They say there are no dumb questions. Well, that's debatable.
And there's nothing wrong with asking where you can find the cereal aisle in a grocery store you've never been in -- with the understanding you're not making the inquiry while standing in the said aisle.
Curious to hear from the experiences of strangers on the internet, Redditor nonlinearcharm asked:
"What's a question you absolutely hate being asked?"
Let's Talk About You
These questions come up when you either just met someone or engage in small talk with someone you barely know.
Because friends wouldn't dare to insult you.
Awkward Introduction
"Tell me about yourself"
"It's not really a question but it gets me mad. You want my depression or my favorite animal? I don't know what I'm like! Ask my friends! Or just be friends with me and you'll find out!"
Name Origins
"I have a unique name. I hate being asked where I got it. I just respond 'I got it for my birthday' and see if they get it, if not I just continue the conversation."
"Name is Ariez btw."
Clearly, You're Not Around From These Parts
"Stranger: 'Where are you from?'"
"Me: 'Oh, I've lived in the States for about 20 years."'
"Stranger: Looks at my brown skin ... 'Where are you really from?'"
"Me: -_-"
Permanent Expression
"'Why the f*k you're angry?' MY FACE IS LIKE THAT WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO."
"Same, my resting face looks very annoyed, and people are like 'what's bothering you?' Like Barbara, the only thing that's bothering me is you."
Leave My Condition Alone
"'Did you forget your sunblock?! Your nose is so red!' Or 'Why are you blushing so hard? Your face is bright red.' Yeah. I know. It's Rosacea. Nothing I can do but thanks for reminding me."
Identifying A Flaw
"i always hate when someone looks at an obvious pimple on my face and then asks 'WhAt's tHaT oN yOur fAcE?'"
"duh, it's a f'king pimple? can you not? it's already huge and i'm self conscious about it."
Timeline
Unless they are prone to procrastinating, most people are capable of making decisions on their own when the time for a life decision is appropriate or convenient.
No one appreciates someone breathing down their necks and asking when certain things will happen for them.
Looking Ahead
"What are your plans for the future?"
"Yep this, in job interviews particularly I hate being asked 'where do you see yourself in 5 years?' or similar. I'm likely in my next interview to be honest and say I don't have any because I like to keep my options open/coast from job to job."
Starting A Family
"When are you going to have kids?"
"My older brother shut down my mom asking this by replying:"
"'We have been trying so much mom but so far no takers, could you tell us what positions you conceived in so that we might have better luck the next couple times we try?'"
"She turned 4 different shades as she realized exactly what she was asking about and never asked them (brother and his wife) again, nor bothered me and my wife with the question when we got married."
Status
"Why are you still single LOL"
"Why are you still married despite ... nevermind, how's the weather?"
Sleep Schedule
"I have worked third shift on and off (mostly on) for close to 20 years. I often get asked, 'So, like, when do you sleep?'"
"I get home anywhere between 7 and 10 in the morning. I usually try to go to sleep around then."
"Oh. My. God. There is no way I could ever do that. Nope. My body has to sleep when it's dark. I absolutely could not sleep when there is any daylight."
"Oh. Then it's, uh, probably a good thing you don't work third shift, eh?"
Major Plans
"What's your major?" Astrophysics 'WOW I CAN'T EVEN SPELL THAT! What are you gonna do with that?'"
"Gonna become a Walmart cashier, thanks for asking!"
The Single Stigma
"'when will you get a girlfriend?' - my whole family"
"I won't damn it! I'm an introvert who doesn't leave the house, and has social anxiety, so i can't even talk to people online, so can you please stop asking me that!!"
"Especially in valentine's day when they keep making jokes about it."
It's A Mood
Just because people aren't cheerful all the time or loquacious, it doesn't necessarily mean they feel the world's weight on their shoulders.
Most of the time, it's the naive individual pressing another person with their unsolicited concern that is affecting their mood.
Trick Question
"Are you mad?"
"It's a trap. I wasn't mad, but when I say 'no', then they be like 'are you sure?' and if I say I'm sure, they're like 'really? You seem mad.' and then I get irritated having to repeat myself for a third f*king time so my tone of voice changes and then they're like 'See I knew you were mad, whats wrong?' AND THEY DONT REALIZE THAT ITS F'KING THEM"
– Assliam-
Read The Room
"Everything okay?"
"Being introverted this gets really annoying. I'm fine. I've got things on my mind that I prefer not to talk about so I'm just dealing with them quietly."
– BigMilk0
Prying
"Why are you so quiet. Is this someone's way of asking what are the traumas involved with your dysfunction? What kind of answer are they expecting or want to hear? I think they just want to dominate more and expect the soft reply."
Loaded Question
"Are you happy?"
"Edit: Either this means someone is mad at me or is asking me to evaluate my life and overall state of satisfaction. The first means drama, the second prompts an existential crisis."
– Jenova66
"What are you?" I get asked, from time to time.
And it never gets more specific than that.
Do I answer, "I'm a he/him who enjoys classic films and long walks on the beach?"
No, because those aren't the answers being sought. I'll respond to people who've put more thought into their question and didn't make me feel like I'm not part of the human race, m'kay?
One rock is just like any other
"Plymouth rock Massachusetts."
"Despite all the rage it's still just a rock in a cage."- BodybuilderOk3836.
"Plymouth Rock!"
'I don’t know how famous it really is outside of New England but it’s a rock that marks where the Pilgrims supposedly first landed in Massachusetts."
"It is quite literally just a medium sized rock with '1620' carved in it but every elementary school teacher around Massachusetts at least hypes it up for the class field trip to see a literal rock that is not big, impressive, or really historically relevant."
"Driving an hour on a bus to see this was the most anticlimactic thing and I would not particularly recommend."- alisoninwonderbread
Vegas of the East Coast?
"Atlantic city."
"Monopoly got me good."- mahouko08.
How do you spell that again?
"Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in Wales."
"Nothing there except an Edinburgh Wollen Mills shop."
"Which is just silly as Edinburgh is nearly 300 miles away.'- Dreddguy.
Hooray for Hollywood...
"Hollywood, it's seedy and disappointing."
"It's full of entire industries (*cough scientology *cough) that take advantage of starry-eyed twits."- Judas_Feast.
"Hollywood Walk of Fame."
"It's a sidewalk and outside of maybe big events where they may clean the ones around where photos may be taken."
"It otherwise is just covered in dirt from people's shoes and some are barely legible because they haven't been cleaned in ages."- CaninseBassus
Los Angeles Hollywood GIF by Party LegendsGiphyWhere the land meets the sea.
"Lands End, UK.'
"Heralded as the 4th most disappointing attraction in the UK."
'It's not even disappointing enough to win an award.'
"I mean the landmark in Cornwall, not a clothing store."
"Deary me."- YellowBernard.
"They say the neon lights are bright..."
"Time Square on New Years Eve."
"Just forget it."
'It has *never* been worth it."- roman_fyseek.
Times Square Ball GIF by New Year's Rockin' EveGiphy"See the Pyramids along the way..."
"Egypt.'
"Its like if phone scams were a materialized location."
"You get there an right away the airport is going to start scamming you, take your electronics away and tell you that you need permits for them (which they will gladly sell you, and then tell you that its the wrong one and have you buy another one)."
"The hotel you stay at will check your bags again like the airport did and again tell you that you need permits or whatever random thing they decide they can get away telling you needs one."
"The police will extort money from you if they think they can."
"Fake police will come up to you and fine you or tell you to follow them to different sites where they will charge you."
"Children will run up to you and ask if you want to ride their camel very aggressively (they will cut you off with their camel and not let you move forward) tell you its free, and then try to charge you insane amounts of money and call their camel pimp over to deal with you if you don't pay."
"If you don't get on the camel they will often even get the camel to attack you."
"It's all pretty wild, its not worth it."- yovalord.
There are few worse feelings than arriving at somewhere you've been dreaming of going all your life, only to find yourself disappointing.
Maybe some places are best visited in our imaginations.
It certainly costs a lot less!
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I have a friend who had a roommate who would slip into her room at 3am to watch her sleep. For fun. NO!
My Stuff
Audrey Whitby Reaction GIF by AwesomenessTVGiphy"Yelled at me for reading my own books because it messed up the decor. Books were sorted by color and not subject and reading them made them look not as new. Yeah. My own books."
madpiratebippy
Ruined
"Roommate was a total slob, and I am not saying this lightly. He would eat dinner on the couch, then put his dirty plate (with scraps and bones) under the couch. I would have to check constantly for that or else we would get some foul smells. One time he had pancakes and put the plate under the chair, and due to the large amount of leftover maple syrup we got ants. He would just trash everything and made the house disgusting."
"Finally I had enough and I stopped cleaning up after him. I just let the house fall into total ruin. He then started staying at his parents house, telling them and our friends that I was a slob and he couldn't handle it anymore. He eventually moved out and lives with his girlfriend now. She complains constantly that he is a slob."
Calis708
Psycho
"She released my pet iguana into the wild. She blackmailed me via email from the next room. I caught her going through my nightstand when I came home from work. When I moved out, she poured baby oil and soy sauce all over my N64, SNES, Sega, and controllers. She ran a needle across my favorite DVDs. I got her back, though… and got my consoles professionally cleaned."
paythemandamnit
Thief
"She had the landlord return the security deposit in her name, even though I'd paid it in full. It was $1800. When I asked the landlord for the deposit back, he said he already gave it to her and I had to work it out with her. I was 19 and didn't know any better. Needless to say, she never paid me back. Still bitter 20 years later. I worked full time in college and her parents paid her way. $1800 was a lot of money back then."
Jen_the_Green
Holes
Kyle Gallner Reaction GIF by Arrow VideoGiphy"Burned holes through the bottom of my pots making instant ramen in maple syrup instead of water. She forgot it on the stove while playing bongos in the living room at 2:00am with some dude she’d brought home off the street."
Terin_OSaurusrex
That's why there is a microwave!
Menu Issues
Hungry Night Court GIF by LaffGiphy"I had roommates there were 7th Day Adventists and would eat my food. They said they were not allowed to eat pork so I started buying only lunch meats that obviously contained pork but they still ate in anyway."
wanted_to_upvote
"inappropriate"
"She stole my underwear, wore them, then reported me to our boarding school for having personal 'inappropriate' underwear when I confronted her for stealing them. She got in trouble for theft, but I still got in trouble for having clothes outside the dress code even though I threw them out after I saw them in her dirty laundry hamper."
CaffeinatedHBIC
big mistake...
"One of my first flatmates in London was weirdly into me. One time I took a friend home cause she was too drunk to take the tube by herself. My flatmate saw us getting home, asked me if she was my girlfriend and I said yes hoping he'd leave me alone after this... big mistake. He asked if he could sleep with us in my bed (my friend was passed out at this point), said he 'wouldn't do anything, just wanted some human contact.' Creepy as hell, moved out shortly after that."
SugarHewson
"hashed"
Black Girl GIF by Sam CannonGiphy"My college room mate ran out of pot so he tried to boil down his bong water to 'hash' in my microwave using my tupperware. The residue ended up fusing with the plastic at the bottom of the container so he scraped it out with a razor blade and smoked a big bowl of plastic and bongwater concentrate with the windows closed."
GoBananaSlugs
Oh the pot issue. Stoners really need to live together. Nothing against it, but you know what I'm saying.
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So what do we do? First... let's make a list...
Objection!
Law Lawyer GIF by GIPHY Studios OriginalsGiphy"Public Defenders. I have a private law practice. The public defenders make a fraction of what guys like me make, know criminal law inside and out, and carry obscene caseloads. The system would break down immediately if they went on strike. Which honestly they should."
The_Wyzard
Medicine Stress
"I made 9.50 an hour as an EMT. Never ask 'why is there an EMS shortage' around me I will go OFF."
Lost-Speech6674
"I’m working on getting my EMT license right now and the main reason I’m doing it is as a stepping stone toward a different career in medicine. I’ve heard lots of people in the medical field say that working as an EMT/Paramedic is great field experience and makes getting into med school much easier and it’s just generally very valuable experience to have."
YaYaYeeet
for the vulnerable...
"Basically any profession that requires you to work with vulnerable people."
Raven123x
"Social workers. High dollar educational costs with licensure for case loads that are not humanely manageable safely and not enough money to eek out a living."
pointsettia1
"My wife is a social worker, the expectations are ridiculous and the definitely don't pay enough."
DanielDoingwell
I'll go to Walmart
"Worked as a direct support professional for adults with disabilities in a long term care home. Cooked, cleaned, dispensed meds, bathed, worked on skills goals, drove, shopped, planned enrichment activities, and more. I loved the job most of the time. I really enjoyed helping the people live a decent life. Was paid $9.79 an hour in 2015. I left when I realized I could be a cashier at Walmart for that kind of money and I was putting my future career in jeopardy when some negligent stuff was happening."
soularbowered
Cleaners
Scrubs Fist GIFGiphy"Janitors. They clean up all our crap, get no respect, and are sometimes some of the chillest people I've ever met. We should pay them more."
Lord0fHats
Janitors. They are essential and saviors. That was proven during COVID.
Big Cat Love GIF by BBC Earth"This is why I f**king hate disaster type movies. Always show the rich scientist in their top tier lab driving a tesla. Irl is more like broke phds trying to find the protocol for a donated piece of equipment and its corresponding software from 1998 that can only run on win95. Would be rad if we could get 1/1000th the funding of a mid size biotech to save the elephants and penguins."
89fruits89
It’s sad...
"Used to work in childcare. Can confirm the pay is garbage. I make more as a receptionist at a law firm where I mostly just sit there and occasionally answer a phone than I did doing actual work. It’s sad. And children need stable people for them at schools, but turnover at schools is high because the pay is so bad."
Lunabell21
Soul Sucking
"I’m a therapist at a non-profit. I have a master’s degree and most of the time I’m getting paid $15/hr to fill out tons of paperwork that only someone with a master’s degree can fill out. It sucks. I also only get paid hourly. If I only have 3 clients that day, I get paid for those three hours only. If someone cancels on me, no pay for that time wasted, even though I structured my whole day around seeing them."
"I thank my higher power every day that I have no student debt because my paychecks wouldn’t be paying back crap. At this point I’m basically working for dirt cheap so I can get licensed and go about my own business. I didn’t get into this field for the money, but it’d be nice if I could at least live off my paycheck, ya know."
SadAlgae2157
On the phone...
"911 dispatchers. We literally have to listen to people die on our phone lines, and in some states, are still classified as secretarial personnel. Over ten years of experience, certifications coming out my ears, and I don't break 40k a year unless I pull massive amounts of overtime."
"We lost three of our people to COVID last year and are running at less than half capacity for the whole place, can't hire anyone to stay because they see what we have to deal with and nope tf out, or they're just ill-suited for the position so they're cut from training and sent packing. I love my job, I love what I do. I wish I could say I loved my paychecks."
SouthernBelleInACage
The Brilliant!
High Five Jimmy Fallon GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonGiphy"Scientists, imagine studying 10 plus years, holding the highest academic title possible and earning less than most common 9 to 5s that require little to no education. But hey, its honorable right."
One-Light
So now we know better. How do we get these people what they're worth?
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Any and every detail that comes out of our medical insurance system. Don't get me started...
WINNER!!
"An Australian man won the lottery, then on camera to re enact the winning for the news he bought another ticket... he won the lottery again on camera. https://youtu.be/6R5MqxcKdV8 "
YeahYeahButNah
Billions
"If a billion people from both China and India didn't exist, they would still be the #1 and #2 most populated nations in the world."
Handsprime
"The fact people think this is a bad thing is something I can’t believe. Though I would like to know the truth. If they are locked into factories living terrible lives. I hope if they where they would revolt. Maybe we should set a better example."
JRotten-Scoundrel
Kermit too?
"Tarantulas keep tiny frogs as pets."
JimminyBean
"This is a bit misleading. They don't keep them as 'pets.' they depend on one another. In nature, this is described as a symbiotic relationship (where both parties gain some sort of mutual benefit)."
Frogs will eat the smaller insects that are a nuisance to the tarantula (it's debated whether or not they protect their eggs, because Tarantula burrows are too deep and sticky for smaller insects to traverse). And in turn the tarantula will protect the frog. This is no different than other relationships in nature. Some bird species will frequently land in crocodile's open jaws to eat bits of stuck, leftover food which can be irritating to the crocodile. The crocodile in turn will just stay still for a bit."
TheGamingTitan12
Terrifying...
"That only 6 people have survived rabies. Rabies has a 99% Mortality rate. You can have rabies for an entire year without symptoms and once you have symptoms, it's already too late. You'll probably die in a couple of days if you have symptoms."
Strange-Listen8048
"More than a year, it can lay dormant for several years. You go on a camping trip and wake up noting you have a scratch on your arm. You put a band aid on and think no more about it. A couple of years later you feel unwell. You're already dead, there's nothing to save you. Rabies is terrifying."
zerbey
Deep
Summer Bike GIFGiphy"There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover North and South America in water one foot deep."
Angry_Elk
Let's go swimming. The rains must fall hard there.
The Hunter
Bugs Dragonfly GIF by Ana MouyisGiphy"Dragonflies accelerate at up to 4G and corner at up to 9G."
automatorsassemble
"Dragonflies are also the most efficient hunter, catching up to 95% of prey."
LuquidThunderPlus
“watchman”
"This relationship of the the pistol shrimp and watchman goby (fish). The pistol shrimp is nearly blind but an excellent digger, whereas the watchman goby has excellent eyesight with a nearly 360 range of vision, but lacks the ability to dig or fight for burrows to live in."
"So these two animals benefit from each other by living together. The pistol shrimp works on digging the burrow, and the 'watchman' goby stands guard outside. If there’s a threat approaching, the goby will dart into the burrow and simultaneously smack the pistol shrimp’s antenna to alert it of the danger."
dashiGO
Go Jimmy! Go!
"President Jimmy Carter rappelled into a nuclear reactor that was in partial meltdown to stop the meltdown and save Ottowa. Before he became President, of course."
thebyron
"My favorite Carter tidbit is a statement something to the effect of 'I hope the last Guinea worm dies before I do.' Dude dedicated his remaining life to bringing another organism to extinction, and he might well succeed. Metal AF."
BaltimoreAlchemist
"but I wore the juice!"
"In 1995, a man named MacArthur Wheeler robbed two banks at gunpoint, he was arrested mere hours later because he didn't wear a mask. instead, he decided to coat his face in lemon juice because he read that lemon juice can be used to make invisible ink. His logic, was that it would make his face invisible. And reportedly, he said to one of the tellers don't worry, I have a face, it's just invisible.'"
"The only thing he did when he was arrested was sigh dejectedly and say 'but I wore the juice!' His case is actually still in academic journals regarding the fact that people with low intelligence do in fact believe that they're smarter than everyone else."
AnnigidWilliams
Deadliest
"The Australian Funnel Web Spider is often regarded as the world's deadliest and hasn't had a confirmed kill in over 40 years since the antivenom was created."
Regnes
I hate any and all facts pertaining to bugs and spiders. No thank you.
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