# Groom Failsd Math Test -- Wedding Off **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 14, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995 "2015-03-14T16:30:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/21 "2015-03-15T15:41:47Z")
Kind of like a _wedding captcha_. The groom was clearly a bot. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/22 "2015-03-15T16:08:12Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Me neither. That’s one set of verbs I always have to look up/double check to make sure I’m using the correct one. And in speech, forget it. It’s just a guess, but nobody cares what verb I use in casual speech. Don’t know why, but that rule just doesn’t stick to my brain. I can call up fine details of AP Style and the such without needing the reference book, but those two words I always have to look up. One is transitive, and the other is intransitive. It really isn’t that hard. And I care. This one grates on me. ---
**Author:** ![SJL4041](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@SJL4041](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SJL4041)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/23 "2015-03-15T16:44:32Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Hey, neither could my ex! 😃 :rimshot: > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > One is transitive, and the other is intransitive. It really isn’t that hard. And I care. This one grates on me. Just lie yourself down and lay still. This too shall pass. ---
**Author:** ![Weirofhermiston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e274bd/32.png) [@Weirofhermiston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirofhermiston)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/24 "2015-03-15T19:00:49Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Could they have been in cahoots? The article says New Delhi. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/25 "2015-03-15T21:45:36Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > I think that the groom was smarter than any of them realized. I agree. Actually, I wonder if both bride and groom conspired to torpedo their arranged marriage. “Do you really want to marry me?” “No. You?” “No. Follow my lead…” ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/26 "2015-03-16T03:44:09Z")
There was a Star Trek episode on this general theme. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/27 "2015-03-16T12:24:37Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > One is transitive, and the other is intransitive. It really isn’t that hard. And I care. This one grates on me. It’s not the transitive/intransitive part that gets me. It’s the past tense that screws me up or causes me to double check. Just looking it up, the past tense of “lie” is “lay.” Then the past participle is “lain.” Whereas the past tense and past participle of “lay” are both “laid.” For some reason, that doesn’t stick with me. For the past tense of “lie,” I want to say “laid” or “lied.” “Lay” just doesn’t sound like a past tense verb to me (nor does it to my friends and peers, it seems.) (And the “nobody cares” is not meant to be absolutely literal.) ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/28 "2015-03-16T12:40:43Z")
And the OP misses on the the thread title I think. ( Groom **Failsd** Math Test – Wedding Off ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/29 "2015-03-16T12:44:57Z")
If this story is true, I like it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/30 "2015-03-16T13:09:37Z")
> [@DrumBum](#): > > And the OP misses on the the thread title I think. ( Groom **Failsd** Math Test – Wedding Off I accidently hit both the “s” and “d” keys at the same time (they’re adjacent on the keyboard) and didn’t notice until I’d posted. So sue me. Just don’t marry me. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/31 "2015-03-16T13:16:25Z")
I think both bride and groom are better for it. The woman shouldn’t marry a man who can’t do basic arithmetic, and the man shouldn’t marry a woman who’d ditch a marriage for random reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/32 "2015-03-16T13:32:45Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I think both bride and groom are better for it. The woman shouldn’t marry a man who can’t do basic arithmetic, and the man shouldn’t marry a woman who’d ditch a marriage for random reasons. When you’re in an arranged marriage, being lied to about the other person’s education is not a “random reason.” It’s fraud. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/33 "2015-03-16T16:21:49Z")
This story sounds awfully fishy to me…something just doesn’t add up… ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/34 "2015-03-16T18:02:55Z")
Perhaps some day… “Before we get married, you must answer this question: Is this dress white and gold, or blue and black?” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/35 "2015-03-16T18:20:58Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > This story sounds awfully fishy to me…something just doesn’t add up… You are _so_ negative. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/36 "2015-03-16T21:14:26Z")
I’ve known a few smart, educated people who couldn’t have done simple arithmetic on their wedding day, either. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/37 "2015-03-16T23:31:37Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > You are _so_ negative. Not really. I think the groom was a prime candidate for a relationship. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/38 "2015-03-17T17:35:38Z")
If Indian marriages are indeed akin to business propositions (a claim I am qualified to neither support nor dispute), shouldn’t the groom’s lack of a basic grasp of math had come out well before the wedding. As in, the bride’s father asks, “Hey, Rajesh: what is 15 + 6”? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/39 "2015-03-17T17:48:33Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > If Indian marriages are indeed akin to business propositions (a claim I am qualified to neither support nor dispute), shouldn’t the groom’s lack of a basic grasp of math had come out well before the wedding. As in, the bride’s father asks, “Hey, Rajesh: what is 15 + 6”? A bride’s family is traditionally at a social disadvantage and so sharp negotiation might not have been an option. A father’s interests might not align perfectly with a bride’s interests. Note. That the bride’s family was still trying to persuade her to go through with it. The real story here is not that a wedding was foiled by an arithmetic problem but that an unmarried teenaged girl felt enough confidence and strength and was able to use her wits to get out of a marriage she didn’t want to go through with, even while her family wanted her to. What will be an even better story is if this girl is able to live her life without being punished by her society for doing this and then if she is able to—if she wants—enter into a relationship with a different person in the future, on her own terms, whether or not it’s an arranged match. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2015, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/40 "2015-03-18T08:38:43Z")
She should have asked him for the difference between “its” and “it’s”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995.md?page=3)