
It seems like we always used to say, "I have a silly question," and our teachers would come back to say, "There are no bad questions!" However, sometimes that is just not true.
There have been some serious miscommunication and misinformation that resulted in absolutely ridiculous questions, and often can end in a good chuckle. And katlian wanted to know the questions that made us do a double take.
Redditor katlian asked:
"What question was so [ridiculous] that you asked the person to repeat it because you thought you must have misunderstood?"
Here's some of the most mind boggling, annoying, and laughable questions.
They're asking the important questions.
"'What channel is the baseball game on?'"
"I misunderstood because my question to him just before that was: '9-1-1 what is your emergency?'"
This teacher is almost done.
"'When is this due?'"
"After saying it out loud every day for a week, writing it in big letters on the board where it's been displayed for two weeks, handing out detailed instructions in writing on paper with the due date on it, publishing said document on two different online classroom platforms, and sending out an email with the due date included."
"I am a week and half from retiring after teaching for 36 years. I can't answer this question again. Not one more time."
- moinatx
"It kills me how completely disconnected some students are. I provide the same information in the syllabus, emails, web announcements, and in person (classroom or via video conference these days). Yet they are still shocked that a due date has passed, or even existed in the first place. They send me panicked emails with questions they could answer themselves with three mouse clicks. Instead of reading instructions, they make assumptions and then argue with me when they're wrong. (Why did you think this was at midnight? I've never said anything was due at midnight . . .)"
"I know its learned helplessness and there's not a lot I can do about it at the college level. I should be used to it after 15 years (OMG . . .) 17 years. But its still so frustrating!"
Good thing we use email now.
"'How does paper get to the other side of a fax machine?'"
"I had to ask a few times if he was serious or being sarcastic."
"He was dead f*cking serious."
Maybe not...
"'If I give someone my email address doesn't that mean it's my email address?'
"To elaborate this lady thought she could just give people a random email address without actually creating the email and that the email account would just magically be created on its own. She didn't understand why she couldn't log into the email address she had been giving people for years, and why she got a phone call from a guy telling her it was his email address and to stop using it."
"Ugh, I feel his pain. I've had some dingbat in AZ using one of my email addresses for months. I keep getting notices for their cable and internet bills. The companies won't change it because I'm not the customer."
- katlain
"A person called having a problem with a web application I wrote. Now this application had been up and running for a year with no major modifications or issues so I was sure that it was a problem on their end. I went through some standard debugging questions and narrowed the issue down to their email address not being accepted by the system."
"They were using an AOL address, so I make sure they were including the "@aol.com" part. (Back in the day, AOL users would often forget this ) I did some more debugging but finally figured that they must have triggered some weird edge case bug that went unseen for a year."
"Just as I fired up my code editor, the person asked:"
"'Does the email need to go in the box labeled 'email address'?'"
"I had to mute the call to keep him breaking my professional demeanor and laughing at them. Then, I unmuted and told them that, yes, the application expects you to put your data in the boxes with the appropriate labels. She did this and her email was accepted immediately."
- TechyDad
"These are the same people who become online shoppers and email the seller questions that are answered right in the description of the product, which would be less work to read in the first place."
- katlian
"And leave scathing negative reviews that begin with them saying they didn't use the product properly/as directed."
Not the question we expect from a medical professional.
"Went to the doctor because I injured my left knee and she asked me how I was sure which knee was hurt. Because...it's the one that I hurt?"
"I once had a radiologist give me an x-ray. I assumed she wanted a couple of different angles so I let her work on the uninjured side of my body. Then she blamed me for not telling her the arm in the sling was the one that was hurt."
"I have bad luck with hospitals, and I have a really obvious lazy eye that barely works. I used to work at a paint department. I was filling the tint machine, the cans of tint couldn't be opened with a can opener of any kind. We we had to jam a putty knife in the top and cut it open. Some tint splashed up, right in my left eye, the good one. I wash it out, it's water soluble, and non-toxic. I get sent to the E.R., I had to walk to it. By the time I got there my visions was fine, but they checked me out anyway. The docs look me over, then leave for about 10-15 minutes. The nurse comes back, and says she's got good news and bad news."
"Your left eye is fine, no damage. There's something wrong with your right eye. It doesn't face fully forward, and it's vision is poor."
"I couldn't hold back my laughter, I didn't mean to laugh either. Everything got cleared up, except I see things with a hint of magenta...."
- Buhrdt
Oh, the irony!
"I'm legally blind. So for me its this one, 'What can't you see?'"
"How the f*ck do I know??! I can't see it."
"I have bad eyes. Well, I have bad vision in one eye and am completely blind in the other.
Talked with somebody last week, explained that I could not see in my right eye. 'Oh? Can you see light and dark at least?'"
"'No. Nothing. I can see just as much as I can with my right elbow.'"
"'Oh, but you really cannot see even light?'"
"'Can YOU see light with your right elbow?'"
"'No... oh! - That sucks.'"
Someone needs a geography lesson.
"'Is that Hawaii?'"
"Asked of me whilst we were standing on the Golden Gate Bridge."
"Tisk. Tisk. Every body that has seen a map of the US knows that Hawaii is next to Alaska."
And maybe an astronomy lesson while we're at it.
"Deployed to Iraq and one one my Soldiers looked up and asked 'Sergeant, is that the same moon we have in the states?'"
"I hope that Sergeant made the soldier sing 'Somewhere Out There.'"
How do trains even work?
"Several of us teens in a van on the way to camp, and this one girl (16 at the time) goes, 'Wait, how does the train get back up?'"
"A few of us: 'Huh?'"
"Her: 'The train tracks (points out window) go down the hill and then back up the hill. How doesn't the train just get stuck?'"
"One of us: 'Trains can go up hill, Tiffany.'"
"Tiff: 'Huh? how?'"
"Another of us: 'They have motors, they just drive. How is this van going uphill right now?'"
"Tiff (eyes lighting up): 'Ohhhh! Wait, I'm [silly!]'"
"True story."
An oops at TSA.
"Going through TSA I asked the person if she needed me to take my hooded sweatshirt off. I didn't mind because I had a shirt on underneath."
"She looked me dead in the eye and with a straight face asked 'is that your outermost garment?'"
"'Excuse me?'"
"'Is that your outermost garment?'"
"I looked down at myself then up again. 'Yes,' I said."
"'Then no, you can leave it on.'"
"I'll assume to this day she meant innermost. What a buffoon."
"'Why no, I'm wearing my invisibility cloak on top. It's a cloak that makes itself invisible.'"
Oh deer...
"The guy was about 55 at the time, he asked me how animals like deer/moose got the "Antlers" to stick to their heads."
"He thought they were sticks, that they made them in the shape of antlers and spent a lot of time finding sticks that looked the same."
"I had to do a double take on that one."
"Anyways they obviously use gorilla glue."
"A lot of people aren't familiar with gorilla glue. I only know about it because I use it to style my hair."
Isn't it obvious?
"I used to work at a late-night college pizza delivery place called 'We Deliver.' Every time someone would call we'd answer the phone with "We Deliver," I.e. the name of the actual store."
"People would still ask us 3-4 times a night if we delivered."
I think you're thinking of something else...
"I was in line at burger King, there was a woman and her son before me in line. The woman orders her stuff, then dead serious asks the poor kid behind the counter, 'Do you have anything that is carbon free? My son is allergic to carbon and can't eat it.' The poor kid just looks at her, and says 'No.' I couldn't help but chuckle, his face a face of confusion, and holding back laughter."
"'Well, he'll just have a salad then.'"
- Buhrdt
"Is there any matter in your food? I'm allergic to matter."
"Sorry does this burger come in antimatter?"
- Deetchy
The 4th of July
"One [person] I know asked my German friend what day do they celebrate the 4th of July?"
"I've worked for an international company with American co workers that have asked me what I was doing for 4th of July, I'm British, its like they've forgotten what they were celebrating."
- SCB360
While some of these questions are truly ridiculous, they're absolutely laughable now. Hopefully someone set these people straight!
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Comedy is in a very tricky place right now.
There is so much to NOT laugh about in this world.
In truth, many of us have forgotten how to laugh.
And certain jokes that are told, make people afraid to laugh.
So what do we do?
We tell inappropriate jokes apparently.
Let's hear some...
Redditor CrewCreation wanted to hear some "risky" comedy. So they asked:
"What’s the best morbid joke you know?"
***WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SENSITIVE MATERIAL. PROCEED WITH CAUTION!***
I can't think of anything hilarious at the moment. Make us LOL.
Lady
"I have this friend, love him to bits, but his wife has a tendency of just constantly showing everyone pictures of their son at every social event. At the start it was understandable, but now I'm just like 'Lady, it's been two years; they're not going to find him.'"
UnoriginalUse
at 9am...
"Not the most morbid but I love Anthony Jeselnik’s story about his neighbor who has Alzheimer’s. 'One of my next door neighbors is a 90 year old man suffering from Alzheimer’s. And every single morning at 9am he knocks on my door and asks me if I have seen his wife.'"
"'Which means that every single morning at 9am I have to explain to a 90 year old man suffering from Alzheimer’s that his wife has been dead for quite some time. Now I’ve thought about moving. I have thought about just not answering my door in the morning. But to be honest, it’s worth it… just to see the smile on his face.”
dreagan021
Comedy?
"Why can't orphans play baseball? They don't know where home is."
GW2RNGR
"Why can't orphans play tennis? They get confused when they hear love."
JayDub506
People who make comedy are evil. LOL.
The Darkness
"Dark humor is like food; not everyone gets it."
storm_the_castle
God Laughs?
"A Holocaust survivor dies and goes to heaven, where she meets God. To break the tension she tells God a joke about the Holocaust, but God doesn’t laugh. The lady shrugs and says 'I guess you had to be there.'"
“'I guess you had to be there' is a common expression used when someone doesn’t laugh at a joke. It means that the comedy may not translate without the context of the situation."
"In this case the Holocaust survivor is saying it, meaning that during the Holocaust God was nowhere to be found. It’s not really a joke about the Holocaust, but the absurdity of belief in a benevolent God. Hilarious right?"
semimillennial
Oh Baby
"How many dead babies does it take to fix a light bulb? More than 3 cause my garage is still dark."
sirnibs3
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Because I don't know what it says about us as people if we laugh. Oye.
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Life can change in an instant.
It can always change for the better.
Just ask any lottery winner.
Sadly, life can also take a turn for the worst and leave people shattered beyond repair.
Watching someone's life fall apart in a short amount of time is difficult.
You have to wonder if there really is such a thing as karma, bad luck, or Voodoo.
Redditor OkImagination5852 wanted to hear about the times we've been witness to personal disaster. They asked:
"People who witness a person's life crumble in a single day, what happened?"
I have lived through a lot of bad days. But thankfully they've been one disaster at a time days. So I guess I'm lucky.
Horror
"A friend of a friend had his entire family killed overnight. He was from my college and was home visiting his family. His parents, siblings, and extended family were all there together. One night, while they were all asleep, his father got up, took out a gun, and went on a shooting spree. He then killed himself."
"Everyone except this guy died on the spot. When my friend visited him at the hospital, the guy was still in shock. He had no idea why his father did that. This was more than a decade ago, and I have no idea how he's doing now."
DeadOnDeparture98
The IRS Called
"Knew a guy who had a nice house, wife, 3 kids. Machine shop in his garage, Snap On tool truck, sign out front, great mechanic. Never incorporated, didn't pay taxes on his business, cash only. Took nice vacations, bought a boat, then a camper. Five years later, the IRS came. I don't know what they estimated he owed but they seized everything. He lives alone in a trailer now."
Nobody_Wins_13
2 at Once
"My mom’s dad and dad’s mom both died on the same day. Completely unrelated. We were pretty messed up for awhile. It was 2010. Mom's dad had emphysema (lifetime smoker) and was pretty sick for a few weeks. I was in college at the time and came home to be with him, because we knew he was about to pass. Dad's mom was in the nursing home, as she had had a stroke and also had dementia (she often thought I was my dad, she thought we were in the 70s, etc.)."
"She took a turn for the worst, and so my dad left the hospice my grandpa was at and went to be with her. The towns they were in were about an hour apart, so I stayed behind with my mom to comfort her when her dad passed. A few hours go by, and he passes peacefully (huge thanks to the hospice workers for their respect and grace during this time)."
"Within an hour or so of his passing, we get a call from my dad saying that his mother had passed as well. It was a terribly dark day in our family, and the next couple years for me in college were pretty much a blur. Thankfully, things got better in time and we are all doing well now."
She lost everything...
"Her husband left her after previously persuading her to remortgage their house to save his business and he's already made her take multiple credit cards out in her name. She lost everything. He did it the week after their youngest turned 18 so he wouldn't have to pay child support. He'd obviously been planning for years."
Ieatclowns
a black sheep...
"My cousin was in a motorcycle accident with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend died. She broke her back. When she was in the hospital she learned she was pregnant. It's been 16 years and we're still trying our best, she took an all too familiar path of drugs, burning bridges and more pregnancies."
"At this point she's fairly stable and clean as far as I know but a bit of a black sheep. Her mother has custody of all one of her kids. She has her youngest and seems to be doing good by her, but who knows. It's been hard on everyone, especially her mother and her brother."
Paradigm6790
Well this is the stuff of nightmares. I'm grateful for every moment I have alive.
Several lawsuits are filed...
"Here is multiple lives ruined in an instant. A friend was over at some other people house, drugs were involved. They had been playing with a gun. My friend points the gun at a girl, pulls the trigger and shoots her in the head. Girl dies, friend gets locked up until he turns 18. Parents at the house get arrested because they knew what the kids were doing. Friends mom goes into a depression and ends up getting evicted from her house. Several lawsuits are filed."
sentondan
Gone Forever
"It was me... got in a car accident and suffered a traumatic spinal and brain injury that I had no chance of surviving... a 7 vertebrae spinal fusion, yrs of physical and mental therapy... 18 yrs later and the pieces, though many forever gone, are finally coming back together."
2boneskuLL
A Bad Night
"He trashed his fathers vacation house with an axe before setting it on fire, stabbed the neighbor nearly to death, stole their car and then crashed it into a cop car so bad the cops were injured. He also got his girl pregnant, so once he is out of prison they're gonna start a family."
Dumbing_It_Down
"dangerous"
"Pregnant friend found out husband (43) was having an affair with young woman (19) who was a volunteer at their ecolodge. Friend had 'dangerous' pregnancy and had to spend a lot of time in bed. This betrayal destroyed their marriage, split the little town where they lived and caused two employees to quit because witnessing the affair going on was just too painful."
"She had a beautiful baby girl (to go with her other two girls, lol) and after the breakup was clinically depressed. Worked hard and got a divorce (she had a great lawyer); got the business back on track; beat her depression and now is planning a great vacation trip with her girls."
"Meantime, Dad has generous visitation but just 'hasn't gotten around to' buying a car seat so he can pick up the baby and for a long time asked my friend, 'Can you drop the girls off at my Mom's?'"
NoBSforGma
Lost it All...
"Recently, I know of a guy that had borrowed all his family’s life savings for the most part to participate in the whole game stop stock thing happening… he lost every penny of his money (credit card advances), and his parents retirement, and every other dime he could get… it makes me sick to even think of it."
Bangbangsmashsmash
Well those are A LOT of bad days. Good luck to all of you.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
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Those who are wealthy have the luxury of acquiring the best of the best–whether it's dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant or status-identifying clothing from Chanel or Yves Saint Laurent.
But even the rich have their limits when it comes to frivolous spending before casting judgment on friends or colleagues.
Curious to hear examples of this, Redditor Sasquatchfl asked:
"Rich people of Reddit, what's the craziest/most unethical thing you've seen people in your circle spend money on?"
Expensive experiences were a priority over prized possessions.
Live Sushi
"An ex worked for Dell in the late 90s/early 2000s. He was pretty high up and there were lots of partiers in his work circle. Went to a party hosted by one of the dellionaires and there was a body sushi girl. I don’t know what was paid to her, but it was one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen."
– 5hrs4hrs3hrs2hrs1mor
Pissing Contest
"Paid a group of homeless guys to only use the bathroom on a competitors business. Eventually bought that place for a massive discount."
– Haboobalub
Let's Work Out
"My mother woke up one morning and said she felt she was way too fat and she wanted to get a treadmill. The treadmill wouldn’t be a problem, but then she saw where it would be and didn’t like the lighting. Fast forward 2 months later there’s a 40k outdoor gym built and connected to the house. She hasn’t used it once."
– Herrera5449_
Taking A Leap
"Travelled with a bunch of ex 'friends' all fairly wealthy."
"First trip to SE Asia together and as an ex-local I was a de-facto tour guide (despite not being there in over a decade)"
"They somehow found and offered a bunch of kids diving off cliffs to jump for spare change."
"They increasingly challenged each other to land their coins as close to the cliff base and small surrounding rocks for the kids to dive for."
– Satakans
It's about the finer things in life.
Expensive Party Gag
"A 3k ouija board from Gwen Paltrow's store. I didn't even know it was a thing until the dude brought it out. I really wanted to cut it up and see what it was made from. Looked nice don't get me wrong but the thing is basically a party gag. For 3 grand, it better summon a demon that's all I'm saying."
– con_this
Slow Burn
"$600 USD for a candle."
– Jeffranks
It's not always about the things you acquire.
Minor Inconvenience
"I know a guy who went to get a new drivers license and had to pay ~$100k in back parking tickets, then joked about it after."
"Apparently he couldn't get a permit to park in front of his house, so he just did anyway, and accepted like a $200 fine everyday."
– melodyze
For A Successful Election
"Not me, but I know a guy who crowd funded (read: threw a bunch of money into, then solicited more at a flea market) $80,000 toward his friend's DA election campaign. The guy won. So far, this has paid back at least $120K in avoided legal fees. I know some rich people. Most of them are more boring than you think. Hell, most of them drive Hondas, Toyotas, and Nissans."
– KP_Wrath
The Lance Corporal
"I was stationed with a Lance Corporal who was wealthy beyond means after selling some of his patents. He owned and piloted four helicopters. Lived in a palatial waterfront house in Jacksonville, NC."
"The cheapest one cost 400K. That's the one he trained on. The most expensive was about 1.2 million. That's 1.2 million 1981 dollars. The two he's got now are about 5 million each."
"Had a floating landing pad out back moored to his dock and another landing pad in the back yard. Kept two helicopters and a Rolls inside his custom-built hangar at Norfolk International Airport."
"He drove a pair of Rolls-Royces. He also toyed with a 900K Miami-Vice type speedboat. He also housed and transported his squad to Camp Lejeune and back in a custom mini-bus."
– ApplicationConnect55
The dude was very giving and lived a very clean life. He'd fly us to Norfolk, pickup the car and we'd do our shopping and eating. Hop in a chopper and return home. He'd fly his fire team down to Miami on weekends. He kept a Limo there and wore a chauffer's outfit and did all the driving.
He bought a full-service and licensed pub in Northern Ireland. He lives there with his wife. Does a lot of charity work there. We still keep in touch."
– ApplicationConnect55
When there's plenty of money going around, there's no need to worry about a single thing.
That peace of mind is a luxury in itself.
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When marriages or relationships fall apart, infidelity is not always the cause.
Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor Liam_Tang asked:
"People who've divorced, aside from adultery, what were the irreconcilable differences that ended the marriage?"

You think you know a person when you walk down the aisle.
These Redditors were in for a rude awakening.
Pet Neglect
"My wife divorced her ex for many reasons, but the final straw was when she went out of town for a few days, and when she got back he had not fed or given water to the dog. The dog lived a long and happy life after that."
– StrangeCrimes
Obsessed With A Crush
"Not me, but I had an old coworker that divorced his wife for spending their entire savings on candy crush and games of the same type."
– Hexis40
Compatibility Musts
"ITT: Intimacy (sex/romance), beliefs (religion/spirituality/politics), kids, and I haven’t seen it yet but it’s coming: finances."
"The big four. You REALLY need to discuss these things in detail BEFORE getting married."
– rabbiskittles
Physical violence is a legit reason for people to peace out of a relationship.
The Flattening
"She threatened to hit me with a hammer."
– michaelrohansmith
Hitting The Bottle
"She became an abusive alcoholic. It was sad but I had to get out."
– diegojones4
Emotional pain is too damaging to recover from.
Truth Hurts
"She told me as we stood in front of the judge ending our 7 year marriage, 'I never loved you, I just wanted kids.'"
– Pinch_Dogs
Can't Fix Angry
"She was beautiful/smart but an angry angry person. I thought I could be sweet to her and 'fix' that. Heh. She kicked the crap out of me emotionally. Wife II has been a walk in the roses for 32 years now :)"
– lowlandr
A change of heart is worthless if comes too late.
"We Could've Had A Nice Marriage
"He could not understand that my wants and needs were as important as his wants and needs. We tried to make it work for 7 years. During that time, for things that were really important to me, I tried explaining logically, asking nicely, begging, crying, yelling, passive aggressiveness... cycled back through all of these options multiple times."
"(If I knew something was important to him, I would do that. For example, he was really into sports, so I went to all his events, even though that is not at all my thing.) When I finally threw up my hands and told him it was time to get a divorce, he suddenly panicked and said 'What can I do? Do you want me to do half the chores? I'll do it! Do you want me to get a job? I'll do it! Do you want me to buy you presents for your birthday? I'll do it!'"
"So, in other words, he could have been doing that all along, but just couldn't be bothered. That made me so angry. We could have had a nice marriage that we both enjoyed, but no, by the time he saw the light, that ship had sailed."
"We are both happily remarried now (to different people) and I joke that his new wife owes me a thank you note. It was his experience with me that taught him to listen to her and take her needs seriously."
– Bluebird-True
"What Can I Do?"
"My ex was exactly like this. I didn't marry him but when I told him let's break up, he went all like, what can I do? Let's get engaged, let's look at houses, etc. Basically all the pre-marriage topics that we should be discussing about after being together for 7 years."
"I got so angry and straight up told him it's too late... I don't need you anymore."
– gudetarako
As much as a couple wants to stay together, unforeseen circumstances can eventually tear people apart.
Very few people can maintain healthy long-distance relationships.
When a new job opportunity takes a significant other away, would you begrudge them for wanting a better position to earn more money? Or is it better for them to reluctantly turn down the opportunity so they could stay with you? Do either scenarios breed resentment?
These were questions I've often asked myself with past relationships, and my answers varied depending on the person I was with.
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