# Most Ignorant Thing You've Ever Heard **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 7, 2007, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196 "2007-02-07T11:44:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/181 "2007-02-08T20:39:06Z")
Man, I think I’ve got you all beat. Orthodox Jews run in all stripes, from the extreme fundamentalist to the very liberal and all stripes in between. There are elements within the Orthodox community who hold to the position that Talmudic and Medieval authorities could not err or matters on halacha (Jewish law) or science. Maimonides, in his magnum opus Mishneh Torah, describes a geocentric universe. While Maimonides was certainly a genius in Torah and halacha, his science, very clearly, was the science of the day. However, there are elements within the Orthodox Jewish community who maintain that because Maimonides (and earlier authorities) held of a geocentric universe, it must therefore be true. One of the most mind-numbing quotes I came across was this one: > [@](#): > > The moon isn’t made of gas, as far as modern scientists know (the bunch of crackpots that they are). > > Of course, we have to realize that 1) nature changes (so maybe in times of Rambam the moon was takeh made of gas), 2) modern science does not rely on certainties but only on probabilities, so it is only 99.999% probable that moon isn’t made of gas; on the other hand, everything that Rambam wrote was guided by h"p, so he can’t be wrong, even if he himself said that sages of Torah may be wrong in the matters of science. Which makes it 100% true that moon is made of gas. (translation takeh = actually Rambam = Maimonides h"p = Hashgacha Protis=divine guidance) It was then subsequently pointed out to the forum members that people have walked on the moon and brought back rocks from it, hence it could not possibly be made of gas. When asked how they would explain this data, another forum member responded: (WARNING: Truly mind-numbing statement ahead!!) > [@](#): > > well, that’s your problem. The Torah is absolute(ly) true. Where’s the “bang head on wall” smiley when you need it. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/182 "2007-02-08T20:43:54Z")
[QUOTE=According to Pliny] I knew a guy who owned a hardware store (inherited it from his dad). He said that French classes were a waste of time. Just add an e in front of words. School sounds like e-school in French. [/QUOTE] What a dumb ass. That’s Spanish! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/183 "2007-02-08T20:45:19Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] I’ve been asked if I was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, whatever the hell that is. [/QUOTE] Freemasons with vaginas. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/184 "2007-02-08T20:46:29Z")
> [@Dung Beetle](#): > > What a dumb ass. That’s Spanish! Yeah. Everybody knows that in French, adding an “e” isn’t enough. You gotta drop the “s” as well. And not pronounce the last consonant… ah hell with it, it’s easier just to go ahead and learn the words 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/185 "2007-02-08T20:52:06Z")
[QUOTE=According to Pliny] I knew a guy who owned a hardware store (inherited it from his dad). He said that French classes were a waste of time. Just add an e in front of words. School sounds like e-school in French. [/QUOTE] What a dumbass. Everyone knows you have to drop the s before adding the e. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nuggets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Mr.Nuggets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nuggets)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/186 "2007-02-08T20:58:14Z")
[QUOTE=Noone Special] What made it especially funny was that I was (_eventually…_) able to prove to him, conclusively, that I would have been far more capable of conversing with Jesus than he would have been… 😃 (I’m Israeli, so a native Hebrew speaker) " [/QUOTE] Jesus spoke Aramaic, not Hebrew. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/187 "2007-02-08T21:00:07Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Nuggets] Jesus spoke Aramaic, not Hebrew. [/QUOTE] Actually, most likely both; and they’re very close to each other anyway (it’s pretty much a no-brainer for a Hebrew speaker to read the Book of Daniel, or some of the prayers that are in Aramaic.) ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/188 "2007-02-08T21:01:22Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Nuggets] Jesus spoke Aramaic, not Hebrew. [/QUOTE] Even if Aramaic was his mother tongue, he still would certainly have been able to read, write and understand Hebrew. Hebrew was widely used in Israel during Jesus’ time for prayer, religious and legal matters. The events of the Mishna, of which the earlier events took place around the time that Jesus lived, was written in Hebrew, not Aramaic. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/189 "2007-02-08T21:04:47Z")
[QUOTE=zev\_steinhardt] Even if Aramaic was his mother tongue [/QUOTE] :eek: Blasphemy! Besides, his mother was a virgin. ---
**Author:** ![RoniaBorkason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9dc877/32.png) [@RoniaBorkason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoniaBorkason)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/190 "2007-02-08T21:10:13Z")
I have to share this one, because even though it is second-hand, I heard it the day it happened. I was in fourth grade, my friend in fifth. Her teacher, while talking about a tornado that had hit recently in the Midwest, said that tornadoes were ATTRACTED to mobile home parks, because of all of the metal in the buildings. Thats why there was so much more damage to them than to regular houses. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/191 "2007-02-08T21:11:32Z")
Hmmm…so many to choose from, so little time. The all time most ignorant comment I’ve heard was this one, said by a college educated, upper middle class woman. “[insert name of independently owned local grocery store here] will NEVER be robbed. _It doesn’t take food stamps_.” Then again, there is my old college room-mate, from a very, very small town in rural Iowa: “I guess I could buy stamps at the post office here, they’re probably the same price there as at home.” It’s been my experience that ALL of these people vote, repeatedly and with commitment, sadly enough… ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/192 "2007-02-08T22:00:52Z")
My father believes that the concept of carbon dioxide sequestration is bad - not because it’s expensive, impractical, or may generate more CO[sub]2[/sub] than it sequesters, but because it takes oxygen out of the air and we will then all die of lack of it. Apparently even if this was to occur we wouldn’t notice and stop doing it until it was too late, I guess. I later found out that my brother, who supports him in this belief, thought that the air was about 20% CO[sub]2[/sub], not the ~350 parts per million it actually is. [QUOTE=Noone Special] [Aside] I heard all of these in the US. Now, the US is the only place I’ve spent any sizable amount of time (except for Israel of course), but I’ve never heard anything this egregious here. Is this capacity for ignorance and downright stupidity something found in the US more than in, say, Europe? or have I just not spoken to enough Europeans?[/aside] [/QUOTE] Sitting in a cafe in Rome I heard an Italian man tell some companions - English I think they were - that it was only _American_ cigarettes that caused cancer, because of the bad cheap tobacco they used. Good old Italian cigarettes were fine. After all, (according to him) all the research connecting them to cancer was done in America … ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/193 "2007-02-08T22:01:19Z")
[QUOTE=JohnT] Since we’re taking shots at the spouses whom we love and adore so fully, my wife asked me… and I’m not joking, this coming from a woman with an IQ of 129, who taught herself how to read at the age of four… she asked me “Is it the same kind of gravity that keeps the moon in orbit as keeps us on Earth?” [/QUOTE] Actually, I think that’s quite an interesting question, although technically ‘ignorant’, it sounds like the right kind of curiosity. Considering that someone must have once asked “is the force that binds the nucleus of an atom the same force that binds atoms together?”. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/194 "2007-02-08T22:08:50Z")
[QUOTE=RoniaBorkason] I have to share this one, because even though it is second-hand, I heard it the day it happened. I was in fourth grade, my friend in fifth. Her teacher, while talking about a tornado that had hit recently in the Midwest, said that tornadoes were ATTRACTED to mobile home parks, because of all of the metal in the buildings. Thats why there was so much more damage to them than to regular houses. [/QUOTE] What do tornadoes and trashy women have in common? They’re both attracted to trailer parks. ::d&r:: ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/195 "2007-02-08T22:16:00Z")
[QUOTE=According to Pliny] I knew a guy who owned a hardware store (inherited it from his dad). He said that French classes were a waste of time. Just add an e in front of words. School sounds like e-school in French. [/QUOTE] That’s kind of cute, if it was the logic of a six-year-old. _Donnez-moi le livre._… E-give e-me e-the e-book. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/196 "2007-02-08T22:23:58Z")
[This doofus](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZIBN7S-_64). “They’re using music to test the tsunami warning system.” - “ **Why’s it so loud though?** ” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/197 "2007-02-08T22:24:36Z")
[QUOTE=Swallowed My Cellphone] That’s kind of cute, if it was the logic of a six-year-old. _Donnez-moi le livre._… E-give e-me e-the e-book. [/QUOTE] I understood you perfectly–hey, I can speak French! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/198 "2007-02-08T22:25:20Z")
[QUOTE=Swallowed My Cellphone] That’s kind of cute, if it was the logic of a six-year-old. _Donnez-moi le livre._… E-give e-me e-the e-book. [/QUOTE] Heh. I must have been about six when I decided French was just a letter-substitution cipher of English. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/199 "2007-02-08T22:33:17Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] They did. The majority of slaves were like slightly less educated English butlers, living with a family and cooking, cleaning, etc. for them, watching over the kids, in some cases even tutoring the kids, in exchange for free room and board, food, etc. [/QUOTE] Erm, what? The vast majority of slaves were manual workers, either field labourers or artisans of various sorts. [For example](http://www.stratfordhall.org/africa.html) > [@](#): > > The African-American population on a large tobacco plantation was made up of both skilled and agricultural workers. Richard Henry Lee wrote his brother William in 1770 concerning the slaves at Green Spring: > > ``` > Out of the 164 slaves ... but 59 are crop negroes, I mean exclusive of boys, - 12 are house servants, 4 Carpenters 1 Wheelwright, 2 Shoe makers, 3 gardeners and Ostlers.. > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196/200 "2007-02-08T23:18:31Z")
“The sun orbits the earth.” A poll says 56% of the sample believe this. Copernicus and Galileo forgotten. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhlERjW0bhw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhlERjW0bhw) The poll results are at 1:07. This isn’t in English, so I assume the poll was of the audience. [QUOTE=Mangetout] Other posters had **correctly surmised that he had copy/pasted** 10[sup]80[/sup] from somewhere and the superscript hadn’t been preserved. they said as much, but nope, he insisted it was 1080, even dragging up some citations where someone had made the same dumb mistake as him. [/QUOTE] (Emphasis added.) I’ve seen this on web pages. IIRC, even on some scientific sites. So the mistake could well have been made by the person creating the web page, not by the person you describe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ignorant-thing-youve-ever-heard/391196.md?page=11)