People Share The Dumbest Question That They've Ever Been Asked

People Share The Dumbest Question That They've Ever Been Asked
Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash

Have you ever looked at someone after they've asked you a question and wondered,"How have you managed to live this long?" Or, even better: "Did I really just hear that?"

It hurts even more once you realize they're not pulling your leg.

I wish I could say this hasn't happened to me more times than I can count, but the human race has a way of disappointing me in ways nothing else can.

Sadly, we all run into these people (and their questions).


People shared their stories after Redditor Mylefthoof asked the online community:

"Even though there are no dumb questions, what is the dumbest question you've ever been asked?"

"What made it particularly weird..."

"Do you have Christmas in the UK?"

"What made it particularly weird was that we'd literally just been discussing the movie Love, Actually, which is both very British and very Christmas-y."

Bananageddon

Did they not realize that Love Actually takes place in the UK? People really don't pay attention, do they?

"Where do I even begin?"

"I'm in IT management. Where do I even begin? 'There's an error on the screen that says I need to restart to complete the update, what should I do?'"

ReeG

I think I would scream.

At some point, I would scream.

"A coworker of mine, without any context, asked me, 'Is Ash Wednesday this Friday?'"

pjabrony

Did you tell them to think about their question for a little longer?

Just... a... little... longer?

"During my exchange year in the US, I was sitting in my English class and we had a few minutes until class started, when one of the guys I spoke regularily to, suddenly turns and asks me if I could speak English since I'm from Germany."

"I calmly asked him in what language we had been speaking just a second ago. It was pretty hilarious and even our teacher had a good laugh with us."

"In short: Guy asked me if I could speak English, while we were talking in English."

SomeSugarAndSpice

Perhaps his brain short-circuited – let's cut him some slack.

"I was not able to convince her..."

"But why do you eat apples? You're a vegetarian, you can't eat that."

"I was not able to convince her that being vegetarian doesn't mean to only eat roots."

SecretSummerMidnight

This implies that vegetarians give up everything that could possibly taste good in favor of roots.

This person really needs to expand their palate.

"Once when I was in a tech support group..."

"Once when I was in a tech support group I literally had a guy email me and ask for my email address."

FirstTOOtheleft

But... but WHERE did they think they were sending their message?

"Being that I was in the aft galley..."

"I'm a flight attendant and while waiting to deplane a passenger in the back of the aircraft asked me if I worked the flight. Being that I was in the aft galley and literally had no way of magically appearing on the plane I was pretty confused."

Lscottbr

Did they think that you were dressed in your flight attendant uniform for fun or what?

"Thankfully it was asked..."

"Are you a real black person? Your skin is too light."

"Thankfully it was asked by a little kid, but it was so stupid that I still laugh about that years later."

starkillerzx

Imagine if this was an adult.

Actually, I don't need to imagine it.

Adults say dumb stuff like this all the time.

"I was talking to my nephew..."

"I was talking to my nephew about how Albert Einstein only started talking at the age of two. He then looked me in the eyes and asked me in an adorably serious manner, 'Did Albert Einstein invent words?' I forget how smart 11 year olds are meant to be, but it made me chuckle."

MattThePi3b

So what you're saying is... this kid isn't an Einstein.

"Once my mom..."

"Once my mom had to have part of a lung removed due to cancer. Afterwards, the doctor showed us the imaging that showed the remaining cancer spread through the rest of her lungs, which we already knew about. My dad asked him why they didn't remove all of her lungs."

esca0014

Are you sure your dad wasn't going for a perfectly timed dad joke?

Did your brain explode reading these? We wouldn't blame you. Humans are so frustrating.

Have some stories of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.

Teacher standing in front of a classroom
Photo by Taylor Flowe on Unsplash

It's a teacher's job to leave a lasting impression and set a good example for their students.

With this in mind, particularly in this age of viral videos and social media, teachers have to be very careful of what they say during class hours.

Even so, there are very few teachers who haven't said something they've regretted when teaching a class.

Sometimes to control unruly students, other times when they've simply had enough.

Then too, sometimes teachers leave their students baffled and perplexed by what they say in their classroom, well aware of what they were saying.

Always making for a memorable story.

Keep reading...Show less
woman in white crew neck t-shirt sitting on gray sofa
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

As a kid, I never raised alarm bells even when I started to feel sick. My mom got stressed easily and was busy taking care of my younger brother, so I never wanted to be a burden by making her take me to the doctor only to find out nothing was wrong.

However, in fifth grade, my ears started to hurt and I knew something was wrong. I told my mom, she took me to the doctor, and I found out I had an ear infection.

Now, an ear infection isn't serious at all, and it was easily treatable. Still, I learned something from that experience: no one knows your body better than you. You know if and when you're sick and how serious it is, even if you don't now exactly what is wrong.

Redditors can corroborate this. Many of them have experienced symptoms that told them they were sick in some way -- usually with a very serious illness -- and are ready to share those experiences.

Keep reading...Show less
A couple holds hands on a date, candlelit table and two glasses of red wine
Photo by René Ranisch on Unsplash

When in the beginning stages of dating, it's important to know as much as humanly possible.

The element of surprise is no longer a fun aspect of romance.

Ask the small questions. Ask the hard questions.

Interrogate. Grill. Investigate.

Of course, you should do it with a subtle hand instead of an interrogation lamp.

The truth is all we have.

Ask everything.

Keep reading...Show less
Woman letting go of boyfriend's hand
Photo by Everton Vila on Unsplash

As much as we always hop for our dating efforts to be worth it and for every relationship to work out, we all know that some relationships are not destined to work out.

But sometimes relationships end for totally valid reasons, and sometimes the reasons are painful, if not devastating.

Keep reading...Show less