coming to visit than as me being responsible for them – let alone my having them, at my age and physical condition! Babies coming to visit I’m fine with, that can be fun. Babies are great - especially the kind you can give back. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4801 "2023-06-12T17:08:17Z")
Not averse to historical Jesus, but I chose babies in case it’s Pauline Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4802 "2023-06-12T17:48:55Z")
Babies are still a big no for me, unless they have paws, wings, or hooves. Or even find, I guess! Animals are fine, humans not so much. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4803 "2023-06-12T18:33:38Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Not averse to historical Jesus, but I chose babies in case it’s Pauline Jesus. The Jesus who wants everybody to be fed and clothed, I’m in favor of. The one who blasts fig trees because they don’t have fruit out of season (thereby guaranteeing that they won’t have fruit in season either, in addition to being hard on the tree and on creatures living in it) – that one I’d rather not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=239) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=241)