# Test answers that annoy teachers - but are amusing **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 22, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757 "2009-10-22T17:30:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/1 "2009-10-22T17:30:10Z")
[Test Failures](http://interestingemailforwards.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-fail-test-with-dignity.html) ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/2 "2009-10-22T17:34:25Z")
“Find x” – “Here it is” Classic. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/3 "2009-10-22T17:48:24Z")
Mr. Neville’s giving a midterm today in his class. I had to send him that. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/4 "2009-10-22T18:01:32Z")
the elephant is sort of cute =) ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/5 "2009-10-22T18:41:41Z")
Can someone explain the check? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/6 "2009-10-22T18:49:00Z")
I think the last item is sum from 1 to infinity of 1/(2^n), which is equal to one. The second one looks like (but I can’t read clearly) e to the i\*pi, which is equal to -1. Thus the check is written for 0.0002 - 1 + 1$, or 1/5 of a cent. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/7 "2009-10-22T18:54:50Z")
This [video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCJ3Oz5JVKs) of a customer support call to Verizon explains the reason for the check. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/8 "2009-10-22T19:48:17Z")
On another site, I really like [this](http://funnyexam.com/answers/1624-lmao-the-kid-puts-nigga-s)one – an essay about Jesus’s role in the Civil War. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/9 "2009-10-22T19:56:54Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > This [video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCJ3Oz5JVKs) of a customer support call to Verizon explains the reason for the check. Holy freaking cow. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/10 "2009-10-22T20:06:50Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > This [video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCJ3Oz5JVKs) of a customer support call to Verizon explains the reason for the check. Oh. My. God. The difference between $0.002 and 0.002c is “a difference of opinion.” ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/11 "2009-10-22T22:29:41Z")
Also note that the check is from Randall Monroe, AKA the xkcd guy. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/12 "2009-10-22T22:33:42Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Oh. My. God. > > The difference between $0.002 and 0.002c is “a difference of opinion.” I once tried buying all of something a store had marked for .25 cents. They weren’t amused. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/13 "2009-10-22T22:42:28Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Oh. My. God. > > The difference between $0.002 and 0.002c is “a difference of opinion.” Don’t forget, she’s “not a mathematician.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/14 "2009-10-22T23:23:08Z")
[Planes, Trains, and Plantains: The Story of Oedipus.](http://www.deviantsteve.com/essays/planes-trains-plantains.html) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/15 "2009-10-22T23:43:07Z")
I once drew a blank during a surgery clerkship exam when faced with the question, “Where was the first American blood bank located?” My response was “Red Bank, New Jersey”. I did not receive any credit for this response. I thought I deserved at least a point or two for overweening cleverness in the face of an utterly stupid question\*. \*I can imagine no circumstances in which knowing the answer to this would be helpful. “Omigod! This patient is hemorrhaging out the wazoo!! He needs blood fast, what do we do?!?” “Well, the first true blood bank in the U.S. was at Chicago’s Cook County Hospital.” ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/16 "2009-10-23T00:04:28Z")
I love these. I’ve had a site bookmarked for years with a few essays like this. The site is no longer there, but [here](http://web.archive.org/web/20041211062718/http://douglas.min.net/essay/) is an archive of it. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/17 "2009-10-23T00:21:46Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > On another site, I really like [this](http://funnyexam.com/answers/1624-lmao-the-kid-puts-nigga-s)one – an essay about Jesus’s role in the Civil War. I LOVE this site of goofy test answers. > [@](#): > > What is the First Law of Thermodynamics? > > The First Law of Thermodynamics is you don’t talk about the First Law of Thermodynamics. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/18 "2009-10-23T00:35:13Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Don’t forget, she’s “not a mathematician.” :rolleyes: Not just her–she was the second employee he dealt with! Hell, I SUCK at math and even I know that this is not a “difference of opinion”. :eek: I love these kinds of things. I just wish I had had the nerve to do some of them in school. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/19 "2009-10-23T01:50:27Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Don’t forget, she’s “not a mathematician.” :rolleyes: Yeah but like all things Spanish, she’s dangerous. 😃 (reference to essay 1 in that web archive page) Also, fucking George Bush is keeping us from sacrificing humans! No wonder the weather has been so shitty lately. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757/20 "2009-10-23T14:31:09Z")
A friend of mine from high school put this answer down on a test he took in a Humanities class his Junior year: Question: Name three women who were influential during the American Revolution. His answer: OK. I’ll name them. How about Mary, Jane, and Shirley, but I think the job of naming people should be left to their mothers. After that, he went on to correctly answer the question. The teacher thought it was pretty funny. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-answers-that-annoy-teachers-but-are-amusing/514757.md?page=2)