# Stupid questions we'll never have an answer to... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 11, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170 "2005-12-11T21:17:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/21 "2005-12-12T16:51:29Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > Here’s mine: why does food made for someone else always taste better than your own? Even more perplexing: why does a salad I make for myself at a salad bar taste better than a salad I make for myself in my kitchen? I swear, they must sprinkle crack on the lettuce leaves… ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/22 "2005-12-12T17:32:18Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > Why do mirrors switch left and right, but not up and down? It does, but the way the eye works, everything is upside down anyway. Light coming in to the eye passes through the lens and hits the bottom inside (the retina). Likewise light coming in from the left hits the right and vice versa. Our brains “fix” the image so we perceive it correctly by telling us that light hitting the bottom inside part of our eye is coming from above us and light hitting the left inside part of our eye is coming from the right. Light reflecting from the bottom of the mirror itself is hitting the top inside of the eye and our brain recognizes this as the bottom, logic follows that if we kick out our foot we will hit the bottom of the mirror. However the light reflected in the mirror without the aid of a lens got there in a straight line (directly from the foot to the mirror) so that light hits the bottom of the mirror and travels up to the inside of the eye telling us that our feet are on the bottom. Where our brains get confused is when light traveling from our right hand (for example) travels in a straight line and hits the mirror on its left side (from the mirror’s perspective) then through the lens of the eye to hit the right side of the eye. Our sense of perception is used to seeing things facing us as opposite from our point of view so what we perceive as the left hand of the person facing us is actually the reflection of our own right hand. If we lay on the floor light works in the same way and the image is reversed in perspective to our own. This would not change if we were hideously deformed (not symmetrical) nor would it change if we were either like a Cyclops or had eyes situated vertically instead of horizontally. The only thing that would change things is if our eyes either received light in a straight line instead of at a focusing angle or if the brain started interpreting images incorrectly. At least that’s how I remember it from high school biology class, if this is incorrect consider it a POOMA answer. What I don’t get is How do buffets stay in business considering cost of food vs. amount of food eaten for one low price? ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/23 "2005-12-12T17:57:22Z")
> [@nd\_n8](#): > > What I don’t get is How do buffets stay in business considering cost of food vs. amount of food eaten for one low price? Restraunts buy their bulk food staples at remarkably low prices. (Cheap restraunts do, anyway. Expensive restraunts probably ay out for high-class food.) Further, a customer at the buffet does not necessarily take all that much more than a prepared entree. An entree is usually designed around the amount of food that an ordinary person will eat. People won’t take more from the buffet than they can eat at one meal, or at least not very much more. My question: why is the type of television show that has least in common with reality referred to as “reality TV”? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/24 "2005-12-12T18:16:03Z")
> [@nd\_n8](#): > > What I don’t get is How do buffets stay in business considering cost of food vs. amount of food eaten for one low price? Because they charge the same for “expensive” items and really cheap ones. Let’s imagine a person goes hog wild and eats three pounds of food. Most of that is cheap food (potatoes, mac and cheese) and only some of it is expensive food (roast beef, fish). But they’ve paid their $12, so the potatoes, which cost maybe 4 cents a pound, are going for $4 a pound! Heck, even if the occasional Atkins-er did eat \*only \*three pounds of roast beef, it would still be going for $4 a pound, which is more than the restaurant paid for it. And three pounds is a heck of a lot of meat. ---
**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/25 "2005-12-12T18:46:06Z")
> [@Spatial Rift 47](#): > > Because our eyes are in a horizontal line. … What would this explanation predict for people with only one functioning eye? ---
**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:** [December 12, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/26 "2005-12-12T18:47:01Z")
> [@trublmakr](#): > > Here’s my stupid question with possibly no answer: > > How come in the summer we want to be cold- I’m not comfortable unless it’s around 68 inside, and in the winter we want to be warm- I’m not comfortable unless it’s at least 74? Life would be much easier if we were comfortable being warm in the summer and cold in the winter, yet it’s the other way around. Why is it that when I saw **Qadrop the Mercotan** had responded to this question, I expected a medical explanation and was disappointed when he waxed philosophically? ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/27 "2005-12-12T18:49:02Z")
> [@trublmakr](#): > > Here’s my stupid question with possibly no answer: > > How come in the summer we want to be cold- I’m not comfortable unless it’s around 68 inside, and in the winter we want to be warm- I’m not comfortable unless it’s at least 74? Life would be much easier if we were comfortable being warm in the summer and cold in the winter, yet it’s the other way around. Similarly, how does 50 degrees feel downright tropical in the wintertime, and absolutely bonechilling in the summer? OK, I know it has something to do with maybe blood thickness and relativity and all, but damn. It’s hard to believe the same temperature can feel both amazing and horrendous to the same person. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/28 "2005-12-12T20:06:32Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > Why is it always more pleasing to hear a favorite song “by accident” than on purpose? I have over a thousand songs on my mp3 player, but it’s never as satisfying as hearing one of them on the radio… For me, this is about having a pleasant surprise, rather than planning for a particular pleasure. This works for movies on TV (as **Dewey Finn** noted), or foods I like, or a lot of other small, non-essential pleasures. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/29 "2005-12-12T20:10:43Z")
Why is there air? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/30 "2005-12-12T23:00:37Z")
Why do people post wrong answers to optics questions only to make themselves appear stupid? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/31 "2005-12-12T23:52:46Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Why is there air? > > 😃 So we can play volleyball! Lets see who gets the reference… ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/32 "2005-12-13T00:07:05Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > So we can play volleyball! > Lets see who gets the reference… Well, when I was a young’un, Bill Cosby said there was air to fill up basketballs. And I believe Bill, 'cause he wouldn’t lie. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/33 "2005-12-13T00:53:17Z")
I have had a tooth ache for a week. My appointment for the Dentist was for tomorrow. Today, it stopped hurting. I called and cancelled the appointment. Tomorrow, it will be hurting again, and I have no appointment. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/34 "2005-12-13T01:19:11Z")
Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway? When does a building finally become a built? And if enough people draw a blank, when will we run out of blanks? ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/35 "2005-12-13T01:36:35Z")
> [@YaWanna](#): > > Well, when I was a young’un, Bill Cosby said there was air to fill up basketballs. And I believe Bill, 'cause he wouldn’t lie. Yes, but did he have an explanation of why these _hairs_ keep growing out of my freaking _skin_? ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/36 "2005-12-13T02:17:39Z")
Why do we say that some people died of “natural causes” and others not? Everybody dies of something and given our activities and carcinogenic environment, couldn’t car accidents and cancer also be called “natural” outcomes? ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/37 "2005-12-13T02:25:09Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway? Because: The “park” in parkway evokes the noun. It is supposed to be a park-like place to drive. The driveway is the way to drive up to the house. Today’s driveways are rather short, but imagine a long road-like path for your horse and carriage to approach the estate. ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/38 "2005-12-13T15:55:14Z")
Why do they call them fingers? I never see them fing. …oh, wait…there they go. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/39 "2005-12-13T19:54:36Z")
How come I never want the ice cream in the freezer until after my boyfriend has eaten it all? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170/40 "2005-12-13T20:57:23Z")
Does “anal retentive” have a hyphen or not? **TELL ME! OH, GOD, PLEASE TELL ME!** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-questions-well-never-have-an-answer-to/335170.md?page=3)