# What's the dumbest question you've ever been asked? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054 "2017-06-03T23:16:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/1 "2017-06-03T23:16:07Z")
I’m going to hold off on mine until I see what a few other people have to say. Let’s just say mine’s a doozy. :o ---
**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:** [June 3, 2017, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/2 "2017-06-03T23:18:14Z")
This one. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/3 "2017-06-03T23:36:12Z")
“Just where did you lose it?” Followed by “Can I buy you lunch?” ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/4 "2017-06-04T00:04:01Z")
How many shrimp in a dozen? I was asked this at least once a week back in my restaurant working days in college. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/5 "2017-06-04T00:08:57Z")
Are you awake? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/6 "2017-06-04T00:15:11Z")
I was sitting in my wheelchair, talking to an acquaintance when I decided to pull my legs up (with my hands, obviously) and cross them indian style. The acquaintance seemed taken aback at this and then asked me, “So you’re not paralyzed then?” :p:confused: ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/7 "2017-06-04T00:17:57Z")
Just last week: I’m standing at the end of a bridge that crosses a loud waterfall. Tourist: “How far is it to get to the falls?” Me: _points_ ---
**Author:** ![femmejean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/0ea827/32.png) [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/8 "2017-06-04T00:20:14Z")
Not me but my friend who was about to have sex with this girl… “Should you wear a condom?” This was a 19yr old girl when he was 17…that’s all I’ll say. ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/9 "2017-06-04T00:36:24Z")
“Can I dump this chemical toilet in the shower?” ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/10 "2017-06-04T01:09:24Z")
“Does the state plant all those saguaros (cactus), or do they just grow wild?” ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/11 "2017-06-04T01:10:33Z")
When I was working at Domino’s someone asked “how big is a sixteen-inch pizza?” My manager came up with the perfect answer, “about four inches bigger than a foot.” ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/12 "2017-06-04T01:33:14Z")
Another disability-related question: This one has actually happened more than once. I was talking to another person and I was telling them about the particulars of my spinal cord injury. These particulars include retention of full sensation throughout my body. When I mentioned this fact the other person took their finger (or hands or whatever) and poked me in the thigh and asked, “So you can feel that?” :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/13 "2017-06-04T01:34:43Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Just last week: > > I’m standing at the end of a bridge that crosses a loud waterfall. > > Tourist: “How far is it to get to the falls?” > > Me: _points_ Very similar to my answer, which is “Where are the blue books?” To explain: when I was in college I worked in the college bookstore. “Blue books” were the small blue notebooks that students would have to buy for writing essays for English Composition classes. The bookstore had a big floor display filled with blue books, with a large sign saying “BLUE BOOKS” hanging directly over the display. Probably once a week, some student would come into the store, be standing _right under the sign, right next to the display_, and would ask “Where are the blue books?” ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/14 "2017-06-04T02:24:35Z")
At a Living History event next to a cooking demo -------- “Is that a real fire?” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/15 "2017-06-04T03:11:18Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > When I was working at Domino’s someone asked “how big is a sixteen-inch pizza?” > > My manager came up with the perfect answer, “about four inches bigger than a foot.” About 201 square inches ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/16 "2017-06-04T03:18:37Z")
If I may be “that guy” for just a little bit, I think some of these weren’t dumb questions, but rather, were misunderstood or poorly communicated. Asking how big a 16-inch pizza is sounds like asking for a visual demonstration of its size (“It’s as big as _this_” - gesturing with both hands) or a practical analogy (“about as big as that steel skillet over there.”) It doesn’t sound like a math question - “four inches longer than a foot.” ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/17 "2017-06-04T03:22:14Z")
"What was the name of the ship in _The Poseidon Adventure?"_ My straightforward answer was countered with, “You think you’re so smart!” ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/18 "2017-06-04T03:34:07Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > If I may be “that guy” for just a little bit, I think some of these weren’t dumb questions, but rather, were misunderstood or poorly communicated. No, the one I gave was actually that stupid. Even standing a couple feet away and feeling the heat of the flames, the Touron (combined form of tourist and moron) honestly thought it was some kind of artificial prop. After all, who would build an actual campfire in public? I repeat: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/19 "2017-06-04T03:37:21Z")
Back in the days when I lived in Paris, I had someone ask me where the Gare du Nord railway station was. We were standing in the entrance to the station at the time. I volunteer at a local attraction called the 1940 Air Terminal Museum. I’ve been asked more than once when the terminal first opened. It’s fun to see the light dawn when I say, “1940”. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/20 "2017-06-04T03:51:00Z")
“Betty who?” This was in response to my question, which was, “What is Betty’s last name?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054.md?page=2)