I was at my ophthalmologist’s office for my annual exam, most of which is done by his assistant. I often have to read some very small type (4 pt. and 5 pt.), so I brought a sample to use in the close-up exam. The assistant looked at it and said:
“I didn’t know they made fonts that small.”
I just looked at her and couldn’t think of a response.
Should I have explained to her that you can make a font in virtually any size you want, and fonts aren’t made in specific sizes like they did 50 years ago, or back in Gutenberg’s day?
Her wording possibly wasn’t as clear as it could be. But when I type up documents in Word (well, OpenOffice, but I think it applies across the board) it won’t give any options below 6pt. So I kind of see where she’s coming from.
(you regularly have to read 4pt fonts? You must have good eyes…)
Having kinda threadshat, I guess I should provide some actual content, right?
This wasn’t said to me, but I was there, and it was really dumbfounding.
I was walking down the street with a bunch of friends late at night in a moderately busy shopping street. Outside of a book shop we were passing by was a bike propped up against the window. Someone’s coat caught on it - I don’t remember whether it was one of us or someone going into the shop - and it fell on my friend. As he was propping it back up, a woman comes tearing out of the bookshop, wrenches it out of his hand and yells “Don’t touch my bike!”
There were about eight of us in the group at the time. Not a one of us had the presence of mind to say “well, next time, how about we leave your UNSECURED BICYCLE lying on the FOOTPATH when it falls on us, eh?” I’m sure to this day she probably thinks with righteous anger about “that punk who tried to nick my bike in Lygon Street.”
My daughter, about 16 at the time, pulled out in front of another car and was hit, it was clearly my daughter’s fault. She said to me, “well, in my defense, there is never anyone coming from that direction.” :smack:
I was at a Thanksgiving dinner some years back, and the husband started a bunch of ignorant racist comments about Mexicans, and he asked us our plans for when the “brown hordes” came across the border to take over. And he stared at me like, “Everybody knows this this is going to happen soon.” And I stared blankly back, trying to figure out whether he possibly trying to tell some joke that I wasn’t getting.
I took in a beading project to show my opthalmologist, I occasionally work in 15/0 beads which are 1.5mm. I have to work either with magnification or no glasses and within a couple inches of my eyes.
I was having a smoko in the carpark at work (the carpark is at the back of a complex that also houses lawyers, pathology labs, orthodontists and the like, including a very popular gymnasium) when a woman, all very chic and sweaty straight from the gym came up to me.
“Just wanted to say, I LOVE your top…where did you get it?”
Now, I am NOT a fashion-statement kind of sheila. My clothes are functional, comfortable, and the antithesis of haute-couture. Yesterday I had a cotton red and white striped 3/4 sleeve length top thing, daggy old cargo pants, and my trademark DUNLOP VOLLEYS, (no socks!) I’m the sort of person people point at to indicate how NOT to dress.
But she was somehow taken with my top, so after I closed my astonished mouth, I told her where I’d bought it…“Some Op (Goodwill) Shop, 'bout 4 yrs ago if my memory serves me. Cost me a couple of bucks, max. Still going strong!”
She then mentioned she had a similar one that cost her $100, but it has lasted quite a few years so it had been a good investment too.
(Oh shit…writing this out, I’m feeling weirdly like this gym-chick was trying to pick me up! And I missed all the fucking cues?? Am I so old and jaded now that I can’t see a ‘pick up line’ if it smacks me in the face??) :smack:
S’cuse me whilst I go look up the PickUp Clues for the Twentyfirst Century handbook. BBS.
Old black woman on interracial couples, I didn’t know how to respond because I couldn’t even figure out what she meant. Which race is the animal for one?
Hey, I’m old OK…and straight. But looking back now at the encounter, yes, I DO deserve the smack upside the head treatment for my complete dumbfoundity.
I arrived at a party while I was in college. Some drunk guy was introduced to me and asked “You’re Jewish, right?” Yes I am. (And from my family name this is not a big leap.) then he said “Isn’t true that some Jewish guys go into politics just to get laid?”
Sex, politics and religion in one question. 35 years later I still don’t know what to say to that one. That was before Gary Hart, Bill Clinton, etc.
Years ago, I was 21, I was out with my then boyfriend. It was the boyfriend I would end up staying with for 17 years, but that is not relevant now.
Anyway, we met my childhood BFF there. She is the kind of person who will just say anything, and prides herself on being “spontaneous”. We had already grown apart at that point. She said to me, with a worried nod to my boyfriend: “but doesn’t he think you’re weird?”.
Back when I was delivering newspapers, one of my customers was chasing me down to get his paper because I was running late. I explained to him that the truck was late so yelling at me wasn’t going to get his paper to him any sooner at which point he snatched his paper and said “I need my paper on time each day after all SOME of us have to work for a living!”.
I guess I was delivering newspapers just for fun.
Another time back in my younger days one of my neighbors came over to knock on my door. I was in my early 20s and he had to be well into his 50s. He was also a ‘devout Christian’ of the Baptist persuasion, or so he always said.
I wouldn’t let him in so we stood in the doorway talking and he said he noticed that I was home alone quite a bit and didn’t I miss having a man around? He started telling me all about his wife and how she was sick and frigid and how we could get together and take care of each others needs, blah blah blah. Then he says, “It’s not like I would be cheating, since you’re not a Baptist it’s not like you are human or anything.”
Nothing like a man telling you you are sub-human to make you want to jump into bed with him. :rolleyes:
Kambuckta’s story reminded me of when I couldn’t respond, except it was because it was completely obvious that it was a flirtation. A girl turned around to talk to me at a concert, and I couldn’t think of anything to say. So she turns back around.
Then she turns around again and asks my name. I respond and she says “cause I just like to always know who’s around me at concerts!” Then there’s a beat. Then she says “actually, that’s not why I asked your name”. Me :eek:. Another small beat. She turns around and walks away with me still dumbfounded.
Me: “9-1-1, where is your emergency?”
Caller: “I need police to come here to deal with [problem]”
Me: “What is the address where you need the police?”
Caller: “I’ll tell them when they get here.” <Caller disconnects line>
I got a paper route when I was 13 and started delivering closest to my home and worked my way out. Old man at the end of the route bitched up a storm cause he got his paper last.
So I do him a favor and run the route in reverse starting with him first and working my way back towards home.
He stops me one day to tell me he really appreciates what I’ve done, wanted to thank me, and oh… here’s a little something extra for ya…
reaches into his pocket and gives me a quarter.
I hope he got the message by my dumbfounded no response.
When I was in high school (10th grade, maybe?), I was at a large gathering of students from different schools. My group was locked in a binary orbit with a group that contained a girl who was maybe 5 feet tall.
Without preface or fanfare, she walked up and said, very sincerely “Can I give you a blow job standing up?”
As an indicator of how lame I was in HS, I just kind of stood there. Dumbfounded, as requested by the OP.
I had just started college and was standing in line with a group of people including a girl I’d gone to high school with to get my student ID. I forget what the topic of conversation was that led to this, but she said to me, “If I had your boobs I would get breast implants.” I’m normal weight and am an A/B cup. She was seriously overweight- 5’2ish and around or over 200 lbs. If I were far ruder I would have responded, “If I were your size I’d consider a gastric bypass.” But I didn’t. There was just silence and we all moved onto a different topic.
