<p>I know there are no dumb questions. But there are dumb questions.</p>
<p>Mine:</p>
<p>Context: Client in hospital with hypotension.
Question by family member: “If he passes out, should I let someone know?”
My response: “Yes.”</p>
<p>Context: Sneaker outlet.
Question by sales staff: “What color do you want these orange sneakers in?”
My response: “I want them in orange.”
The reply: “Do you want a different color orange?”
My response: “What do you mean – like light orange or dark orange -”
The reply: “No, do you want a different-colored orange sneaker?”
My response: “Sure.”</p>
<p>Being introduced to someone I did not know and having them say ‘is that really your name?’. My name is not strange by any means just an older type name, felt left asking him if that was really his brain working that one through. Needless to say our conversation ended before it started.</p>
<p>Although this didn’t happen recently this is my all time favorite.</p>
<p>The time in my life: I was undergoing chemo for breast cancer. I was wearing a wig that was quite like my own lost hair. I had lost a few pounds. I was nicely dressed.</p>
<p>The place: Beverly Hills shopping.</p>
<p>I ran into two women who’s kids knew my kids. The usual greeting of kiss/kiss…and then the “you look great.”</p>
<p>One woman: Ellebud, you look sensation! You’ve lost weight. How did you do it?</p>
<p>Chemo.</p>
<p>(out comes her cell phone)</p>
<p>How do you spell that?</p>
<p>C…h…e…m…eaux.</p>
<p>I’ve GOT to try it!!! It’s French right?</p>
<p>Other women: You are truly a moron. She said chemo…like in cancer treatment.</p>
<p>At a play called the BLACK Nativity, I am in line at the restroom with my biracial daughter (I am white). Lady behind me says, “She’s so cute! Where did you get her?”</p>
<p>Thinking to myself, uh, “A box of Crackerjacks??” I say, “She’s my daughter.”</p>
<p>“Yes,” the woman says, “but where is she FROM?” </p>
<p>Me: “She’s my biological daughter.” </p>
<p>Her: So she’s…what?"</p>
<p>Me (slowly and cafefully): “My husband is BLACK, she is OUR biological daughter.”</p>
<p>Her: “Oh well. She’s so cute she could be from anywhere…”</p>
<p>To this day I am amazed that it made more sense to her that I’d have gone to another country to “get” my daughter than to have married a black man.</p>
<p>At least it wasn’t the usual “What IS she?”</p>
<p>OP, your name sounds like a SyFy movie. The posts are hilarious.</p>
<p>WayoutWest, IMO, tourists are allowed to ask stupid questions. Once I had to watch a comedy act in an island destination and nobody was laughing. I decided to answer a question in a dumb way to help the poor comedian. I cant really remember what I askedsomething about a barracuda on the beach but the audience woke up and started laughing. Some tourists intentionally ask stupid questions when the tour guide is boring and everyone looks like they want to be somewhere else.</p>
<p>My all time favorite was related to me by a guy whose family is Indian, meaning from India. He was asked, “Do you miss Colorado?” When he said he wasn’t from Colorado, he was told something like oh I thought all “Indians” were from there.</p>
<p>I was once asked “What do Jews eat?” Not knowing exactly what to say - and the context was being in line at a cafeteria - I said, “I’m from Detroit so I eat what people from Detroit eat.” (I then explained the kosher laws.)</p>
<p>My mother had a great one. A neighbor in Florida said, “You’re Jewish? Where are your horns?” I take my mother’s word the person was serious. (That refers to the “horns of light”, like you see on Michelangelo’s statue of Moses.)</p>
<p>I once had this conversation. I needed directions to a hotel in Lancaster County, PA. I was in the Bird-in-Hand restaurant, which is fairly famous. So I called. I said, “Hi, can you tell me how to get to the hotel from the Bird-in-Hand?” She said, “You mean the Bird-in-Hand in Bird-in-Hand or the Bird-in-Hand across the street from the hotel?” Took me a few seconds to process that. I said, “If I were across the street, I wouldn’t need directions.” She laughed and said no I guess you wouldn’t.</p>
<p>^^Nope. these questions certainly weren’t intentionally dumb. They were ignorant dumb because the people asking them were not in a group so they they weren’t performing for an audience. Usually it was just a single individual traveling alone or a couple who stopped at a service station to buy Slurpees and ask directions.</p>
<p>When I was 12, I was told I spoke English well. I smiled and replied, “Gosh, so do you!” (It is the only language I’ve ever spoken, other than mildly successful attempts to learn Spanish.)</p>
<p>Was also asked whether we have power, live in grass shacks, etc. I smiled and said, “Why yes, we have hydropower, we plug our appliances into the ocean.” They decided I was a smart-alec. I was dumbfounded at how idiotic the questions were.</p>
<p>When I was 14, I worked as a switchboard operator in the hotel. People were always asking me for water they could drink. I’d tell them to go to the bathroom, take a glass and turn on the tap. They didn’t like that answer, so I’d send the bellboy up with a pitcher of ice water. Dang bellboys didn’t share their tips with me!</p>
<p>While checking out of Home Goods, the cashier shouted to me in a voice for the whole store to hear. “Did you make that?” (Referring to my daughter) “It is so beautiful.”</p>
<p>Lucky for him she didn’t have any swords with her.</p>
<p>Tried to rent a car in St. Louis. When I presented my reservation print-out and vaild-in-all-50-states driver’s license, I was told they couldn’t rent to me because I had a foreign driver’s license.</p>
<p>I explained that New Mexico has been a state since 1912 and part of the US since 1850. The words “STATE of New Mexico” were right on my licence.</p>
<p>The clerk still insisted that since Mexico was in the name, I had be from Mexico–the country of. Then told me I spoke really good English.</p>
<p>I finally asked her if she knew where Texas was, and where California was. Then I asked was what between those 2 states. Her answer: nothing, they were right next to each other.</p>
<p>Okaaaay…</p>
<p>I thought about asking for map, but gave up at that point and asked to speak with her supervisor.</p>
<p>Yea, that reminds me of when I called up American Airlines and asked the agent if I could book a ticket to Montana. She said, “Sorry, we only fly in the United States.” </p>
<p>I tried again and said, “Yes, Montana IS a state.”</p>
<p>She repeated, “Sorry, we only fly in the United States.” </p>
<p>I hung up and ended up booking with United instead. At least they recognized that Montana was a state. <sigh></sigh></p>
<p>ssea, that reminds me of this:
My aunt and uncle were getting married. Our biological grandmother is not close to any of us so it was the first time she had met new aunt. Aunt is Asian (Chinese/Filipino), uncle and grandmother are white. </p>
<p>Grandma: “Where’s X from?”
Cousin & I: “LA”
Grandma: “But where’s she ORIGINALLY from?”
Cousin: “Los Angeles”
Grandma: “No, but where’s she REALLY from?” (I walked away at this point but my cousin explained that Asian people could be from America, too.)</p>
<p>Sigh. The irony is that my grandmother is the immigrant whereas the aunt is a natural-born citizen. </p>
<p>Woman in line at a supermarket when my mom and I were speaking in Spanish:
Woman: “Oh you guys speak Spanish well. Have you lived elsewhere? My daughter lives in (Some South American country).”
Mom: “I’m from Spain and she (me) lived in Costa Rica.”
Woman: “Oh so are you Mexican then?”</p>
<p>Related, I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been asked if I’m Mexican when I say my mom is from Spain.</p>
The posts are hilarious.</p>