I was just asked the most stupid question I have ever heard.

[Bertha Venation]

Someone called to ask for the firm's address.

I gave the street address.

I gave the city we're in: Washington, DC.

I gave the zip.

Then the caller asked, "and what state is that in?"

I swear to God.

:wow:

What's the most stupid question you've ever been asked?

[Cerridwen]

1. lol - I'm guessing they were on "auto pilot"

I did something equally as stupid once when calling tech support about my ISP being down. I was on remote at the time.

B-)

[Bertha Venation]

4. You're good to offer the benefit of the doubt, but it was clear when

I explained what Washington DC is that she had absolutely no clue.

LOL ISP...

[Cerridwen]

7. Oops. Just a bit of projecting going on. :-D

re: my ISP; just as I was getting ready to ask the tech if the service was down in my state he said it was down nationwide; and I still blurted "Nevada, too?" Definite auto pilot on my part.

We need a blushing smiley.

[liberalhistorian]

81. A friend of mine lived in New Mexico

and called a travel agent to make an airline reservation. When she gave her address, the agent told her there'd be an additional fee for international travel. My friend asked what she meant, and the agent said that since she lived in Mexico, that would be considered international travel. My friend tried to explain that she'd said NEW Mexico, not Mexico, and that NM was a state, but to no avail. She finally had to get a manager on the line, and the manager had to explain it to the dimfuck agent.

Another friend was from Vermont, and she was constantly being asked "what part of Canada she was from", I fucking kid you not! I remember an experiment the new Candid Camera once did, where they stopped people in Oregon and California, claiming that they were about to pass the border into Canada and they had to pass customs before they could continue. They even made them sing the Canadian national anthem. It was simply unbelievable how many dimfucks actually believed them, and it was even more unbelievable watching them seriously try to sing the Canadian national anthem.

It's always been terribly frightening to me just how dumb this country is when it comes to geography, even our own country's geography.

[On the Road]

2. I Was in the Kitchen with an Acquaintance

and she asked me where I kept the ice cubes. And began laughing once she realized how limited the possibilites were.

[Bucky]

61. Don't ask Rummy any stupid questions. Rummy don't like stupid questions

[nickgutierrez]

63. He asks himself stupid questions all the time. n/t

[MsAnthropy]

3. My mother asked me how to dial letters on the phone

because Crimestoppers' number was 45-CRIME. Granted, she's 84, but our phone number was MI-2953 back in the 1950s.

[Momgonepostal]

5. I had a co-worker once ask ...

"What time zone are we in?"

I can see asking what time zone Indiana is in, but shouldn't you know your own?

Your user name makes me giggle every time I see it. :-)

[The empressof all]

6. You would be surprised

Our business in WA state is frequently called at 6:00 am because some on the east coast don't know we're somewhere else than DC.

[Enraged_Ape]

8. Try living in New Mexico for a while

You'd be shocked how many help desk, service rep people, and telemarketers have no clue that New Mexico is in the United States.

[fluffernutter]

13. so true, we visit there all the time, and

people always ask how our Mexican vacation was. :eyes:

[laheina]

20. I saw a stat on that once in the paper

I couldn't believe it! You've convinced me.

It's like all of the help desk jokes about people not plugging in computers or modems. Those are true too!

[Red State Rebel]

21. True! Student asked me what country New Mexico was in....

but she also got upset because someone told her there were artichoke hearts in her salad because she thought they were an animal.

aacckk!!

[paula777]

24. thought artichoke hearts were animals .... that is too funny!

[Red State Rebel]

25. Believe it or not, she just got her Masters....

I saw her Mom at the store and she got her Masters in Social Work and is working with Juvenile Offenders. She was a great kid, but that was sooo funny.

[RussBLib]

9. Why don't you like George Bush?

From a co-worker who should have known better.

[rtassi]

10. I operate a historic Schooner in Maine

and one of my passengers on a 6 day cruise asked me,if all of the
islands went to the bottom. I went right to the log book and wrote it down.

www.schoonertimberwind.com

[Goathead]

14. That is great!

Are you looking for crew for the summer season?

[rtassi]

15. As a matter of fact;

I am looking for crew. Thanks for asking, you may contact us through the link provided if you are interested.

[Goathead]

17. Thanks!

Will do.

[yardwork]

62. If all the islands go to the bottom? LOL!

That is truly hilarious. What did she think - they were floating on top like carrot chunks in jello?

[fudge stripe cookays]

11. I have a silly story about reprehensor.

Don't tell him I told you, since he's become the tireless American political activist the last few years. But I found it incredibly cute.

When he first moved down here from Canada, and we were talking about states, he hadn't realized there were two Washingtons. I explained that one was on one coast, and the other was on the other coast.

And when I asked him what DC meant, he thought a second and said, "Da Capital?"

Love ya, hunny! :loveya:
FSC

[CatBoreal]

30. Dear Gods! Not...

David Frum??????

[fudge stripe cookays]

33. Huh?

Not sure what David Frum is referring to. reprehensor is my hubby, and a DUer as well.

FSC

[Richardo]

34. Those Canadians - aren't they just adorable?

:D

[Lex]

50. I was once talking to a Canadian who

thinks ALL Americans are supremely stupid about geography, and all Canadians are supremely knowledgable about geography.

I mentioned the state of Iowa, and she said rather smarmily,

"In Canada, we pronouced it "O-hi-o" not "Iowa."


Oh, okay, thanks. :eyes:

[fudge stripe cookays]

71. Bwa ha.

Upon my engagement to said Canadian, I began reading gobs and trying to educate myself (since when we first began corresponding, he said he was from Alberta, and I had to look it up on a map.. I knew it was up there somewhere, but wasn't sure exactly which provinces fell where)

We were out at a pub one night, and the Canadians gave me the supreme test-- name all the province capitals! I did remarkably well for an American. I missed ONE. I'm still very proud of myself, since the Maritime ones tend to blend together a bit for me.

FSC

[fudge stripe cookays]

72. Mine is!

hee hee!

:loveya:
FSC

[FizzFuzz]

12. "Oh I'm so sorry! When did he pass away??"

After I tell them Mr Fuzz is Deaf.

Another one: "Oh does he read Braille??"

:freak:

[Cuban_Liberal]

16. Was once asked....

"What ethncity are you?", to which I replied "Cuban and Mexican". The person then asked, "So, do you speak English?". DOH moment.

:P

[Bertha Venation]

45. ROFLMAO

Hey, Tony... will you teach me Spanish?

Will you & Paddy move to MD and be my friends?

:bounce:

[candy]

18. MSN customer service did it for me-----

I was having an ongoing problem and finally,in disgust,I asked the Microsoft employee, "Am I going to have to call Redmond,Washington directly about this problem?"

His answer,"I'm sorry ma'am,I don't know who he is".

I no longer have MSN.

[blondeatlast]

19. Mind that I live in Arizona.

Drivong someone from NYC from the Phoenix airport to a small town I lived in at the time.

"Where are the teepees?" as we passed a large Indian reservation.

I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. It bled and I got a blister besides.

[immoderate]

22. I was discussing the Meeting Maker in Outlook.

It was a group from Dade County government.

I showed them that you could create a meeting in the calendar. Then you display a list of employees. Then you can choose the meeting attendees from the list of contacts. The program checks their schedules to see if they are all available.

If they are not all available, the program can find a time when they all will be available. Once the time is determined, an e-mail invitation is sent to all the participants. They check off whether they will attend and their response is returned to the person planning the meeting. Outlook tracks the responses and displays the status of attendees.

"Are there any questions?" A young man's hand goes up.

"Yes?"

"What would you use this for?"

I get payed to talk, but a million dollars couldn't have gotten a word from me at that moment.

--IMM

[displacedtexan]

23. How do you say Bon Voyage in French?

I swear! One of my students actually asked me that.

[lpbk2713]

26. Some employers just don't get the fundamentals.

You pay crappy wages and you get talent commensurate with the pay grade.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

27. "Are you sure that's your last name?"

My surname is also a woman's first name.

[Menshevik]

28. check this out

I told one of my friends that I was moving to England and she said "Oh, I didn't know you spoke French." I said, "Why would I need to speak French?" and she replied "Well isn't that what they speak over there?"

Ummm...and worst of all, TWO OTHER PEOPLE ASKED ME THIS!

[JimmyJazz]

29. I heard this the other day on the radio:

Caller: Thanks for playing Jessie's girl, I used to sing that to my boyfriend - he's in Iraq now - Can you play Springsteen's version of War?

DJ: Wow, sorry to hear about your boyfriend - I'll dedicate the song to him - What's his name?

Caller: Um, Jessie?

[CO Liberal]

31. "What Was the Name of the Water Boy in 'Gunga Din'?"

My mother asked that question one day, when we were on vacation. My sisters adn I looked at each other, and then my older sister said, "I don't now, Mom - what was the name of the whale in "Moby Dick'?"

After that, this became a family joke. Whenever Mom said something off the wall, we'd ask "Hey, Mom - what was the name of the water boy in 'Gunga Din'?"

And Mom would always answer "Moby Dick!!"

Mom's been gone for six years now, and I still miss her....

[Left Is Write]

32. "Which one was the accident?"

A question asked of me when I introduced my two daughters, the older one then 13 and the younger one then 6 months.

[Cerridwen]

35. That's beyond stupid and hovering at cruel.

What an obnoxious thing to ask.
:(

[LuCifer]

36. Who's burried in GRANT's tomb?

Oh that New Mexico being a foriegn country thing PISSSSES MEEE OFFFF! HOW STUUUUUUPIIIID!!!!

Why is basic Geography SO hard for people!?!?!? "OH I DON'T WANNA LOOK AT A MAP..." Huh? It's uh, you know, LABELED! Oh wait...that would imply that people CAN READ.

I'll never forget for as long as I live that a study of students at UM (Univeristy Of Miami) was done just a couple of years ago, and damned if the VAST MAJORITY couldn't locate FLORIDA on a map. Oh for the love of Hell. I'll give ya UMers a hint, it's the state that's shapped like a.....PENISula...

Christ on a pizza, how much do you want to be these dildos would think that the capital of FloriDUH is Florida City!?!??

Lu Cifer, THE HUMAN RACE IS DOOMED!

[arwalden]

37. "Are You Asleep?"

[livinginphotographs]

38. From a co-worker:

"What part of Virginia is Delaware in?"

I just stood there stupified before answering, "Um, Delaware is a state."

Then an ex-girlfriend of mine and I were at the beach (I live in Virginia) and she goes, "This is the Pacific Ocean, right?"

There's probably been more, but I've most likely blocked them from memory so that I could retain some shred of faith in humanity.

[tigereye]

58. I had a friend who did not know England was an island!

she was quite intelligent in other respects. I think a lot of people never look at a globe or a map. For that reason I always have a world and USA map in my office. And in my kid's room.

[moggie]

64. England is NOT an island

Believe me, I should know, since I live there! Do you think Scotland and Wales are part of England?:eyes:

[livinginphotographs]

65. Ease up a bit.

England is the country, Great Britain is the island (I think).

As an American, we do get pretty confused as to what the differences are. This is an honest mistake.

[tigereye]

78. well I guess it should be England is on an island

and great Britain is an island. as I always say to my husband, "you know what I mean." ;)

the point was that she did not know that any aspect of the British Isles were, in fact, Isles.

[dolo amber]

39. I used to work at a record store...

the set-up was such that as soon as you walked in the door, to your right was a very long counter that ran the length of the store. Behind the counter up on the wall were built-in shelves, holding all the cds we carried...also running the length of the store. In the bins were cards with copies of the covers of the cds, like a normal store, but as this was a small operation and we didn't have any hardcore security measures, we came up with the copies/put the product on the wall idea.

I can not tell you how many thousands of times I heard (as they're standing in front of the counter, staring at the enormous wall of cds)..."Where do you guys keep your cds?" :nuke:


Second runner up: I had to call to get a copy of my birth certificate...The lady I spoke with at the CALIFORNIA BIRTH/DEATH RECORDS dept asked what county I was born in. I told her "San Diego". She asked, "California?" :wow:

[arwalden]

48. I Managed A Waldenbooks For Many Years...

people would ask things like:

"Where are the fiction-novels?" :eyes: As opposed to what, the true novels?

When I worked at Burger King, this one guy would ask drive-through customers "Will that be for-here or to-go?" (Uh... make that "for-here"... yeah, we'd like to just park here at the pick-up window and eat it now.)

[WoodrowFan]

56. I once said "to go"

at a drive through by habit. At least I laughed at it to. I still say it occasionally as a joke.

[livinginphotographs]

73. Better yet is when they ask where an extremely popular CD is.

(usually crap)

For example:
"Where do you guys keep N Sync?"

The answer I wish I could've given: "Uh, gee, maybe under 'N', you fucking moron."

[abluelady]

40. Another Stupid Question

I worked in a hospital and would get phone calls asking what time we closed?

I explained all the patients were put out on the street at 5:00 pm and we put them back in the hospital at 8:30 am.

[jackelope72]

41. Someone called the office where I work once...

and asked me what the phone number was.

[skygazer]

42. When I was hitchhiking cross country at 17

Picked up by someone who asked me where I was from. "Vermont," I told him. "Oh, what state is that in?"

Other possibility, at work. Answer phone. "Hello, what are your hours?"

"We're open 24 hours."

"Oh." Long pause. "So what time do you open?"

[fudge stripe cookays]

43. Here's one....

I was born (through no fault of my own, mind you) in an Air Force Base Hospital in Tennessee.

Once when I was in my teens, someone asked me where I'd been born.
"Tennessee", I said.

"Was your daddy a coal miner?"

"No, he was in the Air Force."

"I didn't know they had coal miners in the Air Force...."

:eyes:
FSC

[Richardo]

49. That is hilarious...

:D FSC!

[Bertha Venation]

53. LMAO

Good one! I'm gonna have to show this to Mrs. V., who was born in TN and was in fact a coal miner . . . :7

[FizzFuzz]

60. Stand up comedians might want to buy that off you!!

"honest folks, this stuff writes itself!"

[fudge stripe cookays]

66. I"ve thought that too, actually.

hee hee

[FizzFuzz]

69. far out!

[AllegroRondo]

44. When I was on vacation in England

I was in the US Military at the time, on leave. Got to talking to locals about my job.

Him "So, you're in the RAF?" (Royal Air Force)

Me "No, the United States doesnt have an RAF."

Him "You dont have an Air Force?"

Me "No, we don't have a king."

[LynzM]

51. LMAO

That one's funny!

[tavalon]

77. I wish that were still true! n/t

[WoodrowFan]

46. when they argue about getting a wrong number

"Is X there?
No, I'm sorry, you have a wrong number.
NO I DON'T!"

umm, why would I lie??

then there's the classic prank from when I was in High School. Ask a clerk at a fast food place if they take "Hawaiian money" because you just got back from vacation.

I had to explain to my veteran brother-in-law last spring when he visited that Congress and the Presidency were different and that * didn't live in the Capital Building!!

My fav from work, a woman finished a tour of our museum, then as she was leaving she picked up a pamphlet from a sister museum from a rack by the door. She looked at it and said "Oh, I'm at the (name of sister museum)." Did she pay ANY attention during the tour? It was as if she just finished touring Mount Vernon then asked if she was at Monticello! I still tease the guide by asking if she remembered to tell the woman what museum she was in!!

[hunter]

54. There really was such a thing as "Hawaiian Money"

During the Second World War Hawaiians were issued special money so that if the Japanese captured Hawaii the money could be declared worthless, thus depriving the Japanese of its use.

[WoodrowFan]

55. yeah I know

but they were long gone in the 1970s and 80s.

[hunter]

59. Even better than the "Hawaiian Money" prank...

If the fast food clerk is about to give you something like 73 cents in change, hand them two cents...

[livinginphotographs]

74. I can't count how many times I've asked for a dozen of something

And they tell me, "Sorry, we only sell six-piece, twelve-piece, and 20-piece."

:eyes:

Okay, then, give me the twelve-piece.

[auntAgonist]

47. Used to travel a LOT through the USA when I drove truck..

The question most often asked, .."so where are you from? "

answer "Ontario,Canada"

question... "Oh , is that near Toronto?"

[LynzM]

52. Not exactly a stupid question, but...

On the phone trying to get flight prices (the last time I ever actually called, instead of doing it online)...

Told the woman I was trying to fly "to New England, preferably CT, MA, or RI"... she says, "excuse me, where?" I say "CT, MA, or RI." She says, no joke, "I don't have those cities listed." I almost hang up on her, but say "ok, do you have Boston, Hartford, or Providence?" She says "yes, I have all three of those listed..."

Oh my freaking god. Get a LIST of STATES and put it up in the cube wall. Damn.

[WilliamPitt]

57. Someone calls me at my home line, says "Where are you?"

Where did you call me?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

67. Ah yes, geography

When I was living on the East Coast, I went out with a guy (once) who asked me in all seriousness, "Does Minnesota have a seacoast?"

Years ago, one of my relatives got a fellowship to study in Austria, and people asked him if there were kangaroos near where he was going to be.

My undergraduate college had an exchange program with a Norwegian university, and the exchange students were sent around to talk to community groups. One of them told me that at every single community event she had attended, someone had asked her, "Do you have cars in Norway?"

She had a sense of humor, fortunately, so she rearranged her slide show so that the first half dozen slides included no cars. After five slides, she would say, "Many people ask me if we have cars in Norway. Well, have you seen any cars in these slides?" Click to the sixth slide. "Look! No cars."

In highly secularized Oregon, I was invited to a Thanksgiving dinner at the home of some friends. One of them asked if I had slept in that morning, and I said that I hadn't, because my church choir had been scheduled to sing at the 10AM service. "I didn't know that churches were open on Thanksgiving," she said.

I once went to an exhibit of Japanese art from the late nineteenth century at the Portland Art Museum. There were only three of us in the gallery that afternoon, the other two being a distinguished-looking gray-haired Caucuasian man and an older Asian-American man who was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt. The two men got to talking, and in the course of the conversation, the Asian-American man revealed that he had been born in Portland but had lived in Nyssa (on the Idaho border) since he was three years old. (Immediately I thought, "Japanese-American internment.")

Anyway, the Caucasian man came to a picture that he didn't understand. He pointed to the explanatory sign and said to the Japanese-American man, "I don't know what they're getting at here. Can you read English?"

I thought it showed remarkable restraint on the part of the Japanese-American man not to have decked him.

[billyskank]

68. When I was buying my car

I asked to upgrade to 15" alloys. The salesman asked me if I wanted tyres too.

No, I thought, I was going to drive it out on the rims. :dunce:

[Karenina]

70. Top 3

1. "You CAN read music, can't you?"

A colleague who played double reed choir arrangements of Miles, Pharoah and Wayne I'd sketched upon asking me if I wanted to do a Bach Xmas Oratorio gig, EH2.

2. "You sing too, of course(?)"

Well, this is technically a statement, not a question, most often delivered with certainty to my face when I have horn in hand, reed in mouth. No, I've never gotten used to it.

3. "But, can YOU skate?"

Presenting at the counter in my "trophy jacket," you know the one with all the pins and patches from rinks around the globe, Olympic events, flashing "Shalom" button, exposing "serious" equipment while digging through my skating bag for USFSA ID, it went like this:

HWIC: This is NOT a public session.

Yes, I know that. (digging in bag)

HWIC: You MUST be a member. THIS is an Ice Dancing session.

Yes, I know that. I am. How much? (still digging in bag)

HWIC: But, can YOU skate?

I'd found my card, flashed it, grabbed my bag and went directly to the bleachers then onto the ice. HWIC decided to "comp" me.

[buddhamama]

75. i was asked

by a friend "how do i get the 'magnets' in the shower curtain to stick to the rod?"

[deadparrot]

76. One of my friends works in her church's rectory as a secretary...

and a woman called one day asking what time the 4:30 mass was.

[Mabeline]

79. I used to work as a funeral home office manager...

my boss was also the coroner. On my second or third day there a woman called, obviously upset, she'd come in and found her mother on the kitchen floor and thought she might be dead and ask what should she do...I quickly ask my boss and he said if she wasn't sure if the woman was dead she needed to call 911- usually the first call anyways. I related this to the woman to call 911 and she ask "Okay, what's the phone number..?"

[BattyDem]

80. A friend called me at home ...

We talked for a little while ... then she asked, "Are you home?"

I said, "No, I left right after you called." :P


On edit: I just remembered another one ...

Several years ago, my uncle got a table at a flea market to sell some stuff he had. While I was watching the table for him, a woman came over to look. She asked me how much an item was. I said, "$2.50". She said, "Oh ... that's too much. Will you give me 2 for $5.00?" :eyes:

[baldguy]

82. Calling the UPS International desk for shipping prices.

Me: "I want to ship something to Accra, Ghana in West Africa." Then I gave the weight and dimentions.

She gave me the prices for standard and priority, then said: "The fastest transit time to South America for priority is three business days."

Me: "No, no. You've given me the prices for shipping to Guyana. I want to go to Ghana - thats G-H-A-N-A - in WEST AFRICA!"

Thank God for the internet. Now, I only have to worry about my own stupid mitakes.