# What would a total stranger comment on/ask you about? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 11, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681 "2022-04-11T19:31:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/21 "2022-04-11T23:01:46Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > I like to wear T-shirts and face masks that have foxes on them, and I’ve had a few people comment on them. The woman who administered my preliminary exam at the ophthalmologist’s office told me she thought the combination was cute. Which is what I’m going for. > > People have complimented my blue eyes. I wear a lot of funny dachshund t-shirts, and I get comments on those all the time. I also get compliments on my eyes (blue). Personally, I always wanted brown eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Esturionette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9d8465/32.png) [@Esturionette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esturionette)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/22 "2022-04-11T23:23:54Z")
I switch my hair colour for variety and depending what dyes are on sale. Sometimes I also cut it pretty short. People who have seen me before tend to comment on the changes, and I guess it’s a safe conversation starter for customers at work, because they mention my hair a lot. I used to think bleached blonde was my best look judging from the number of comments, until one day I dyed my hair blue and the crowd went WILD. For weeks, every single customer had something to say (only one negative), but being a local celebrity got very old very fast, so I used a natural-colour dye next. Then I just had to endure a few weeks of comments about my newly brown hair. I learned that a lot of adult women wish they could dye their hair a wild colour, but they don’t want to look silly or think it’s expensive or difficult. I was happy to inspire them. An actually memorable occasion was when a person I’d just met commented on my pleasant low voice and said it’s an alto. I still think about it sometimes, because while I’m generally self-conscious about my voice and speech, it helps to remember there was at least one person who liked it. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/23 "2022-04-11T23:28:25Z")
I have very long, thick hair, usually worn braided in a single fat braid. I don’t mind the comments on it, but DO NOT TUG ON IT OR PLAY WITH IT! 🤬 I’m boggled by how many people think that’s acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/24 "2022-04-11T23:29:38Z")
Are you a _professional_ grumpy cat impersonator? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/25 "2022-04-11T23:32:07Z")
“Why are your hands shaking? Are you nervous?” No. It’s just a hereditary thing. Just something I was born with. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/26 "2022-04-11T23:32:32Z")
I used to get people asking me if I was Polish all the time. I’m German, Estonian, Swedish and Finnish with a smattering of what Ancestry calls Eastern Europe and Russian. I think it’s having a round fat face, blondeish hair and grey eyes. For the first part of the pandemic I wore a mask my best friend made: red fabric with Pokemon characters on it. People **loved** it. I got compliments left and right. ---
**Author:** ![SeaSun](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seasun/32/14820_2.png) [@SeaSun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaSun)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/27 "2022-04-12T02:50:31Z")
With a tall lean athletic build, I was often asked if I was a basketball player. I’m not _super_ tall…just taller than the average female. I was a volleyball player, among other sports, but not basketball. I also have been asked if I am a ballet dancer, but graceful and bendy I am not. Now a days I’m mostly asked what breed my dog is when out and about with her. 🐕 That’s a topic I’m more interested in talking about than myself 😉 ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/28 "2022-04-12T03:37:55Z")
“Are those triplets?” Perhaps not quite in the spirit of the OP, because it’s not exactly about _me_ - but I get asked that a lot by complete strangers when I’m out with my sons. Twice today, in fact. Yes, they are triplets. Identical, even. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/29 "2022-04-12T03:57:54Z")
My ski equipment. I can not ride a chair with anybody without talking about it. At their inquest. I get a lot of unsolicited offers to buy my cars, too. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/30 "2022-04-12T04:20:09Z")
As I get older, I get more invisible. As if people are walking by thinking “Okay, grey-haired white guy. Nope, don’t have to deal with him at all.” And I love it. I wonder if it’s my journalism streak, where I want to be _observing_ society, not _affecting_ it. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/31 "2022-04-12T04:30:14Z")
I have a large white handlebar mustache. On good days I get several compliments on it. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/32 "2022-04-12T04:30:53Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > I have a large white handlebar mustache. Who would have guessed? ---
**Author:** ![SeaSun](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seasun/32/14820_2.png) [@SeaSun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaSun)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/33 "2022-04-12T04:34:43Z")
Curious…what type of ski equipment do you have? I don’t ski anymore, but if I did, I’d probably get asked about my long straight skinny skis and maybe my boots too that I still have stored in my garage (too sentimental to get rid of them). ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/34 "2022-04-12T04:59:53Z")
> [@saje](#): > > I don’t mind the comments on it, but DO NOT TUG ON IT OR PLAY WITH IT! 🤬 I’m boggled by how many people think that’s acceptable. No one ever wants to touch my hair, it’s unimpressively fine. But I once had a colleague with the most awesome hair imaginable, thick and long and usually braided. One day I asked her, “your hair is amazing - do you mind if I touch it?” It was a revelation to me how much she appreciated the fact that I asked. I had no idea that strangers assume they can touch people’s hair just because it’s attractive 😱 WTF is wrong with people? Anyway, I got to bask in her appreciation, plus I got to touch her hair! ETA: To answer the OP, I have one-of-a-kind clothing, mostly from Indonesian textiles that I had local seamstresses make me outfits from, but also a bunch of [Pohnpei skirts](https://www.google.com/search?as_st=y&tbm=isch&hl=en&as_q=&as_epq=pohnpei+skirt&as_oq=&as_eq=&imgar=&imgcolor=&imgtype=&cr=&as_sitesearch=&safe=images&as_filetype=&tbs=) that date back to when I lived in Micronesia. I couldn’t wear those skirts on the mainland without looking like a crazy woman, probably, but here in Hawai’i it’s cool. People do comment on my interesting clothes and sometimes I get Micronesians, or people who know the islands, who will say, “OMG you are wearing a Pohnpei skirt!!! Awesome!!!” ---
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/35 "2022-04-12T05:31:02Z")
The big one is “Are you ex-military?” I’ve had people that were in the service tell me I have the bearing or demeanor of people they served with, but I never have. I’m asked more frequently in KY than I was in Chicago. I’m one of two adult males in my family that didn’t serve in some branch of the military. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/36 "2022-04-12T05:31:53Z")
I’m surprised that in 2022 people still make insensitive comments some bordering on discriminatory about a person’s name, ethnicity or appearance. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/37 "2022-04-12T07:32:17Z")
There is a student in my music class who is clearly of Pacific Island heritage but not Hawaiian - I’m betting his family is originally from Tahiti, Fiji, or Samoa, though his looks and name are the only clues; I think he might actually be from Utah. > [@Mallard](#): > > I’m surprised that in 2022 people still make insensitive comments some bordering on discriminatory about a person’s name, ethnicity or appearance. I’ve come close to asking him what his ethnic origins are, because I’m just plain curious. But I’ve always refrained because it seems like a boorish thing to ask. Thanks for reminding me that yes indeed, I should continue to refrain because it IS boorish. If he ever wants to talk about his family heritage, he can bring it up. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/38 "2022-04-12T11:44:00Z")
Sometimes it’s the height (6’5"). Sometimes it’s the beard which is rather Hagrid-esque. But despite living in the UK for 25 years my Midwest American accent is still there so I get asked if I’m Canadian or American. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/39 "2022-04-12T11:50:37Z")
Yup. I’m a big guy with a beard. We all look absolutely identical. There’s a thread about police artist sketches, they only need one sketch for all of us. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681/40 "2022-04-12T13:21:23Z")
Nothing at all. I’m tallish (prev 6’3" but likely shrinking) and not obese. Have all my hair, wear glasses. Dress boringly. Just an anonymous older (61) guy. As others have said, when you get past your 50s (if not before), you just become anonymous/invisible. Unless I’m carrying my upright bass. Then everyone thinks they have a clever comment I’ve never heard before! 🙄 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-total-stranger-comment-on-ask-you-about/962681.md?page=3)