# Questions people always ask you **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 26, 2018, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609 "2018-07-26T11:36:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![betterlifethroughchemistry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/betterlifethroughchemistry/32/3094_2.png) [@betterlifethroughchemistry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betterlifethroughchemistry)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/62 "2018-07-29T16:08:16Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > For the last decade or so, I keep getting “Are you ex-military?” The annoying bit is that several people have decided my “No” is a lie, and either keep probing or give a sort of nudge/wink when something relating to various branches comes up. Oh, so Delta Force or Seal Team Six…your secret is safe with us…😃 ---
**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:** [July 29, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/63 "2018-07-29T17:06:44Z")
I have very long hair, usually butt-length unless I’ve had a trim. Occasionally people will tug on my braid while saying something inane like. “Wow, your hair is long! How long did it take to grow?” The tug gets a death glare, the question a shrug, and possibly the answer that I don’t really know, I’ve had hair this long since 9th grade (and I’m over 50 now.) The next comment is always about Locks of Love, and have I heard of it, and I should cut my hair and donate it. When I worked as a riding teacher and trainer (horses, that is), without fail I either got the story of how they were the only one that could ride the wild stallion at the barn when they were a kid, or how the one time they went on a trail ride/rode a friend’s horse the horse went crazy, ran away and bucked them off. The first story usually means that they rode a horse that trotted off with them, scared them silly but they stayed on and got it stopped. The second story means that they rode a horse that trotted off quickly with them, they lost their balance and fell off. I just smile and say “Oh my.” ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/64 "2018-07-29T17:45:17Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > Yeah, we spend our lives being perpetually insulted. It’s a fun existence. 🙂 Besides our sexual proclivities, we also get how ignorant we are, how fat we are, how racist we are and a whole host of other wonderful things. > > My Dad was crossing the border into Canada in the 70s and the border guard looked at his license and said, “I didn’t think you wore shoes.” Dad said, “They give us a pair whenever we leave the state to impress people.” > > One time I was in London in I guess the late 2000s and my wife and I were in the British Library and actually in the Lindisfarne Gospels exhibit and as is frequently the case, my wife was wearing a WVU shirt. A guy comes up to her and shoves her and actually shoves her and tells her that at some football game he was at WVU fans were rude and arrogant to him (I think it was the Sugar Bowl against Georgia.) I step in between them and say, “Dude, we’re trying to enjoy the Library. We weren’t at that game and it was in your own state, so they were probably fans from Georgia. What do you want us to do?” He pushes me again, says, “You can F\*\*\* off.” and storms out of the Library. Weirdest thing ever. Usually when we’re wearing WVU gear out of state, we run into West Virginia ex-pats and will go out to dinner or chat for awhile with them, but this time it got us into trouble. I don’t know what the heck happened to him at that game, but it must have been bad. > > These days we get a lot of patronizing about our poverty and opioid addiction. In some ways you feel like a Victorian era curiosity. It’s amusing when we are out-of-state and they are raising money for Appalachian poverty relief or going on a mission trip to West Virginia. To be honest, I’ve learned to live with it. We really do have serious structural problems and if people want to help out, I guess I should let them. My mama always said to not let your own pride get in the way of their blessing. > > It’s actually a nice place to live. We have rock climbing 15 minutes away and whitewater rafting within a half hour. Lots of little cultural festivals around the state. The Mon National Forest is a million acres of public land you can just do what you want on. We’re the third most forested state in the country after New Hampshire and Maine with roughly 80% of our land area covered in trees. I go fishing on my lunch break. Our summers are largely cool and our winters are tolerable outside of the Alleghenies. Our only natural disasters of note are floods and I’m 300 feet above the floodplain, so not a big deal. I live an hour from Pittsburgh and 3 from DC and Baltimore, so I go to Pittsburgh all the time and DC every few months when I want city amenities. I see eagles, otters, beavers and pretty much every other east coast animal regularly. Short commute, reasonable housing costs, friendly people. It’s a nice place. > > Anyway, this whole digression is simply to say that ‘Yes, West Virginians get asked some really interesting and at times offensive questions.’ When I’m out of state, I always meet the Most Obnoxious Asshole who asks me questions: MOA: So, where are y’all (just me) from? Me: West Virginia MOA: Well, West by God Virginia!!! I have an uncle that lives in Norfolk, do you know him? 1. Norfolk is in Virginia. West Virginia has been a separate state since 1863. Maybe it is time to update the set of Encyclopedia Brittanicas at home? 2. Even if it was in West Virginia, I don’t know everyone in the entire state. Do you know every person that lives in your home state? 3. Yes, I do sleep with my cousin. I had to get some loving somewhere after I threw your sister out. I was desperate and nobody else would sleep with me after she gave me the clap. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/65 "2018-07-29T18:12:57Z")
On hearing that I’m from Alaska: “Can you see Russia from there?” (the answer is ‘yes’, by the way) “What do you think of Sarah Palin?” (she should have been strangled at birth) “Were you there during the earthquake?” (meaning the 1964 quake, and yes) “Why did you retire to Oregon?” (for the sunshine, hookers and blow) I also get the “Do you know Tom Smith?” questions. Alaska has an area of about 600,000 square miles, so it’s unlikely. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/66 "2018-07-29T19:21:57Z")
> [@campp](#): > > “So, do you have any kids?” > > Eh, I hate that question. I always say, “No”. Usually they get real uncomfortable and embarrassed. Everyone who asks me that has kids, and they’re usually not prepared for that answer. I don’t understand why retail cashiers ask this. It’s insane. I’ve gone to managers and told them that it might be a good idea to train cashiers not to ask questions like that. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/67 "2018-07-29T21:12:21Z")
My thing is making bows and arrow from natural materials, we call it primitive archery. I always get this thing about a friend or relative who is really into archery and they have one of those compound bows that are really powerful. I am supposed o be impressed, I always tell them we call that type of bow training wheels. And then I get this thing " Will you make me one?" I say sure, will you paint my house or over haul the engine on my truck, or replace my plumbing, dumb asses! ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/68 "2018-07-29T21:42:51Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > When introduced with my full name. > > Newperson: “Ooh, are you related to _that_ \ pullin?” > Me: “Yes, unfortunately.” > Newperson: “I bet you’re a good shot then!” > Me: --sigh– Here’s a [nice namesake](http://www.pullinsamusements.co.uk/) for you, famous in Sheffield. A very nice man 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/69 "2018-07-29T21:47:01Z")
I work for a fire alarm company, and spend most of my workday testing fire alarms. Hardly a day goes by when someone says to me, “Why do you have to make so much noise. It is really annoying!” ---
**Author:** ![chaika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chaika/32/405_2.png) [@chaika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaika)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/70 "2018-07-29T22:23:22Z")
Upon hearing his accent when he speaks English, people invariably ask my husband, “Where are you from?” He hates this question. He knows that people are just trying to make polite conversation but it irrationally annoys him. So if he knows he’ll never see them again, he usually invents some story, claiming to be from Andorra or the Faroe Islands or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/71 "2018-07-30T10:32:03Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > For the last decade or so, I keep getting “Are you ex-military?” The annoying bit is that several people have decided my “No” is a lie, and either keep probing or give a sort of nudge/wink when something relating to various branches comes up. > [@blob](#): > > What is with that? One of my pet peeves - being asked a question and then told I’m lying because they don’t like the answer! One of my sisters is so bad about this I no longer respond to her questions - she’s going to ignore my response anyway. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/72 "2018-07-30T11:51:43Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > being asked a question and then told I’m lying because they don’t like the answer! Me too! It’s so stupid, why ask if you don’t want the person to tell you? I get quite snippy if/when that happens. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/73 "2018-07-30T13:03:37Z")
When I was home on leave from working in Afghanistan and Iraq people always asked me what I ate there. ---
**Author:** ![Emergency911](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/43a26b/32.png) [@Emergency911](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emergency911)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/74 "2018-07-30T20:13:42Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Yep, and depending on your age you may get a few questions about where you hung out. Admiral, Ballpark, Ted Drewes etc. > > oh, and…Bayless Prep South for me! And Ted Drews and Crestwood Mall… I have a rather large mustache. I use wax in it to keep it manageable, but don’t keep it completely horizontal with a spiral curl at the end, it hangs down and curls out slightly at the end. (Look up Wyatt Earp to see the style). I had no idea how “approachable” this thing has made me… The normal questions: How do you eat with that thing? (“Very carefully and as you can see, I don’t miss many meals”). Why don’t you wax it and make handle bars? (“I DO wax it and I don’t like handle bars”). Why don’t you shave that thing off? (I usually ask them why they don’t get a nose job). Doesn’t it tickle? (“Doesn’t tickle me at all, but you can ask my wife”). And from people I know but haven’t seen in several years, Why did you grow it? And the honest answer is I don’t know, it just happened and now I’m used to it. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/75 "2018-07-30T20:31:44Z")
I develop web sites for a living so much like the photographer at the beginning of this thread, my job is always easily matched by the tinkering of a a nephew. I also get a lot of “oh can you make my business a web site?” inquiries, which I don’t entertain, because I’ve learned over the past 20 years that small jobs are not worth my time. It’s worth the time of many many healthy Web development businesses but not my particular business. So, like, ask your nephew. He’s good. Also I have very curly hair and people are always asking me if I want to straighten it. I do not. ---
**Author:** ![CharmaChameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@CharmaChameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CharmaChameleon)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/76 "2018-07-30T22:26:39Z")
My stock answer to the ubiquitous question, “How are you doing?” is, “Better than I deserve.” I am utterly serious in this answer, because it happens to be the truth. This point is not opinion, and it is not a proper subject for debate. Very few people “get it”, but they are the ones I enjoy meeting. Less so the ones who reply with, “Oh, we all deserve better than we get/have,” or the like. I’ve been using this answer for a very long time now, and have encountered exactly two people who asked with apparent sincerity, “Why would you say that?” or “Would you explain that?” That can lead to a good conversation. Much more annoying is to be in conversation with someone who can’t finish a complete thought, but often interjects with, “…you know what I mean?” I have from time to time replied, “No, I don’t have a clue what you mean. Would you help me to understand?” This is seldom well-received. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/77 "2018-07-31T12:59:20Z")
> [@CharmaChameleon](#): > > My stock answer to the ubiquitous question, “How are you doing?” is, “Better than I deserve.” One Southernism I had to drop when I moved to Chicago was the response to “Where you going?” “Hell, if I don’t change my ways.” Started many a lecture. A Filipino friend of mine hates “What are you?” I’ve seen her mistaken for damn near every race on the planet outside of white. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/78 "2018-07-31T15:41:07Z")
> [@CharmaChameleon](#): > > My stock answer to the ubiquitous question, “How are you doing?” is, “Better than I deserve.” Dave Ramsey, is that you? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/79 "2018-07-31T17:46:13Z")
I usually get asked, “Can you reach me that thing up there on the high shelf?” When I meet new people, I try to ask them intelligent questions about their job or hometown, to show that I know what they are talking about, and that I’m not lumping them in with the stereotypes. From the posts in this thread, I guess I should stop. No reason I should risk pissing someone off, so I think I’ll just nod and grunt from now on. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/80 "2018-08-01T12:32:29Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > One Southernism I had to drop when I moved to Chicago was the response to “Where you going?” “Hell, if I don’t change my ways.” Started many a lecture. I got that one from my first husband, a Kentuckian. He never stopped saying it and never got anything but a laugh after moving to Ohio. (Sometimes a rueful laugh.) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609/81 "2018-08-01T13:27:00Z")
"How much does this cost? (I know the price of very few items. Let me scan it). Do you take American Express? (I point to the sign on the register in front of the customer’s face and say “No.”) Do you have any more of these in the back (I always want to say “We’re here to sell stuff. That’s why we hide it.” I usually call the aisle worker who says “What we have is out.”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-always-ask-you/818609.md?page=5)