# Most asked web question... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 2, 2010, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639 "2010-12-02T06:44:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/1 "2010-12-02T06:44:24Z")
[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? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/2 "2010-12-02T06:50:24Z")
> [@Claude\_Remains](#): > > 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. > [@](#): > > 1. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/3 "2010-12-02T07:06:37Z")
And yet the crux of the buiscuit is - How is this even close to being _the_ most asked question online in 2010? ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/4 "2010-12-02T07:07:51Z")
> [@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? :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… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/5 "2010-12-02T07:21:04Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/6 "2010-12-02T07:45:09Z")
I’m a US Navy vet. Ties of every imaginable sort are near and dear to my heart. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/7 "2010-12-02T08:34:29Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/8 "2010-12-02T08:46:50Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/9 "2010-12-02T08:55:04Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/10 "2010-12-02T09:03:43Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/11 "2010-12-02T09:16:12Z")
HOLY SHIT! did you read my OP? “How is it that tying a fucking tie became the most asked question on the web”? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/12 "2010-12-02T09:41:33Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/13 "2010-12-02T10:02:32Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/14 "2010-12-02T10:14:18Z")
Just ran a Google search and found that “why does England suck at football”? was number one until I started this thread. No joke. ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/15 "2010-12-02T12:09:51Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > 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? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/16 "2010-12-02T12:45:17Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/17 "2010-12-02T13:21:05Z")
I’ve always like knots so I can tie a tie several different ways. ---
**Author:** ![FasterThanMeerkats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@FasterThanMeerkats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FasterThanMeerkats)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/18 "2010-12-02T13:38:40Z")
> [@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”? 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/](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. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/19 "2010-12-02T13:58:23Z")
I too believe ties have outlived their time. Design of mens formalwear will never advance as long as ties are the default. > [@Claude\_Remains](#): > > 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? ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639/20 "2010-12-02T14:02:40Z")
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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-asked-web-question/562639.md?page=2)