# Jaw-droppingly stupid things
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [April 20, 2007, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886 "2007-04-20T02:34:11Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/41 "2007-04-21T02:37:39Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton]
I once worked for a highly intelligent, educated guy who was considerably more computer-savvy than I was in practical terms – he set up our whole office network by himself. Yet he was astonishingly ignorant about the hardware and physics. He wanted to invest in an inventor’s project to build an optical computer, one that internally communicates/processes through laser beams rather than electronic pathways. While the idea might well have merit, he was convinced it would represent a quantum revolution in computing speed – because its impulses would travel at the speed of light, while in existing electronic computers, impulses travel only at the speed of sound. Actually, he seemed to think electronic-computer impulses **are** sound. I gave him a contrary explanation several times but he never seemed to get it.
[/QUOTE]
Not to say that he wasn’t misguided but a stopped watch is still right twice a day. Cutting edge optical computer research is showing signs of computers that are mind-bogglingly fast over electronic ones. It might take 20 years but they will probably impact consumer electronics at some point and may be a total revolution. Maybe he thought that current computers operate by sound because some give a test beep when they boot up to show everything is Ok.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/42 "2007-04-21T02:42:40Z")
[QUOTE=tdn]
. . . In my experiences, first-time pregnancies tend to top 13 months.
When I was a video store clerk, we had a customer who was in something like her 8th trimester.
[/QUOTE]
What species are you? Do you know what a trimester is? 8 trimesters = 24 months!
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/43 "2007-04-21T02:45:24Z")
[QUOTE=Maastricht]
**justrob** , I didn’t know if it was possible under US-law to legally outlaw and prosecute KKK-like organizations. But as that fact had no consequences for the point I was making, I was too lazy to look it up. According to [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan#Decline) your nitpick is correct; it isn’t against the law to proclaim yourself a KKK-member. But I suppose and hope that the organization is currently in all legal ways discouraged, socially, morally and legally, and that is what I meant by “banned”.
[/QUOTE]
I know this thread isn’t about this but this is showing some misguided ideas about the U.S. We have strong protection of freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. That means that no one can stop the KKK from dressing up and marching in demonstration, starting a magazine, or giving speeches. There are even some liberal type organizations that will pay their legal bills if some government entity tries to stop them from any of this. We take that stuff absolutely seriously for all people and organizations. There is even a well-founded popular blurb that freedom of speech doesn’t mean anything if we only protect speech that most people find agreeable.
Still, the KKK is not popular at all although some other white supremists groups have taken up some of the slack. As others said, the KKK isn’t really a Southern organization anymore. I have been told that it is most popular in the Midwestern state of Indiana and even has some moderately strong chapters in far-flung states like Connecticut. It is usually just some old men marching in a small circle while people yell at them.
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### Author:  [@Aioua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aioua)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/44 "2007-04-21T03:17:02Z")
Just wanna say… My ignorance has been fought on the whole pregnancy thing.
(I’ve honestly never heard 10 months before… Guess I should be conversing more with pregnant women.)
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### Author:  [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/45 "2007-04-21T05:02:52Z")
yrs ago, really… ancient history but… the shining brilliance of stupidity was so profound…
High school biology class, a question from a person who got good marks, but was totally christian… “If evolution is true, why didn’t the monkeys drown before they crawled out of the ocean and became human?”
Most of class sat in stunned silence. Teacher looked at student and said " You just got a C"
FML
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### Author:  [@Havik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Havik)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/46 "2007-04-21T05:29:39Z")
[QUOTE=Full Metal Lotus]
yrs ago, really.. ancient history but… the shining brilliance of stupidity was so profound…
High school biology class, a question from a person who got good marks, but was totally christian… “If evolution is true, why didn’t the monkeys drown before they crawled out of the ocean and became human?”
Most of class sat in stunned silence. Teacher looked at student and said " You just got a C"
FML
[/QUOTE]
Hahahaha, too perfect! 😃
Thanks for making my day with that!
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/47 "2007-04-21T05:37:11Z")
Stopped at a gas station to ask for directions and this is how it went…
ME: How do I get to Point Fermen?
IDIOT: Point Fermen? I don’t know! Where is that?
:rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/48 "2007-04-21T06:51:25Z")
I have given birth to four children, each one was well into my tenth month before delivery, two were induced as they were becoming rather large and the doctor knew I wasn’t happy with the idea of a C-Section.
**ylla** The Salvation Army **is** a church, I am a member. We are also active in running a thrift store, food bank, emergency food/clothing when the need arises, Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets (the Christmas baskets also include gifts for families with children), and recently we built a housing unit for people coming out of rehab in order to assist in staying clean and sober while giving them time to find employment and obtaining their own residence. We do not dress like Santa while bell ringing during Christmas, that would be the Volunteers of America.
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### Author:  [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/49 "2007-04-21T09:33:30Z")
[QUOTE=Hokkaido Brit]
Yes, but in pregnancy you don’t count a calendar month but a menstrual month, which for most people is around 28 days, which shaves a few days off each calendar month. A pregnancy lasts for 10 menstrual cycles.
[/quote]
This is in Japan, right? I’ve never heard of this and I have to say, it seems kinda crazy. After all, you don’t HAVE periods while you’re pregnant!
> [@](#):
>
> I have been told by a doctor (no cite beyond that) that if a woman’s cycle is longer, say 30 or 31 days, their babies tend to be “overdue” and likewise a woman with a short cycle tends to have her babies “early” but that the babies are born on time according to their own schedule of “done”. I am not sure how true that last bit really is but that is what I was told.
Hmmm… 23 day cycle, two babies overdue (11 days + and 6 days) … I think your doctor was making up stuff to justify their bizarre month-counting methods.
Now for my contribution to this thread. It was from a taxi-driver in Milwaukee when I was over there on a business trip. After learning that I and my workmate were Australian, he said something like (my brain has, in self-defence blocked out the exact wording)
“Oh, Aaaahstralia! That’s where they have those pygmies, isn’t it? I saw a program on the Discovery Channel about them living by the Amazon”
_head explodes_
That’s _three continents’_-worth of ignorance! Beat that!
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/50 "2007-04-21T12:53:46Z")
[QUOTE=Full Metal Lotus]
yrs ago, really.. ancient history but… the shining brilliance of stupidity was so profound…
High school biology class, a question from a person who got good marks, but was totally christian… **“If evolution is true, why didn’t the monkeys drown before they crawled out of the ocean and became human?”**
Most of class sat in stunned silence. Teacher looked at student and said " You just got a C"
[/QUOTE]
Which one is the jaw-droppingly stupid part, the bolded or the underlined? A C? Average? Passing? For that intellectual jem?
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### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/51 "2007-04-21T13:40:08Z")
[QUOTE=Sublight]
I honestly have to ask both of you, is this jaw-droppingly stupid because she didn’t know the answer, or because she said 10 months instead of 9? Because if you ask anyone in this country how long it takes, they’ll tell you 10 months. I don’t know how it works, but when my wife used her counting system and I used mine, we ended up calculating the same due date for our kid.
[/QUOTE]
Yup- normal gestation is 38-40 weeks which works out to be between 9-10 months depending.
ETA: OOps- late to the party. Answered already…
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### Author:  [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/52 "2007-04-21T13:44:45Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot]
Which one is the jaw-droppingly stupid part, the bolded or the underlined? A C? Average? Passing? For that intellectual jem?
[/QUOTE]
Gem.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/53 "2007-04-21T13:48:52Z")
[QUOTE=buns3000]
Gem.
[/QUOTE]
:eek: Oh, yeah? Well maybe I \*meant \*an '80’s cartoon rock star secret agent!
OK, no, I didn’t. Not sure how that happened. Do I still get a C?
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### Author:  [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/54 "2007-04-21T13:57:28Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot]
OK, no, I didn’t. Not sure how that happened. Do I still get a C?
[/QUOTE]
No. That would be truly outrageous.
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### Author:  [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/55 "2007-04-21T14:08:13Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty]
I know this thread isn’t about this but this is showing some misguided ideas about the U.S. \.
[/QUOTE]
Color me confused, but I don’t see where we disagree. And it’s the same in the Netherlands, with our own home-grown variety of neo-nazi’s.
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### Author:  [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/56 "2007-04-21T15:58:35Z")
“Is Minneapolis a state?”
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### Author:  [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/57 "2007-04-21T16:09:41Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot]
On the contrary, Freemasons are specifically forbidden from inviting anyone to join. To join, you must request information and initiation. Due to this common misunderstanding, some Lodges have recently gone so far as to publish pamphlets stating that you must ask to join, no one can “invite” you, so don’t wait for an invitation! Some really radical Lodges are even allowing their member to drop hints to individual friends that their interest would not be unwelcome, hinthint, nudgenudge. But that’s as far as any sort of recruitment can go.
[cite](http://www.masonicinfo.com/member.htm)
[/quote]
Two Masonic friends of mine have been saying things like “We really should get you in soon”. They’re members of differant lodges and each wants new members. One gave me some fact books about the Masons to encourage me to join.
Maybe they’re breaking the rules, I shall ask them. Or maybe it’s differant in the UK.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/58 "2007-04-21T20:17:08Z")
[QUOTE=Mirror Image egamI rorriM]
“Is Minneapolis a state?”
[/QUOTE]
Classic stumper: “What’s the capital of Omaha?”
(Well, “Omaha” just **sounds** like a state’s name, doesn’t it? Unlike “Minneapolis.”)
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### Author:  [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/59 "2007-04-21T22:02:40Z")
“Omaha is the city? Not Nebraska? I thought Nebraska was the city…”
Said to me by a gal I met at Drum Major camp in high school.
BTW, she was from West Virginia (“Ya know where the hump is? We’re from right there!”) who didn’t understand why we had to practice conducting The Star Spangled Banner so much.
“We don’t play the Star Spangled Banner at mah skewl. We start the games with ‘Dixie’.”
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2007, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaw-droppingly-stupid-things/400886/60 "2007-04-21T22:24:54Z")
[QUOTE=niblet\_head]
“Omaha is the city? Not Nebraska? I thought Nebraska was the city…”
Said to me by a gal I met at Drum Major camp in high school.
[/quote]
Go on.
No band-camp story is complete without a little . . . **you** know . . . 😉
[QUOTE=niblet\_head]
BTW, she was from West Virginia (“Ya know where the hump is? We’re from right there!”) who didn’t understand why we had to practice conducting The Star Spangled Banner so much.
“We don’t play the Star Spangled Banner at mah skewl. We start the games with ‘Dixie’.”
[/QUOTE]
😕 In **West** Virginia?! The substate that counterseceded from the Confederacy to join the Union?!
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