When you’re learning at school or university, teachers and professors constantly encourage you to ask them questions and follow that with adding that there aren’t stupid questions. But deep down we know that stupid questions exist and some people aren’t afraid to voice them.
Maybe the person who came up with that phrase really underestimated how stupid and clueless people can be. But Twitter user Pey didn’t. She wanted people to tell her what are some stupid question that they have ever received. And there were some ridiculous ones in the thread that were so bad they were hilarious.
Image credits: PeyMamas
Image credits: Sam Davis
We all ask stupid questions from time to time so let’s just have a good laugh from this list. Also, we would be interested to hear what stupid questions people have asked you? If you’re feeling brave, you can share the questions you asked and realised where not necessary.
More info: Twitter
This post may include affiliate links.
The Twitter user who asked the question to receive more questions is Pay and she is a mother and a certified fitness trainer and a nutritionist. Pay explained that she asked the question because she was thinking of how people always ask where she last put an item she is searching for and can’t find. Because if she knew where she put it, it wouldn’t be lost. The tweet didn’t blow up but it got some pretty funny responses and we wanted to show you them.
As mentioned, teachers often tell you that there are no stupid questions. By saying that they want to encourage students to don’t be afraid to show that they don’t know or understand something. They try to convince them that seeking knowledge is always a positive thing.
Another common phrase people say is that there are no stupid question, only stupid answers shifting the unwanted quality from the person who asks to the person who needs to answer. But all in all, the phrase is there to make sure a person seeking knowledge is not being punished for not learning the information yet.
Carl Sagan who was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator and certainly an intelligent person entertained the idea. He wrote in his book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark: "There are naïve questions, tedious questions, ill-phrased questions, questions put after inadequate self-criticism. But every question is a cry to understand the world. There is no such thing as a dumb question."
However, there are people who would argue with that. For example, the genius mind himself, Albert Einstein once said, “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.” The physicist leads us to believe that the universe may have limits, but people’s lack of intelligence will never cease to surprise.
That could be applied to our today’s topic. If human stupidity is infinite then logically stupid questions do exist because people come up with them.
Friendly piece of advice: don’t call me at 3 am if you want to keep those legs of yours
And the proof is in the pudding. The questions people in this list ask are really unnecessary and you don’t always understand if they are being serious or you’re getting trolled. Maybe it could be fine if children were asking them but it should be unacceptable for grown adults.
At the end of the day we can agree that stupid questions do exist but we shouldn’t be too mad at people who ask them. Maybe they genuinely don’t know and you can be the one to explain an important thing a person should have the knowledge of.
Reminds me of that XKCD comic where completing Mavis Beacon unlocks capital numbers.
What a dumb question. Everyone knows they don’t have birthdays in Korea. They just sort of slowly appear and it’s hard to tell the beginning date
Not so dumb. Not every culture CELEBRATES birthdays.
Load More Replies...
Its not as dumb as it sounds. The Koreans calculate age differently than many Western countries. On New Years Day, its everyone's birthday and your age goes up by 1. If you're born the day before, you're still a year older. Many also celebrate their actual day of birth. I think the American may have been clumsily asking if they celebrate both or if just one of them, which one.
Aren't you also already one when you are born? I read somewhere that when we celebrate our one year, in Korea you would be 2!
Load More Replies...
There are quite a few countries where people don't celebrate birthdays. They do have a day they were born obviously.
Name days. I wish this was more common, you can buy calenders with all the name days marked on, much easier than trying to remember birthdays.
Load More Replies...
They probably meant "birthday" as a thing you celebrate, not if Koreans understand the concept of years.
Some cultures do things differently in this regards so it isn't necessarily a dumb question.
Some countries celebrate bdays on Jan 1st, regardless of when you were actually born... So this isn't dumb, just ignorant and looking for education (however poorly worded it may be).
I am not sure if it was a dumb question. Possibly just a poorly phrased one regarding some East Asian countries counting a person's age since conception instead of birth...
Wasn't there some BP post recently about how in some country they don't count the age from their birthday on but based on the year they were born in...? So maybe that person hat read that post, remembered it about as well as I did here, and then got confused?
Some countries do not know or celebrate their birthday. Just a side note.
I almost understand the confusion. In China, they celebrate three different birthdays. Maybe the questioner was asking if the person from Korea celebrated any birthdays at all.
My grandfather told me they never celebrated birthdays when he was growing up, it was a recent thing. Recent for his timeline, because he was born in 1919... People were big on name days for longer and they were a big celebration.
Actually birth dates in Korea are different to the rest of the world. As far as I know they start counting from conception. So they are born already 9 months old.
In Korea your age goes up one on the start of a new year instead of on the birthday. Reasonable question
maybe they heard about mass growing old at January 1st. It's a legit question: do You celebrate birthday if You don't age up?
Our Japanese exchange student mentioned that her birthday was coming up, but she couldn't remember the English word for birthday, so she said 'party and hummed the tune to the birthday song. Dum de dum dum to you. Of course, then we had to have her sing it with the Japanese words.
Sorry about stupid Americans, just know that we aren't all like that.
I had a coworker whose religion banned tattoos. Every two weeks she went to someone and had a new henna design drawn on because she loved body art. They were often multicolored because she loved flowers. Depending where the question was asked, it may have been a legitimate query.
There was a strange phase in the early 2000s where girls who could see fine would buy non-prescription glasses from Claire's to look smart.
I have no idea how the USA's army work but yeah.. You are on the army, but which one? Air army, Sea army, Ground army... or whatever it is said in English
Note: this post originally had 36 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I have been asked twice (in Germany and the Netherlands) if my country (Spain) has drinkable water. I know that we are poorer but, yes we have drinkable water and also toilets and roads...
Not having drinkable tap water doesn't necessarily mean poor! I also research that before i travel!
Load More Replies...
More often than not the question "Do you work here?" is eyerolling, I mean what else would I be doing wearing clothes with the store name, logo & name badge on them, but I remember the time I was working at Barnes and Nobel, in the music/movie section, behind the desk, at the register, actively typing on it & got the question. I still can't imagine what that lady thought I was doing back there.
To be fair, “do you work here?” might mean, “in this department,” since I’ve been told by retail workers that they don’t work in the department they happen to be standing in.
Load More Replies...
A woman asked me why there are so much more cancer deaths and still nobody is calling that a pandemic......... *huge facepalm*
Oh Lord. Leaving aside the actual reason, this reminds me of a post on here a few days ago pointing out that 'cancer deaths' encompass tons of different types of cancer, while Covid is literally just one disease. I wish people understood that.
Load More Replies...
I have chronic insomnia and when I mention it people say, "Why can't you sleep?" Like bish, if I knew, I would fix it.
Oh that sucks. I also have sleeping problems, not as bad, but still bad. I know your pain.
Load More Replies...
There *are* stupid questions: there is a class of questions/statements that are classified as "not even wrong." These are questions with so many faulty/misunderstood premises that they make no sense. "Why are all bats made of cheese?" "What is the melting point of 3?" "How do yoga mats type?"
While I was mowing her neighbor's lawn (my truck and trailer right there at the curb) a lady asks me if I know anyone who cuts grass. I told her I did and gave her someone else's business card.
I get questions about my red hair a lot. Were you born with that hair color? Is it real? No, I soke my hair in the blood of my enemies every night since I was born. That's why it's red.
Snort-laugh! I'm going to try that before I run out of enemies
Load More Replies...
A little bit of self-own here but: I’m Czech and I was flying home to visit my family. Me and my sister agreed to meet in Berlin since that’s where my plane was to land, and take the train together. We had a bit of time to kill, so we were strolling around and stopped by the Reichstag. I was looking at it and asked her, in all seriousness: “is this where Nuremberg processes took place?” She just turned to me: “say that again but slowly”. In my defense, jet lag is pain.
Not really. We learn at any age. It's okay to not know something and it doesn't make anyone dumb to not know and want to know. It's sad as hell that people actually think because they know something and someone else doesn't know it or they think someone else should know it. No! There is nothing wrong with not knowing anything and asking about whatever it is so they can know and learn. It's the people that make you feel like s**t for asking that are the problem. It's like a lot of people have forgotten how to treat others. Or they know and just don't care to do better. I'm 35 years old and still learning and not afraid to admit I am ignorant about a lot of things. But I want to learn and do better. Honestly if you think differently, than that speaks to your ignorance as well.
A friend called my home phone (landline) at 2am and asked if I was stuck in traffic.
Pre cell phone days my best friend would call me and she would always ask, "where you at?" 25 years later we still laugh about it.
Load More Replies... 
I'm from Texas but lived in Orlando for a few months and met a lot of international tourists there to visit DisneyWorld and Universal Studios. When I told a teenager from Ireland that I grew up in Texas she asked if we rode horses to school.
When I was younger and living in Ottawa (this was mid-80s), I went to see the changing of the guard in front of Parliament. Now, this was a summer day and it was hot and sticky (think 32C/89F but with humidex far more warmer). Everyone is in shorts and tshirts and the poor guards (with wool uniforms and bearskin hat) were just sweating. As I'm watching the procession, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I see a family (mom, dad and 3 kids), all in winter gear (!?!?). It's the dad. "Where's the snow???" Really?!? In July?!? :/ "Uh.. no snow in July.. you'd have to go West to the Rockies or north to the Arctic circle." Huff from dad and they trudge back to the station wagon on the road, with ski rack (and skis) on it.
Don't even let me start with that 😉 My favourite stupid questions (that I was asked): - Where does my password come from? (While the person was asked to come up with the password); - How do you know that green is really green? Maybe it's orange and you are calling it wrong; - I saw a statue on the grave that looked like you, are you sure it's not your grave?
At the cafe I worked at when I was 20, I was regularly asked if the Vegetarian Chilli had meat in it.
At the age of 19, my then boyfriend was shocked that I (a girl) didn't have an adam's apple. I said - well that's why they call it Adam's, only men have it. He said - that's not true, my mom has it, and then ran to the other room to confirm lol. Ofc she didn't have it either, which shocked him too.
My daughter came home from school one day (1st grade) and said ..."Mom, did you know that you know my dad?" It was so funny at the time. Her dad and I split when she was around 3. She told everyone we met for weeks.
This is really embarrassing but when I was 17 I wrote down the ingredients for a recipe and went to buy them. I asked the man in the grocery store for half a cucumber.
My all time favorite dumb question as a 911 dispatcher is what's the number for 911 asked by someone who's lived in the United States their entire life
My younger cousin once told me "if you don't stop being mean to me I won't be your cousin anymore".... Like, Dude, I got some bad news for ya.
Classic questions while working at hotel! In which floor is room 245? In which floor is the reception? To go to the second floor from the ground level i press up or down? (I'm not kidding)
In some countries the ground floor is not the first floor.
Load More Replies... 
I worked on a car ferry for 25 years. One day in the mess hall we were talking with the chief steward. She told us that at least twice a year, a passenger would ask her "Has this ship sunk before?" She was getting so annoyed by it that now when someone asks, she answers: "Yes! We sink it twice a year to test the watertight doors!"
I was working takeout at a local restaurant when a kid about 12 years old came to the window and spent a few moments looking over our list of ice cream varieties we had. Then he asked me "Do your ice creams contain dairy products?"
Once as teen working in a record store was asked why I didn’t have any original recordings of Beethoven on CD actually performed by Beethoven and not other people
I work at a DIY store and we make key's. Once I made a key for a woman of her frontdoor and she asked if we had a door where she can try if it fits...
Worked at grocery store, Customer asked where skim milk was, all he could find was 2%, 1%, and 0%
I remember seeing this clip of a guy and a girl in a car, dashcam on them instead of on the road... The guy is driving. He asks the girl how many miles he drives in an hour, when the average speed is 60 miles per hour. The poor girl just doesn't know, and she starts asking all kinds of questions, claiming that she doesn't have enough information to answer that question. The guy keeps a straight face, and embarrasses her by posting the clip on social media.
"If humans came from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?" I dunno, man, if you came from your mum, why is there still your mum?
Customer asked me the difference between pulled pork and beef brisket. She had the grace to be embarrassed when I told her one comes from a cow and one comes from a pig
As a student I worked as a tour guide at a concentration camp memorial site for a summer. More than once I was asked (mostly by American tourists) what Hitler was "doing these days"! That was in 1999. Even if he hadn't killed himself in 1945, he would have been 110 years old by then.
I work in a grocery store and when the c-19 panic buying was going on a lady asked if we were "going through a famine.) I said "no there's a global pandemic" (usa-dumbass community)
I have been asked twice (in Germany and the Netherlands) if my country (Spain) has drinkable water. I know that we are poorer but, yes we have drinkable water and also toilets and roads...
Not having drinkable tap water doesn't necessarily mean poor! I also research that before i travel!
Load More Replies... More often than not the question "Do you work here?" is eyerolling, I mean what else would I be doing wearing clothes with the store name, logo & name badge on them, but I remember the time I was working at Barnes and Nobel, in the music/movie section, behind the desk, at the register, actively typing on it & got the question. I still can't imagine what that lady thought I was doing back there.
To be fair, “do you work here?” might mean, “in this department,” since I’ve been told by retail workers that they don’t work in the department they happen to be standing in.
Load More Replies... A woman asked me why there are so much more cancer deaths and still nobody is calling that a pandemic......... *huge facepalm*
Oh Lord. Leaving aside the actual reason, this reminds me of a post on here a few days ago pointing out that 'cancer deaths' encompass tons of different types of cancer, while Covid is literally just one disease. I wish people understood that.
Load More Replies... I have chronic insomnia and when I mention it people say, "Why can't you sleep?" Like bish, if I knew, I would fix it.
Oh that sucks. I also have sleeping problems, not as bad, but still bad. I know your pain.
Load More Replies... There *are* stupid questions: there is a class of questions/statements that are classified as "not even wrong." These are questions with so many faulty/misunderstood premises that they make no sense. "Why are all bats made of cheese?" "What is the melting point of 3?" "How do yoga mats type?"
While I was mowing her neighbor's lawn (my truck and trailer right there at the curb) a lady asks me if I know anyone who cuts grass. I told her I did and gave her someone else's business card.
I get questions about my red hair a lot. Were you born with that hair color? Is it real? No, I soke my hair in the blood of my enemies every night since I was born. That's why it's red.
Snort-laugh! I'm going to try that before I run out of enemies
Load More Replies... A little bit of self-own here but: I’m Czech and I was flying home to visit my family. Me and my sister agreed to meet in Berlin since that’s where my plane was to land, and take the train together. We had a bit of time to kill, so we were strolling around and stopped by the Reichstag. I was looking at it and asked her, in all seriousness: “is this where Nuremberg processes took place?” She just turned to me: “say that again but slowly”. In my defense, jet lag is pain.
Not really. We learn at any age. It's okay to not know something and it doesn't make anyone dumb to not know and want to know. It's sad as hell that people actually think because they know something and someone else doesn't know it or they think someone else should know it. No! There is nothing wrong with not knowing anything and asking about whatever it is so they can know and learn. It's the people that make you feel like s**t for asking that are the problem. It's like a lot of people have forgotten how to treat others. Or they know and just don't care to do better. I'm 35 years old and still learning and not afraid to admit I am ignorant about a lot of things. But I want to learn and do better. Honestly if you think differently, than that speaks to your ignorance as well.
A friend called my home phone (landline) at 2am and asked if I was stuck in traffic.
Pre cell phone days my best friend would call me and she would always ask, "where you at?" 25 years later we still laugh about it.
Load More Replies... I'm from Texas but lived in Orlando for a few months and met a lot of international tourists there to visit DisneyWorld and Universal Studios. When I told a teenager from Ireland that I grew up in Texas she asked if we rode horses to school.
When I was younger and living in Ottawa (this was mid-80s), I went to see the changing of the guard in front of Parliament. Now, this was a summer day and it was hot and sticky (think 32C/89F but with humidex far more warmer). Everyone is in shorts and tshirts and the poor guards (with wool uniforms and bearskin hat) were just sweating. As I'm watching the procession, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I see a family (mom, dad and 3 kids), all in winter gear (!?!?). It's the dad. "Where's the snow???" Really?!? In July?!? :/ "Uh.. no snow in July.. you'd have to go West to the Rockies or north to the Arctic circle." Huff from dad and they trudge back to the station wagon on the road, with ski rack (and skis) on it.
Don't even let me start with that 😉 My favourite stupid questions (that I was asked): - Where does my password come from? (While the person was asked to come up with the password); - How do you know that green is really green? Maybe it's orange and you are calling it wrong; - I saw a statue on the grave that looked like you, are you sure it's not your grave?
At the cafe I worked at when I was 20, I was regularly asked if the Vegetarian Chilli had meat in it.
At the age of 19, my then boyfriend was shocked that I (a girl) didn't have an adam's apple. I said - well that's why they call it Adam's, only men have it. He said - that's not true, my mom has it, and then ran to the other room to confirm lol. Ofc she didn't have it either, which shocked him too.
My daughter came home from school one day (1st grade) and said ..."Mom, did you know that you know my dad?" It was so funny at the time. Her dad and I split when she was around 3. She told everyone we met for weeks.
This is really embarrassing but when I was 17 I wrote down the ingredients for a recipe and went to buy them. I asked the man in the grocery store for half a cucumber.
My all time favorite dumb question as a 911 dispatcher is what's the number for 911 asked by someone who's lived in the United States their entire life
My younger cousin once told me "if you don't stop being mean to me I won't be your cousin anymore".... Like, Dude, I got some bad news for ya.
Classic questions while working at hotel! In which floor is room 245? In which floor is the reception? To go to the second floor from the ground level i press up or down? (I'm not kidding)
In some countries the ground floor is not the first floor.
Load More Replies... I worked on a car ferry for 25 years. One day in the mess hall we were talking with the chief steward. She told us that at least twice a year, a passenger would ask her "Has this ship sunk before?" She was getting so annoyed by it that now when someone asks, she answers: "Yes! We sink it twice a year to test the watertight doors!"
I was working takeout at a local restaurant when a kid about 12 years old came to the window and spent a few moments looking over our list of ice cream varieties we had. Then he asked me "Do your ice creams contain dairy products?"
Once as teen working in a record store was asked why I didn’t have any original recordings of Beethoven on CD actually performed by Beethoven and not other people
I work at a DIY store and we make key's. Once I made a key for a woman of her frontdoor and she asked if we had a door where she can try if it fits...
Worked at grocery store, Customer asked where skim milk was, all he could find was 2%, 1%, and 0%
I remember seeing this clip of a guy and a girl in a car, dashcam on them instead of on the road... The guy is driving. He asks the girl how many miles he drives in an hour, when the average speed is 60 miles per hour. The poor girl just doesn't know, and she starts asking all kinds of questions, claiming that she doesn't have enough information to answer that question. The guy keeps a straight face, and embarrasses her by posting the clip on social media.
"If humans came from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?" I dunno, man, if you came from your mum, why is there still your mum?
Customer asked me the difference between pulled pork and beef brisket. She had the grace to be embarrassed when I told her one comes from a cow and one comes from a pig
As a student I worked as a tour guide at a concentration camp memorial site for a summer. More than once I was asked (mostly by American tourists) what Hitler was "doing these days"! That was in 1999. Even if he hadn't killed himself in 1945, he would have been 110 years old by then.
I work in a grocery store and when the c-19 panic buying was going on a lady asked if we were "going through a famine.) I said "no there's a global pandemic" (usa-dumbass community)
