# Stupidest Question Ever! (this week) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 25, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951 "2005-04-25T02:06:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davmilasav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@davmilasav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davmilasav)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/1 "2005-04-25T02:06:23Z")
Today I won the informal competition we have running at my job. We work at a cruise terminal and come in contact with roughly 5000 people a day, so there is incredible potential for stupid questions but this one…welll… I was directing people to various shuttles and buses. I’m standing there ten feet in front of the bus and holding a 2’ x 3’ sign that reads “Parking Lot Shuttle Lot B 33rd Street.” The sign is bright yellow and the letters are a couple inches high. A man came up to me and asked where the shuttle to lot b was. I pointed it out to him. He thanked me and headed for the vehicle. A couple minutes later he walked back to me and asked, “Did you want me to get on the shuttle?” :smack: I win!! Somebody pour me a drink. ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/2 "2005-04-25T02:16:35Z")
Wow. That does certainly take the proverbial cake. What’ll it be? (the drink, I mean) On a side note, another lulu of a stupid question came from a not-so-bright young woman my dad used to work with. Mind you, he has worked in NYC most of his career. One day she asked him, “Are we on the east coast or west coast?” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![davmilasav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@davmilasav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davmilasav)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/3 "2005-04-25T02:25:26Z")
> [@Spatial Rift 47](#): > > Wow. That does certainly take the proverbial cake. What’ll it be? (the drink, I mean) Mudslides go well with cake. And I promise not to leave it out in the rain. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/4 "2005-04-25T02:27:13Z")
I teach high school. Sophomores. You guys aren’t even in the same league… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![davmilasav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@davmilasav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davmilasav)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/5 "2005-04-25T02:31:18Z")
Go ahead, **Silenus** , share. Get it off your chest! ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/6 "2005-04-25T02:42:31Z")
Those are pretty good. One winter day my cow-orker, who calls _herself_ Benise Betarded, asked me “Is the sun closer in the winter? Because it feels hotter than in the summer.” Wha? Huh? We live in Tucson. In the summer we’re like 12 feet away from the sun, and it definitely feels like it! ---
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_First_Time)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/7 "2005-04-25T02:50:46Z")
Can I play? I give a lecture to animal science undergrad. students on equine parasites. I show a slide of a “blood worm” next to an oat so that you can get an idea of its actual size (less than an inch). Of course, on a big screen the thing is about 3 feet high. One of the students asked me, “Is it that big in real life?” ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/8 "2005-04-25T02:52:52Z")
The original question was not stupid. But by the time I found the book the guy was looking for I wanted to shake him. Context: A library. In the process of preparing for a remodel of the 2nd floor. The reference collection has been split three ways, one portion has been moved into the stacks, one portion sits more or less where it always has and one portion sits on a set of shelves adjacent to the “always has” portion. These portions are not even. Less than 1/4th are in the new reference collection, and even fewer have been moved into the stacks, but they did take away an entire set of shelves. Young man: Can you help me? I’m looking for a set of big red books that used to be RIGHT HERE. (points to space in air). me: I’m not acqainted with those books, but I can certainly try. (comment on remodel. Ask if he knows the call number or title). him: Yeah- its QD123.456. Me: OK, let’s check over here first. (skim the books in the new ref. collection. red books not found. Takes 30 sec. to find QD and 5 sec to decide _his_QD is not there.) Him: They were right there on that set of shelves that aren’t there anymore. Me: I know, some of those books are elsewhere, but many of them just got moved around a bit. Tell me that call number again. [time passes. Not really all that much, but this library has an insane amount of Q’s and QD’s so shelfreading takes a bit. While I’m trying to find the books, he keeps turning around and pointing to the missing spot. Unfortunately, knowing where they were doesn’t help me all that much to find them. But in the end, I manage. Incidently, the books were red, but were not as big as I thought he said they were.] ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/9 "2005-04-25T02:53:45Z")
I swear… Had a 20-something new mom ask me from her post-partum hospital bed: “If the baby was growing in my tummy, how was there room for food?” Cyn, OB/GYN RN ---
**Author:** ![Glassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Glassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glassy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/10 "2005-04-25T03:06:05Z")
I have one. First, a little groundwork. I work in a gallery featuring all sort of glass art. One of the pieces of art we have on display is a glass mask - it’s like a Mardi Gras mask, except made of glass, that you hang on your wall. (Yes, yes it \*is \* completely tacky.) The gallery is attached to a glassblowing studio, so patrons can watch stuff being made and see the hot, viscous, glowing glass as it’s being worked (like glowing yellow-hot taffy). We get a lot of questions like “How hot is that?” which gets tiresome after a while, but is not actually a stupid question. This one customer asked the usual question, and was as usual informed that the liquid glass is around 2000 degrees F. He looked at the mask and said, “Wow, can you imagine how tough that person had to be to hold still while the molten glass was being molded onto their face?” I was struck dumb for about ten seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/11 "2005-04-25T03:08:19Z")
> [@trublmakr](#): > > Those are pretty good. > > One winter day my cow-orker, who calls _herself_ Benise Betarded, asked me “Is the sun closer in the winter? Because it feels hotter than in the summer.” > > Wha? Huh? We live in Tucson. In the summer we’re like 12 feet away from the sun, and it definitely feels like it! Well then, you must be only eleven feet away from ol’ Sol [in the winter…](http://a.www.orlandoweather.com/askdaveother/4017044/detail.html)🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/12 "2005-04-25T03:33:05Z")
**Sternvogel** : Ha! You got me! Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![MannyL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/13 "2005-04-25T03:58:14Z")
I was in NYC yesterday, just went down the stairs from the street. I’m soaking wet and this guy comming up from the subway asks if I was just outside and was it raining? I said no some jerk dropped a waterballoon on me ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/14 "2005-04-25T04:12:07Z")
I stopped into a McDonalds for a late snack. It was after 11pm and the place was empty except for me and another guy who was placing a huge order from a long written list: dozens of burgers, shakes fries, chicken nuggets, etc. I think it came to something like $75. When the guy’s at last run through his whole list (took about 5 minutes), the employee taking the order says, “Is that for here, or to go?” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/15 "2005-04-25T04:16:57Z")
The best question I ever got asked was in a Freshman English class, where a certain young lady (Erin, you know who you are!) raised her hand and asked “Mr. Silenus, how do you spell _illiterate_?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/16 "2005-04-25T04:32:15Z")
I once called a publisher to check on an overdue book order. I asked for the rep who had originally taken my order. The response was, “Oh, she quit. Would you like to leave a message?” ---
**Author:** ![exastris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b38774/32.png) [@exastris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/exastris)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/17 "2005-04-25T04:32:55Z")
Well I have a couple, not so much _stupid_ as they came from small kids… I used to work at a kid’s science museum. While describing the differences between solids, liquids, and gasses to 4th graders, I mentioned how the molecules are packed very tightly in solids (of course with ten of them in the front packed as close to each other as possible for demonstrative purposes.) So I get the question, “Are molecules animals?” My friend got a better one though. While showing our replica saber-toothed cat skull, complete with huuuuuge, meat-tearing teeth, one child asked, with a purposeful look on his face, “Are saber-tooth cats related to vampires?” And finally, from an adult… We had a an exhibit of the Ancient Seas complete with a [plesiosaur](http://www.plesiosaur.com/images/paintings_001.html) skeleton replica hanging from the ceiling. A woman came in, looking up in awe. She walked from under the head portion all the way down to under the tail and looked puzzled- looked from head to tail to head to tail, then finally asked me, “Was that really their skeleton?” Me, thinking she was amazed by the size, “Yes, and that was a youngster!” The woman said, “Wow kids, the young ones had two heads!” wtf??? During that same exhibit we had a coworker who kept referring to the Cretaceous period as the Crustaceous, which always made me laugh. And no, I never corrected her. Oh and one more for the road… When I worked there we gave out polished rocks to the kids; little semi-precious things as prizes for completing a puzzle, etc. A mom came up to retrieve one for her son, saw the sign that said “Polished Rocks” and said to her son, “Wow Johnny! Look at how pretty the Polish rocks are! You know your grandma is from Poland!” I swear I didn’t make any of this up. Anyone who works with kids can tell you! These are all better than the comment I got from a kindergartener my first day of teaching kindergarten music class, “Gee, she sure does have a big butt!” ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/18 "2005-04-25T04:45:39Z")
> [@exastris](#): > > A mom came up to retrieve one for her son, saw the sign that said “Polished Rocks” and said to her son, “Wow Johnny! Look at how pretty the Polish rocks are! You know your grandma is from Poland!” :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: Great, now my brains are coming out of my ears again. ---
**Author:** ![Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/19 "2005-04-25T11:40:15Z")
/slight hijack **Silenus** , did you get your username from the _Hyperion_ books by Dan Simmons? I am currently readin them. /end slight hijack ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951/20 "2005-04-25T12:24:54Z")
> [@exastris](#): > > I used to work at a kid’s science museum. While describing the differences between solids, liquids, and gasses to 4th graders, I mentioned how the molecules are packed very tightly in solids (of course with ten of them in the front packed as close to each other as possible for demonstrative purposes.) So I get the question, “Are molecules animals?” I think that’s an excellent question. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-question-ever-this-week/300951.md?page=2)