I just asked “Can a plane on a treadmill take off?” and quickly began to regret it.
The resultant debate is still active and I have long since stopped speaking in order to let the more stubbourn debatees carry it on.
The debate started to include props (tennis ball, sheets of paper).
The bebatees went outside for a cigarette. (I don’t smoke, but I’ve already left them to it anyway). They have just come back in - still talking about it.
(Actually. I don’t regrett it. That’s just a figure of speech, so to speak. In truth it’s rather amusing that the mention of a few choice words can trigger such an event)
It’d be interesting to hear of other phrases or questions that are guaranteed to either cause the asker/sayer to regrett it, or trigger a debate, or both. So do you have any?
Any question regarding politics or religion will do - but among geeks, any question at all, on any subject, can lead to angry debate. I once killed an evening for a good third of the participants by trying to apply Straight Dope to a fellow who tried to shine with the old saw that the English two-finger salute has its roots in the Battle of Agincourt. We were at it for a good three hours, IIRC. Then we moved on to “Fornicating Under Consent of King” I believe.
I must admit, at the end of the evening, I kinda felt like a chartered accountant. Or a tax lawyer. But by Jove, I was RIGHT !
If you’re an easy-going, non-jealous-type bride, (or any other kind for that matter) do not sit down at the rehearsal dinner and say, “I can’t believe my fiancé went to a strip club last night! That’s so not like him!”
Because, you know, all the other women at the table will say, “He went WHERE?”
My dad’s a hard lefty and asked this question of a couple whom we had already discovered were from Idaho, wealthy, farmers, retired, and loved NASCAR. WTF was he THINKING?
In the UK, asking for an explanation of the offside rule in soccer is never a good idea. It’s one of those things that you know when you see it, but it’s very difficult to explain without someone ending up in tears.
I’ll second the politics/religion suggestion, people can get started on those very easily. Around geeks it really is just about anything, even “nice day, isn’t it” could lead to a discussion of weather patterns, el nino, la nina, global warming, and the benefits of a giant space mirror. Oh, geeky movies are almost a sure thing (like it, hate it, would be better if, the science of x is/isn’t…).
At our CleveDopeFests, the quickest way to halt all other conversation is to ask, “So, what do YOU call the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street?”
It’s gotten so now I time how long it takes before the topic is raised!