# What are the dumbest questions you've been asked more than once? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 6, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767 "2019-09-06T01:47:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/102 "2019-09-08T03:47:50Z")
Do you want fries with that? If I wanted fries, I’d have ordered fries! So yeah get me some fries now that you mentioned it. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/103 "2019-09-08T03:54:08Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > Do you want fries with that? Does anyone still say that? I thought nowadays it was “Do you want the combo meal?” ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/104 "2019-09-08T10:16:50Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I had a co-worker once ask me which came first, the American Revolution or the Civil War. I don’t remember what history class it was but in College my professor was adamant that we should actually be referring to the American Revolution as “The American Colonial Civil War” or “The Colonial Secession” because the point of the Revolution wasn’t to depose the British Government but rather to just break-away from it. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/105 "2019-09-08T13:49:53Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I had a co-worker once ask me which came first, the American Revolution or the Civil War. Then former NYC mayor and candidate for President John Lindsay was a guest host on GMA from time to time. Once he had on a rep. from the DAR. He asked her if her ancestor fought for the North or the South. :smack: Then such a mistake really stood out. Now, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/106 "2019-09-08T14:30:50Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Then former NYC mayor and candidate for President John Lindsay was a guest host on GMA from time to time. Once he had on a rep. from the DAR. He asked her if her ancestor fought for the North or the South. :smack: > > Then such a mistake really stood out. Now, not so much. GMA = Good Morning, America DAR = Daughters of the American Revolution (Sorry, I had to look this up, despite being American, but for the non-American audience and idiots like me, spelling out the initialism would be helpful.) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/107 "2019-09-08T15:14:27Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Actually the stupidest question would be for them to shout, "DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH???’ Some do. There’s people who clearly have never understood WHAT THE PHONE IS FOR! ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/108 "2019-09-08T17:35:13Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Again, you do _not_ know the actual questions used and are purely _guessing_ to come up with a excuse that is still very, very inadequate. I thought you said the question he asked was whether zero was considered positive. Maybe I didn’t read your original post very closely. > [@](#): > > Binary numbers and parity are _very_ important in Computer Science. If you don’t know that zero is even you are in deep, deep trouble. Yes, for parity that is a bit of a problem (no pun intended) because you are forced to choose a 1 or a 0 and one of those will produce an unambiguously wrong answer, so deduction should lead to the other even if the general definition isn’t known. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/109 "2019-09-08T17:46:53Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I don’t remember what history class it was but in College my professor was adamant that we should actually be referring to the American Revolution as “The American Colonial Civil War” or “The Colonial Secession” because the point of the Revolution wasn’t to depose the British Government but rather to just break-away from it. Dare I say – without causing 1776 to happen afresh, or wishing to cause same – that your professor’s words, and his position, re this matter as set out above; make good sense to me? I know that you folks generally refer to that historical episode, as the American Revolution; but I – and, to the best of my knowledge, most of my fellow-Britons – are in the habit of calling it the American War of Independence. This is not because we think that you ought to have remained then and to this day, subjects of the British Crown – just that in general, “revolution” tends to connote a change of regime within the whole of one country, coming about by force rather than by consensus. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/110 "2019-09-08T19:17:15Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Of course it’s obvious. With the exception of people born on February 29th whose original birth date only exists 25% of the time, no one’s birth date varies from year to year. I don’t understand. You originally posted that " Dad and I were both born on Easter…" Many people think of a birthday as a date, not the title of the day. (This helps when sending cards.) The day and month of Easter varies from year to year. (If you announce your birthday is on Mother’s Day, your day and month also varies.) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/111 "2019-09-08T19:31:52Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I don’t understand. You originally posted that " Dad and I were both born on Easter…" > Many people think of a birthday as a date, not the title of the day. (This helps when sending cards.) > The day and month of Easter varies from year to year. And so, clueless people ask if the date of **elfkin477’s** birthday is different each year. The assumption they make is that the birthday always falls on Easter Sunday, not on the same month and date every year. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/112 "2019-09-08T21:24:12Z")
Almost every time I tell my lion-bite story, someone asks, “Did it hurt?” I assume they’re not complete morons. I assume they’re trying to find something to say, and in their shock blurting out the first thing that comes to mind. But still. _Did it hurt_. No, it was a mild ticklish sensation, barely noticeable. WHAT DO YOU THINK? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/113 "2019-09-08T22:36:27Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I don’t understand. You originally posted that " Dad and I were both born on Easter…" > Many people think of a birthday as a date, not the title of the day. (This helps when sending cards.) > The day and month of Easter varies from year to year. > > (If you announce your birthday is on Mother’s Day, your day and month also varies.) “Here’s your sign” ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/114 "2019-09-08T22:38:25Z")
I was once on an elevator that fell uncontrolled for 30 to 40 stories. More than one person has asked if it hit bottom. ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/115 "2019-09-08T22:40:20Z")
Was it good for you? ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2019, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/116 "2019-09-09T01:53:41Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Again, I’m not a medical doctor. As I already posted, > (Bolding added for emphasis.) > > To elaborate: > > Me: “I had cancer” (in conversational context). > Yutz: “Did they get it all?” I fail to see how this is a dumb question. A nosy one, perhaps, but not dumb… ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2019, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/117 "2019-09-09T06:43:20Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Is your name pronounced (or spelled) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_? > > The name they usually cite is wildly different from mine. > > Another: Where do you get the ideas for your art? Just be honest and say “0ther art”. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2019, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/118 "2019-09-09T11:10:38Z")
> [@UCBearcats](#): > > Was it good for you? So, I stopped at the local library and asked if they had a recently published book about living with a small penis. She told me she didn’t think it was in yet.☹ ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2019, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/119 "2019-09-09T11:44:31Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > I have a co-worker that has a desk right next to mine. We share a phone. We have very different responsibilities. His subordinates are always walking up to our area and not seeing Ted, they ask me “Where’s Ted?” > > I try to be cool about it but I am getting increasingly sarcastic in my response. I have no idea what Ted is doing or where he is. My usual response is to slowly (and pointedly) look around and say “I don’t see him.” Some of the people that have been around a while have caught on but there is so much churn that there are always new people that think my job is to keep track of where “Ted” is. Sadly a lot of higher ups have the same notion and I have to act like I normally keep track of him but am not sure at the moment. > > Not a big deal but after the 10,000th time it gets old. I share an office with a young engineer who is frequently not at his desk - he’s either on the shop floor or outside vaping or who-knows-where. My answer is “It’s not my turn to watch him.” ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2019, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/120 "2019-09-09T11:54:48Z")
I’m in full uniform standing next to a marked squad car and every now and then someone will come up and ask “Are you a police officer”. :smack: My standard answer is “what gave it away”. At least during my first career I could say “No, I’m a Deputy Sheriff”. Deer in headlights look. “What’s the difference?” ---
**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:** [September 9, 2019, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767/121 "2019-09-09T13:32:19Z")
My sister is an out-and-out lesbian and I am asexual. We both get the same question when people find this out: Why? Can’t you get a man? We used to answer “Yes, but I don’t want one.” Now I just say “What? You think I can’t lie down and spread my legs?” It shuts people up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dumbest-questions-youve-been-asked-more-than-once/839767.md?page=7)