Social Question

janbb's avatar

Are there any stupid questions?

Asked by janbb (63258points) April 10th, 2014

This has been asked but not in a while. Prompted by the common saying but also by two recent questions self-identified as “stupid.” (Also, asked because it’s dead in the water here today and we need something to liven things up.) As a librarian who’s been asked plenty of questions, I’ll hold my fire. Can be taken re: Fluther or life in general as I put it in Social rather than Meta.

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46 Answers

zenvelo's avatar

The only stupid question is the one that isn’t asked. But there are plenty of silly or inane questions.

hominid's avatar

Questions are a big thing in my house. When my kids ask a question, I usually respond to them with more questions. I always stress that there are no stupid questions to them. My head is rattling around with a near infinite amount of questions. To many people, these questions may seem stupid. This is an encouraging thought.

The only stupid questions I can think of are posed by adults and are usually filled with a few absurd premises (“When cats turn into bats at night, do they look exactly like normal bats?).

Cruiser's avatar

My all time favorite is when a group of my friends and I were pulled over for a traffic stop and we were all asked to get out of the car and this really short Policeman came up to me….looks up at me and asks…

“How come you are so tall and your friends are so small?” O_o

I am still totally dumbfounded by that question.

herculies's avatar

Does a good vacume really suck?

“I’ll do the stupid thing first… then you shy people follow” Frank Zappa.

LuckyGuy's avatar

I’ll throw out a hypothetical one as an example:
“Should I give my drug abusing brother the $300 he says he needs to pay his electric bill? He wants it in cash.”

SQUEEKY2's avatar

Sure, Are there any honest politicians? Do conservatives actually care about the lower class?

ucme's avatar

“Does my bum look big in this?”
Yeah, you know the answer i’m going to give before you ask…dontcha?

janbb's avatar

Yes @cookieman, your bum does look big!

Brian1946's avatar

“Where’s the question mark on this keyboard?”, although there are some situations where the answer wouldn’t be obvious.

whitenoise's avatar

Questions that one knows the answer to, or worse… that one doesn’t want an answer to.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

I will put this another way a stupid question is one asked, that the asker doesn’t want,listen. or care if there is an answer.

Smitha's avatar

@syz That reminds me of a question someone asked on Askville -Can your baby get pregnant if you have sex while pregnant?
Most of these questions were probably asked either by kids or some bored guys doing it for laughs.

ucme's avatar

Don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?
No, the wife’s got it all going on thank you very much!

Winter_Pariah's avatar

Does this make me look fat?

Does she/he look hotter than me?

Goddamnit woman, if you want a fight, just come swinging at me with a battleaxe instead of then blaming the ensuing fight on me for me being an ass or a liar depending on how I answer.

dxs's avatar

This one! ~

KNOWITALL's avatar

Like @hominid my mom encouraged questions all my life so I give the benefit of the doubt, q&a for all ages.

Mimishu1995's avatar

Personally, there are too many questions of me considered stupid in real life that I just can’t list them all…

ibstubro's avatar

“Are we there yet?” Yes, and just driving around so you can torture us with inanity just a little longer.

This one is recurring in my life: “Where do you want to eat?” Asked hours from home, miles from the nearest town, in an area I have rarely (if ever) visited before. “What sound good for dinner?”, is fine, good. I always want to say something like, “Well, how about the calzone shop on Times Square where I hung out in 1980?”

Coloma's avatar

In theory there are no stupid questions,
In reality, ” I dreamed about this guy I know, what does it mean?” is STUPID! lol

Mimishu1995's avatar

@Coloma How about “How can I ask a question here? I’m new here, please help.” :D

Coloma's avatar

@Mimishu1995 Not stupid, if someone is unfamiliar with how to ask a question. :-)

Mimishu1995's avatar

@Coloma How about “I dreamed about this guy…” thing, if someone is unfamiliar with dreaming :D

Coloma's avatar

@Mimishu1995 No, dream questions about guys show a lack of intelligence, period. lol
It doesn’t take an Einstein to know that dreams are just manifestations of what’s going on in our subconscious minds in the moment, or..related to the days experiences. The dream question people are compromised from the get go. haha

I dreamed of Blueberries, do you think this is because I went to the grocery store today? lol

Mimishu1995's avatar

@Coloma Now I understand why those new teeny jellies ask this kind of question :)

Coloma's avatar

@Mimishu1995 Yes, teeny minds ask teeny questions. :-D

ibstubro's avatar

Teeny?

Fluther has teeny questions and answers?

Crap.

Coloma's avatar

Teeny questions asked by teeny-boppers.

Mimishu1995's avatar

Or Peter Pan :D

Coloma's avatar

^^^ Yes, they all wear pointy shoes and green tights. Fairies! lol

prolificus's avatar

“If I eat myself, will I double in size or completely disappear?”

As heard on Late Night with Jimmy Fallen during a Yahoo stupid question song.

rojo's avatar

Yes. for example, “Do you have the time” What a stupid fucking question! No! I don’t have the time! Time is an artificial construct that assists humanity in making sense out of senseless universe! And even if I did have it, I certainly would not give it to some such numbskull as yourself! I would keep it and time and I would fly. Hopefully south but at this point anywhere else is apropos..

downtide's avatar

There are many stupid questions, most of them are on Yahoo Answers.

Mimishu1995's avatar

@downtide Can’t lurve you more…

OpryLeigh's avatar

We recently had a young girl (17 years old I believe) do work experience with us. One day she saw me filling up the cleaning buckets with water and disinfectant and asked me why we used disinfectant (bearing in mind she knew these buckets were for cleaning floors and kennels where dogs spend their time when they are with us). I thought it was a bit strange that she didn’t know what disinfectant was (she lacked common sense at times but I assumed that most over childhood age knew what disinfectant was) so I explained what it did, to which she said, “Oh, I know what it is but why do you use it?” I thought that was a pretty stupid question and had to refrain from saying “why the bloody hell do you think we use it?!”

ucme's avatar

@Leanne1986 Did her face look bovvered though?

ibstubro's avatar

I think “If I eat myself, will I double in size or completely disappear?” is a great question, but I’ll never admit it.

BeenThereSaidThat's avatar

Any question where the person has an agenda not really a question is not only stupid, but boring. A question or a platform to give your own opinion?

There are actually a few people here that just can’t get over asking the same leading questions over and over and over. <snore>

Adagio's avatar

Definitely, I asked someone recently to close the window, they pointed at the only open window in my room and asked “This one?”. This was an adult woman, not a young child, I just simply ignore questions like that.

Mimishu1995's avatar

@Adagio how about entering a room with only one bed and saying: “Where should I sleep?” :D

Adagio's avatar

@Mimishu1995 yup, that one too (unless of course there is more the one person going to sleep in the room).

whitenoise's avatar

“Are you asleep?”

Kardamom's avatar

Where I work, there’s a big sign on the front door that says (hypothetically) ABC Company. There’s another big sign on the reception desk inside the front door that also says ABC Company. In the same building, there is another business called XYZ Company. Every single day, I’d say at least 40 percent of the people that walk into our business ask either, “Is this the XYZ Company?” or “What’s this place? We’re looking for the XYZ Company.”

Before you get to our door, there is a sign and an arrow on the wall, pointing down the hall leading to the XYZ Company.

rojo's avatar

Asked in a cave during a tour:

“How thick are the walls?”

And another time someone asked:

“How much of this cave is unexplored?”

prolificus's avatar

@rojo – but those are innocent curiosity questions.

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