# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/141 "2017-06-06T04:56:22Z")
This one was me… and I swear I know better! Talking to the mom of boy/girl twins: “Are they identical?” :smack: ---
**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:** [June 6, 2017, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/142 "2017-06-06T06:07:51Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > You might be right, if it’s a housing development which includes them. 😃 I am a horrible father. But I’m a horrible husband and horrible person, too. Of the three, I’m best at fatherhood, so \*I’M A GREAT FATHER! \* Hey, Einstein. It’s all fuckin’ relative. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/143 "2017-06-06T06:57:57Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > +1 That wasn’t very nice/ What exactly did she expect? Some breakthrough physics experiment? At least I didn’t use “firearms” - too trite. ---
**Author:** ![dude\_robert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e7dd6/32.png) [@dude\_robert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dude_robert)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/144 "2017-06-06T07:28:28Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > “I used to but I gave it up 'cause she never answered.” > > This wasn’t aimed at me specifically but I was an eyewitness. When I worked in a casino I was on shift one New Year’s Eve, and like at a bar, this is when people who’ve never set foot in a gambling establishment before do so now. As a mechanic I was fielding all sorts of inane questions (Where do I put in the money? Under your right hand there’s a big slot with $1 on it.) and when I rounded a corner grumbling about amateur gamblers a bar maid laughed, “I know. ‘Do you have beer?’ ‘Lemme check; we might have a case left in the back.’” > > A young man playing a slot by us turned and spotting her tray, asked, “Oooh! There’s a bar here?” > > “Yes; a couple, in fact.” > > “How much are the drinks?” > > “They’re free, so long as you’re playing.” > > “What can I get?” > > “Anything you want; it’s a full-service bar.” > > “I’ll have . . . a mai-tai!” > > We turned away quick to keep from laughing in his face. > > “Get the kid a mai-tai,” I said, “And good luck with the tip.” I don’t get it? Are mai tais extraordinarily expensive or something? ---
**Author:** ![Marci\_Al](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Marci\_Al](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marci_Al)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/145 "2017-06-06T09:33:15Z")
Two: 1. At work: “How come you’re not a SVP given your skill and knowledge?” 2. At home: “How do you even convince people to pay you a regular salary?” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/146 "2017-06-06T13:56:10Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > No, it doesn’t. It’s made up almost entirely of a simple mineral compound (with a few impurities), and the salty taste is attributable to that compound. It can’t lose its flavor any more than water can lose its wetness. > > Powdered salt can get damp and clump up, which could be a reason for throwing it away. Huh, OK. I guess I can’t trust my own sense of taste then. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/147 "2017-06-06T14:55:15Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > Many years ago I worked on the 84th floor of what was then the Sears Tower. One day I was on an elevator that fell uncontrolled for 20-some stories. > > In relating this episode to people over the years, more than once I was asked, “Did it hit bottom?” I’ve never heard you tell this story, but if you got on the elevator at the 84th floor and it started falling from the 20th floor then, yeah, it would have hit bottom. BTW I have read that elevators have a failsafe mechanism that is supposed to prevent a free fall. Do you know what failed in your case, and even more surprising, recovered to save you after 20 floors? ---
**Author:** ![And\_his\_buzzer\_goes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/and_his_buzzer_goes/32/377_2.png) [@And\_his\_buzzer\_goes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/And_his_buzzer_goes)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/148 "2017-06-06T15:33:40Z")
I have to go through the thread, but my contribution is: I know it’s meant as a conversational starter but asking: “Did you come with the bike?”, when I’m fully dressed in cycling gear, with helmet etc. This also happened in my motorbike days when wearing a leather suit. ---
**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:** [June 6, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/149 "2017-06-06T16:28:41Z")
> [@dude\_robert](#): > > I don’t get it? Are mai tais extraordinarily expensive or something? Yeah, I don’t quite get it, either, but I don’t patronize gambling establishments to know what is normal or not? Maybe because it’s a slightly fussy cocktail to make? (Though not as annoying as many others, like those requiring muddling, like mojitos.) ---
**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:** [June 6, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/150 "2017-06-06T16:29:50Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I’ve never heard you tell this story, but if you got on the elevator at the 84th floor and it started falling from the 20th floor then, yeah, it would have hit bottom. > > BTW I have read that elevators have a failsafe mechanism that is supposed to prevent a free fall. Do you know what failed in your case, and even more surprising, recovered to save you after 20 floors? Yes, but if it had hit bottom, it’s pretty unlikely I’d be around to tell the story, no? Or at least unlikely I’d be telling it only days after it happened with no signs of severe injuries. (Question I should probably ask in GQ – What’s the probability of surviving a fall of 20+ stories in an elevator? Is it greater or less than falling not in an elevator?) At any rate, the Sears Tower (like many Chicagoans, I still call it that) has a main bank of double-decker elevators that go from the Franklin/Wacker street levels only to floors 33/34 and 66/67; you get on the elevator on one those floors and switch to another elevator to get to the floor you want. This happened on that main elevator. I got on at the 67th floor with a number of other people – it was shortly after 5:00pm. Somewhere around floor 50 the elevator went into free fall. There was a collective intake of breath and someone hit the emergency stop button. This was somewhere around floor 20. I can’t say any more accurately than that – these elevators have indicators that show the floors they stop at, plus other floors by 10s (so if you get on at 67, the indicator will show 67, 60, 50, 40, 34, 30, 20, 10, Lobby). They had elevator maintenance people on staff there. Essentially they “bounced” us down in kind of a slip/stop method. Once we were at the main floor. people were already there to help us off the elevator – necessary because the elevator didn’t hit the floor exactly and we had to step up to get off. All in all, a very unusual and (admittedly) scary experience. Prior to this happening, I would have anxiety dreams that featured trains derailing. Afterwards, my anxiety dreams to this day have been about being on misfunctioning elevators. I left that job in 1981. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/151 "2017-06-06T18:02:42Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > That’s true from your own perspective, since you know the strength of your conviction - you presumably think that the existence of God is as likely as the existence of Santa Claus. In essence, that’s all that the questioner was enquiring about - the strength of your conviction. > > I think you have to take cultural context into account in deeming a question “stupid”. A vast number of people _do_ think that a consequence of atheism is risking damnation to hell. > > It seems to me that you’re calling the believer stupid for failing to see things from your perspective; when you are doing precisely the same thing - failing to acknowledge that from the believer’s perspective this was a reasonable question. I suppose there’s room for argument over whether it’s worse to be calling the believer stupid for failing to see things from your perspective or to be insulted because the believer is essentially calling you a liar when you state that you believe in neither a deity nor a consequence for your disbelief. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/152 "2017-06-06T18:55:59Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > “How would you kill yourself?” > > By “my” doctor, latest hospitalization. > > Yes, I\*\*\* am\*\*\* changing health care providers… That’s not what I’m wondering. CONTEXT IS VITAL IN THIS SITUATION. Why did the doctor ask you that question? What kind of doctor, GP? Surgeon? Psychiatrist? Were you in pain and said you hurt so bad you wanted to kill yourself? Did you make some kind of mistake and say “I could kill myself?” Why did you consider this a dumb question? IT’S NOT OBVIOUS. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/153 "2017-06-06T19:13:42Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > That’s not what I’m wondering. > > CONTEXT IS VITAL IN THIS SITUATION. > > Why did the doctor ask you that question? > What kind of doctor, GP? Surgeon? Psychiatrist? > Were you in pain and said you hurt so bad you wanted to kill yourself? > Did you make some kind of mistake and say “I could kill myself?” > Why did you consider this a dumb question? IT’S NOT OBVIOUS. Right; your answer will tell him a lot: “I don’t know, I’ve never thought about it.” “I thought about slitting my wrists in the bathtub but didn’t want to leave a mess for husband and kids to clean up.” \> suicidal ideations galore ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/154 "2017-06-06T19:19:22Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I suppose there’s room for argument over whether it’s worse to be calling the believer stupid for failing to see things from your perspective or to be insulted because the believer is essentially calling you a liar when you state that you believe in neither a deity nor a consequence for your disbelief. Good grief, all we have is this snippet of conversation: > [@Modesty\_Blaise](#): > > Me: I’m an atheist. > Them: Aren’t you afraid of going to hell? I’ve been in parts of the U.S. where I was the first person people had ever _met_ who openly espoused atheism. And this kind of question is certainly a common first response. You want to just condemn the fact that someone finds your worldview difficult to understand, given their cultural background, as just “stupid” or “calling you a liar”? Sure, if you have patiently explained your beliefs, and someone still keeps on with patronizing nonsense like “I don’t think you’re really an atheist, you’re just angry at God”, then you’d have a valid point. The brainwashed religious _can_ be plenty stupid. But without that kind of context, I really don’t think this merits the “dumbest question you’ve ever been asked” tag. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/155 "2017-06-06T20:49:41Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I wasn’t asked this, it was something someone else asked the guide on a dolphin watching trip I was on, but I love the weird assumptions behind it: > “Where do dolphins go when it rains?” That’s actually a very good question. Barometric pressure and rain can have an impact on marine life. As it relates directly to dolphins, according to the [Clearwater Marine Aquarium](http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/blog/2011/04/photo-blog-who-knew-dolphins-dont.html): > [@](#): > > Dolphins don’t like rain. > > In the wild they go deeper to avoid the stuff. Perhaps you can update your friend. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Tread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tread)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/156 "2017-06-06T20:50:29Z")
> [@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.” > [@drewder](#): > > About 201 square inches Oh about twice the size of a 10" let them ponder that ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/157 "2017-06-06T20:57:46Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I was in New York City once and someone asked me where the Empire State Building was. We were across the street from it. I was walking around E 57th and 7th and someone asked me “How do I get to Carnegie Hall from here?” “Practice” ---
**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:** [June 6, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/158 "2017-06-06T21:01:41Z")
Talking with an anti-abortion protester about adoption, which he was okay with except for gay people adopting. Me: So if a lesbian got pregnant, what should she do? Him: How does a lesbian get pregnant? Uh, a grown men who doesn’t know how women get pregnant? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/159 "2017-06-06T21:31:01Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Talking with an anti-abortion protester about adoption, which he was okay with except for gay people adopting. > > Me: So if a lesbian got pregnant, what should she do? > Him: How does a lesbian get pregnant? > > Uh, a grown men who doesn’t know how women get pregnant? I don’t understand your question in this context? How does the orientation of the mother with an unwanted pregnancy change the choices they are presenting? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054/160 "2017-06-06T21:40:08Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Talking with an anti-abortion protester about adoption, which he was okay with except for gay people adopting. > > Me: So if a lesbian got pregnant, what should she do? > Him: How does a lesbian get pregnant? > > Uh, a grown men who doesn’t know how women get pregnant? I used to work with a pharmacist who didn’t know that lesbians menstruated. :smack: She was later stripped of her license for stealing drugs. ☹ I understand that some of you don’t understand why a question like “Do you think any of the guys in R.E.M. have ever had sex outside of marriage” is a stupid question. 😕 It is when it’s asked by a guy in his late 20s to try and get his girlfriend, who was also her in her late 20s, into bed. We weren’t adolescents at the time. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-question-youve-ever-been-asked/788054.md?page=9)