Some questions, like 'What's the meaning of life?', are difficult to answer because they're, well, difficult. However, there's also the other end of the spectrum. I'm talking about questions that are so basic, you start wondering if the people who came up with them are alright. Recently, reddit user waldo06 asked the internet 'What's something you can't believe you had to explain to another adult?' and the responses started pouring in. It has received 15k upvotes and 11,462 comments in just days, proving that we all sometimes suffer from brainis fartis.
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Was tipped a twenty dollar bill to be spilt between myself and a coworker. I handed her $10 I had in my pocket and took the $20. She said it wasn’t fair that I had $20 and she only had $10. I tried to explain to her that I already had the $10, so another $10 equalled $20. She couldn’t wrap her head around it, insisting I was trying to rip her off. She gave me back the ten bucks, took the twenty to a register and made change of two 10 dollar bills. As she hands me mine I showed her that now I still have $20 and she has $10, but somehow she was satisfied she’d thwarted my attempts to short change her. Needless to say I didn’t stay friends with her after that.
This is made all the more ridiculous by the fact that she had once told me she was forced to repeat grade 12 math class because she got 100%, and the teacher accused her of cheating. The following year she got 98%. I’m thinking something fishy is going on there
Interestingly, when it comes to useless questions, "How are you?" is one of them. When you think about it, it makes sense since the person asking doesn't really want to know, and the person responding doesn't bother telling the truth.
But, according to Harvard researchers, the key to mastering small talk is to simply ask the other person follow-up questions. After analyzing more than 300 online conversations, the researchers found that those who were asked more meaningful follow-up questions (those that aren't "how are you?" or "what do you do?"), found the other person much more likable.
Had to explain to someone that islands don't tip over if you put too much weight on the edge.
"When people are instructed to ask more questions, they are perceived as higher in responsiveness, an interpersonal construct that captures listening, understanding, validation and care," the researchers said.
At first, it can be tricky moving beyond the "hourly update" (traffic, sports, weather...), but try to get to things that are more important and personal to you.
If you're still not sure where to start, share some news that actually happened to you, for example, "I adopted a pet."
My wife and I had to explain to the neighbor that our dog is part of our family, and no they can't just have him.
Their kids wanted our dog, which was cute, until the mother also decided that she wanted our dog and it was only fair that they got to have him on the weekends because we get to have him all week long
Lastly, don't forget to commit to the moment and observe your surroundings. That means opening your eyes before you open your mouth. Find something to focus on in what's around you, like the piece of art on the wall, a quirky gadget on the table, there has to be something. It might ignite small talk and help lead the conversation into unique follow-up questions.
I had to explain to my mother that muscles are meat.
A piece of meat was tough, and so I must have said something about what part of the cow the muscle came from. No, we weren't eating muscles, we were eating 'meat'. She was sickened by the concept that anyone would eat muscles. Somehow this got to the point of her claiming that humans didn't have any 'meat' on them because they aren't food.
I did not 'win' that argument. Humans have no meat, meat is not muscles. Period. Oh, it turns out people are not part of the animal kindom either.
It was a dismal childhood.
My cousin argued with me that we are not animals and we are even not mamals
Scenario 1:
Them:” So where are you from?” Me: “South Africa.” Them: “Wait what?...Aren’t you supposed to be black?” Me: “uh yeah no”
Scenario 2:
Them: “So which country are you from?” Me: “South Africa.” Them: “Yeah but which country?” Me: “yeah I just said South Africa.” Them:”come on dude just tell me the country - I know where South of Africa is. Me:”No, actually South Africa is a whole country...”
I had to explain to a teacher, in front of her class, that a penguin was a bird.
I didn’t want to be like that but she was adamant that if it didn’t fly, it wasn’t a bird.
There is an old (like 200 year old) definition of a bird as a thing that flies and a fish as a thing that swims. Family relationships between animals were not known or understood, so not taken into account. I occasionally still come across fragments of this way of thinking, which is, I imagine, where this teacher got her ideas from.
I had to explain to my friend that the earth wasn't 2019 years old.
someone once had to explain this to me too...in my defense I was 6 years old!
As a server, there are so many times I have to explain to guests that chicken can’t be cooked “medium rare”.
Why a room below sea level on a cruise ship would not have a balcony
My mom asked me why you couldn't see the borders of states when you were in an airplane.
That I couldn’t just go to the bathroom and pee my period out to be done with it. He was about 19/20 at the time and obviously didn’t have sex education....been married 25 years. He will never live that down.
Poor husband. One stupid comment at a young age and it got him a life sentence.
Don’t bring your dog to work and let her pee/poop on the carpet. Tiny poop and little puddles are not ok just because they’re tiny. She weighs 4 pounds. He said she’s so little it doesn’t matter. He said he never even notices at home and if I had a dog, I’d feel differently. (Have a dog. Still don’t want urine and feces in my carpet—at home or at work.)
I had to explain to a lady that dinosaur bones at the Museum of Natural History in DC were real. She thought dinosaurs were mythical creatures...not real.
That drinks have caloric content. A coworker was complaining how she was having trouble losing weight and didn't realize drinking 4 hot chocolates a day was not really conducive to weight loss.
Had a coworker who said she didn't eat eggs because they're "forced abortion babies"... Chick refused to accept that unfertilized eggs don't hatch and she didn't have to worry because she's just eating the chickens' periods. After this conversation carried on far too long, she proceeded to eat a bowl of pasta that I'm 97% sure was made with eggs.
That no matter how much you might want to put a camo pattern on your walls, you (not the paint) have to determine what that pattern looks like and you will also have to purchase multiple cans of paint tinted differently because "camo" doesn't come out of a can that way.
When a 'smart' bomb strikes a building and blows it up, it doesn't just kill the bad guys, it kills everyone in the building. Smart only means it's going to hit the building instead of a random location.
New Mexico.
Is.
A.
State.
You have no idea the number of people that believe we are a part of Mexico.
Told my roommate that if he cooked food on less than the highest level of heat, he wouldn't burn as much food, and would generally have more success.
A week later, I explained to him that when he was just boiling water, high heat was okay.
Had to explain to a female friend of mine that she doesn't have to take out her tampon to pee because it's two completely different holes.
i cant tell if you didnt know this or you're suprised that the person didnt know this...
Load More Replies...no but because of the angle of the cervix and vaginal canal some people can pee on the string and that's just annoying as hell ugh
Yeah., that is what happens when countries have no sex education or allow children being homeschooled by nutjob parents.
Sex education at my school in Germany was terrible, too. And my parents just gave me a book about it without much of a comment. As it turned out it was quite a good book.
Load More Replies...You wouldn't believe the number of grown women acquaintances I know that aren't aware that you pee and have periods from different holes. It was tiring trying to convince them that using a tampon won't plug up their pee-hole
It would help if people called things what they are. Your so-called “pee hole” is called a urethra.
Load More Replies...This I can't believe. How does she not know how her own body works. By 14 I knew how ever part of down there worked and tested it several times a day.
I highly recommend learning more about women’s bodies; especially if you want to have sexual relationships with women.
Load More Replies...Are you a male? If so, this is beyond odd. YOU had to tell HER?? Yikes...
I'll admit I was ignorant of this until I got the puberty talk from my mom
The internet can help. Start reading and looking at photos and charts.
Load More Replies...She was laying the groundwork for a painful—-or really embarrassing—-future surprise.
had a similar conversation (about 2 differnt holes) with my roommate in college, and she had a merit scholarship
I'm a man and completely understand that statement. But she couldn't? Yeah WTF?!?
For some reason when I was young I thought you had to take out your tampon to poop. I knew they were two separate openings, but I didn't make the connection.
That Earth has one moon. The new moon on the calendar every month confused her.
Food isn't vegetarian just because it has vegetables in it, and lack of vegetables doesn't automatically mean it isn't vegetarian.
Story time. I went to a restaurant and was looking over the menu, which had vegetarian friendly options marked. Pretzels with cheese weren't marked, so I asked the waitress if she knew why. If it was just something in the cheese, I still wanted to split the pretzels with others at the table and skip the cheese dip. Her answer? "Well, it's like, um, so pretzels don't have any vegetables like broccoli in them, they're just bread, so they aren't vegetarian. But if you wanted something that is, then you could maybe get the chicken and broccoli because it does have a vegetable with it. But like the mac and cheese wouldn't be because it doesn't have vegetables." Mac and cheese was marked vegetarian friendly.
That dropping "water bombs" on the Notre Dame fire is [frikkin] stupid. He just wasn't hearing it, because of course I couldn't know more about firefighting than the president... I'm a firefighter, I was in uniform.
What do you expect from a president who wants to buy Greenland with more than 50,000 people living there? Of course he knows everything better than you and anyone else.
In regards to the North and South poles, neither is "the one that is always hot."
At my work a lady wanted a hamburger but with cheese on it. I said "Oh, so you want a cheeseburger"
The lady said "No, I said a hamburger with cheese on it"
I said "That's called a cheeseburger"
Lady screams "No!! I want a damn hamburger!!!!! with cheese on it!!!"
That Halloween has never and will never fall on Friday the 13th. It was my mom.
Every St Patrick's day in San Antonio they dye the river green. I work hospitality and I had a middle age woman asking me if she could drink the water from the River. I laughed thinking it was a joke but she was really serious about it and got mad saying I was being condescending. I told her no, you should not drink that water and she said that since there was green beer she thought the river could be beer. I reminded her there are ducks living there and I don't think the city wanted drunk ducks going around downtown. She called corporate saying I insulted her. She was not drunk.
If you don't pay your utility bill then said utility will be turned off - everyday at work I have to say this to customers. Every. Day.
You can't/shouldn't iron your clothes while you're wearing them. One guess as to how this came up.
That you can't get aids through sexual intercourse if you don't already have the HIV virus inside your body or your partner is carrying it. A guy I talked to once thought that gay men got AIDS simply by having gay sex, and that the disease just spontaneously appeared through the act of inter-anal insemination. I don't even think that he understood the concept of a virus.
An ex was convinced that the reason the ozone layer is thinning is because airplanes poke holes in as they pass through. No telling her otherwise.
Press up when you want to go up in the elevator and down if you want to go down. She thought you had to guess where the elevator was and if it was under you lets say, you had to press up.
Had to explain to a neighbor that the sun and the moon were not the same thing.
Yes sir, when you sign up for insurance you're agreeing to pay for it.
That Spain is a real place.
That not everyone who speaks Spanish is a Mexican. And that Mexicans are called that because they’re from Mexico.
That titties and boobies are not the anatomical words for breasts.
There are more than 6 bones in the human body... she thought it was head, back, arms and legs.
You can still get diarrhea even if you believe in Jesus...
"Well, sir, it's not illegal to serve food that tastes bad....No, this isn't a police issue".
How to use packing tape! You haven't lived until you've told a 40 year old man to put the sticky side on the box.
I once had to explain to a college friend that Indians didn’t have spices running in their blood that allows them to eat spicier food.
When you travel at 60mph you will cover sixty miles in an hour.
Turn off the high beams for cars traveling in the opposite direction.
That the North Pole is an actual place on the planet and not just a mythical place where Santa and his Elves live. Also had to explain that the South Pole is real.
Granted, they did not think Santa is real. But they also didn't believe me flat out about the poles, they first argued saying I was crazy and then Googled it.
That chickens can lay eggs without a rooster around. My dad and grandma kept trying to tell me there HAS to be a rooster or they don’t lay. I got to explain that to have fertilized eggs you need a rooster but regular eggs for eating don’t need a rooster
I thought so too. Quick googling confirms that a rooster isn't needed. Feels weird to be wrong.
Had to explain to my 26 year old coworker that the moon does not in fact emit its own light and is simply glowing from the reflection of the sunlight
"No, you should not perform an auto-vasectomy at home. You should see a doctor for that"
If you don't go to work you won't get paid, especially when you're constantly complaining about always being broke. You can't call out whenever you don't want to go in, and then wonder why you have no money.
That a prairie dog and a coyote are 2 different animals, this was a high school teacher.
If you've found a dog and are making a sign it should say "found dog" not "lost dog"
A coworker of mine recently quit without notice. A few weeks later, she wasn't liking her new job much and said she wanted to come back to the store. She could not comprehend the concept of being ineligible for rehire. If you quit without notice, they're not going to take you back!
My friend worked at Office Depot and had to explain to a customer why he couldn’t make him photocopies of a 20 dollar bill
Had to explain to my wife that pickles were made of cucumbers
She didn’t believe me, still not sure she does
Retirement is something you have to actually prepare for. Magic money does not create itself in a fund that you never started.
I work at a retirement company. You would be amazed how many people thinks that! Also that if you just have the smallest saving, you will be set for your entire retirement. "But I have 50.000 dollars in savings". Yes, that will last you how long?
i was explaining to my ex girlfriends brother that i will be travling to hawaii he asked “can you drive or do you have to take a plane to get there?” he’s 35
A friend of mine in high school was traveling to Berlin. She said that she might just take the airlift build in WW2 to get there.
Had to explain to a 40 year old woman that the clitoris and “pee hole” are different.
That our sun is a star. It was one of the things that made me say out loud "seriously?"
That getting a bunch of morning after pills from the student health center and having me take one every time we had unprotected sex was a recipe for disaster. And before you ask, he grew up in the Bay Area and was the child of two professors, so it’s not because of a lack of access to sex ed.
Learn the difference between "a lack of access to sex ed." and actually having "a factual sex ed." other then "Just don't do it"
That Michigan wasn't the capital of Detroit and that Jerusalem, not Jewersilum exists. My former best friend was and still is the dumbest person I've ever met.
I am a manufacturing engineer and had to explain to a 33 year old engineering technician what a nut, bolt and washer were Friday.
This is just the icing on her grossly incompetent cake, and I have been logging these incidents with the intent of firing her Monday morning.
i recently met a canadian guy who applied several jobs with the goal of learning things.. he said he will apply for a certain job that he has no knowledge of, asks a lot of stuff like how do they do this and that. he will learn a thing or two before he get fired within a day. the process continue til he already became expert for certain process.
There’s a girl I used to work with who didn’t know submarines actually existed.
Had to explain to someone in college that "3 seconds of dish soap" was not necessary for each plate you wash. As in he would turn the dish soap upside down, and squeeze for "1...2...3". For. Each. Plate
Alcohol has calories.
I had to be the one to tell my friend when she was in her mid-20s that the vodka she loved has calories. She was so shocked and said, "What!! I thought since it was clear like water it didn't have any calories."
That milk comes from a cow the same color as you see it in the carton and is not in fact actually red milk that has been dyed white in the factory
My mother told me nobody can live on $40,000 (USD) a year, and I was unable to get her to understand that it is pretty normal to make $40,000 or less and people do fine with that salary.
You can't use an electric blanket to dry your bedsheets.
A dear friend of mine phoned his mother, on his first week away at college, to ask her how you cooked eggs. He was having trouble working the shells in. He wasn't kidding.
6 inches isn't 0.6 of a foot. She had been slowly, unknowingly, overcharging our company for materials for years.
She was ahead of the rest of the country and already using the metric system.
That oil isn't easier to get in the Middle East because "you only have to drill through sand".
That all babies, including the first one after marriage, take 9-10 months to develop. Just because the first one comes along in under 9 months, doesn't mean that it takes less gestational time.
I was in my mid twenties, and she was several years older.
Well, people used to think that... back when premarital sex and children out of wedlock were a huge no-no. Ever since opinions changed on that, the durations of first pregnancies in a marriage miraculously switched to taking around 9 months exactly like for every following child...
That's having sex on your period doesn't automatically create AIDS. One of the two people need to already have AIDS.
That you cannot convert between square meters and cubic feet without additional data.
SQUARE meters. CUBIC feet.
You can! Any number of SQUARE METERS = ZERO CUBIC FEET (as height=zero).
You have to use water to cook rice in a pan
To be fair, you CAN prepare rice in a somewhat similar manner to popcorn.
How to use a new type of electric hand-drying machine (mounted on the wall) in a public men's room.
The guy tried everything to make it work, other than following the simple instructions on the hand-dryer (it even had arrows pointing the way where his hands should be inserted to activate it).
I had to explain to my friend that we didn't actually gain an hour of sunlight when we changed the clocks in the spring.
Can we explain this to the government? Because I fricking hate the twice a year change.
Pasta does not grow on trees.
Mybe she was an adult yet though, but she definitely wasn't a kid either. Late teen I suppose.
I work with this guy who thinks that average precipitation us, like... Some sort of quota that nature is obliged to meet. For example, if it's a particularly dry summer, he thinks it will just rain a lot in the last few days before summer ends.
I say we sue nature for breach of contract for failure to deliver goods in drought years! Now who's with me? XD
No you can't put that metal pan in the microwave . He was also driving a golf cart with my other friend and when he was close to hitting something he hopped out and tried pushing it away. Other friend hit the brake.
I was just contemplating exactly the same thing.
Load More Replies...I'm Native American, so my favorite one went like this. Them: "Hey, you are pretty tan, Cuban?" Me: "Nope, Native American." Them: "Can't be, you people died out a long time ago." Me: "Haha, na we are still around believe or not." Them: "So you telling me, you are like (proceeds to make the Woo Woo noise with hand over their mouth) Indian? Like Tonto in that movie with Jonny Depp?" Me: With a very serious face, repeats the Woo Woo noise while looking them in the eye "That is the sound of my people, how did you know!?"
I had a friend who ran up to me years ago in high school and with the most sincere look on her face ask me "there are 100 seconds in a minute, right?!"... I had to physically "reset" myself after hearing that absurd question lol I then try to explain there are 60 seconds in a minute by showing her an analog clock, having her count each line on it out loud only to have her at the end ask "but where did the other 40 seconds go?"... SMH Learned a valuable lesson that day, you can't fix stupid! haha
Best thing is if they have such a serious look on them and the discussion goes on for so long that you start to question yourself. Like how some word start to feel weird to you when you repeat them too often.
Load More Replies....... & this is 1 of the reasons I think Trump could be voted in office, yet again :-/ As I unfortunately believe lots&lots of Murican-adults aren't any better then whats is displayed in this post........So sad to see a former great nation loose all of their WW2-credits in just a single decade :-/
Germany lost all their pre-WWII credits in a single decade. A lot can happen in 10 years.
Load More Replies...I've had to explain multiple times since moving to the US that Christmas is still on December 25th in New Zealand even though it is Summer there in December.
When my condescending niece was in her last semester of college for a bachelor's degree in education, she asked, "Which is closer, the sun or moon?" and " How do they not collide? ". She was not amused by my 10 minutes of laughter.
I once tried to explain to a group of adults what cardinal directions were -- evidently they're not big on teaching that in New Jersey. They insisted that the direction depended on which way you were facing (i.e., North is always in front of you, East to your right, etc.). After a good 10 minutes I finally gave up.
When I worked as a CSR for a service with a monthly premium, I ran into a LOT of people that didn't understand how credit cards worked. I'd get customers who'd think it's just free money they don't have to repay or after paying for the service on their credit card, they thought by not paying their credit card bill they'd get out of paying us. Mind-boggling to be sure.
I have met people who think that praying can actually prevent accidents and other bad events from happening.
I've been praying recently (after years as a dyed-in-the-wool atheist) but my prayers are more like a journal addressed to God or expressing thanks rather than asking for stuff.
Load More Replies...One of my favorite moments was with my daughter, she was a teen, and had a complete "blonde" moment if you will. She came up to me one day and said "Mom, how long have you been a mom?" .... now because I have routinely told my children I was going to give them just enough dysfunction to make them funny couldn't resist. I said. "That depends.... How long have you been a kid?" She thought for a moment and busted up laughing "OMG mom, I was seriously adding up me AND my siblings" I was like, "There it is....." lol. I promise you she's a bright young lady but sometimes....... lol
One of the first conversations I had with my Freshman roommate Her: Are you Christian? Me: Yes, I'm Episcopalian. Her: So you're NOT Christian? Me: No.... I am. Her: You cant worship anything other than Jesus and say you are a CHRISTIAN! Me: ....? Her: You worship CATS!!!! Me:... are you thinking about Egyptians? Cue a 30mins conversation where I have to explain the concept of DENOMINATIONS to a West Texas Non-Denom.
I had to tell a high school teacher that just came here from Europe that native people to this land are called indigenous. Nope they don't where loin cloths and head dresses. I had to tell her she probably passed many on her way to work. ?!??!?!? wtf?
Here's mine. My Seventy year old mother called me once...there were growths on her potatoes. Me..."You mean eyes?" Her "WHAT?" Me: "Growths on potatoes are called eyes." Her (in a very concerned/frightened whisper "Are they just called eyes or are they really eyes?" Me: "What...no the are just called eyes." As my husband choked on orange juice....
Many of these are sad because the person is an adult and you wonder how they got there not knowing basic things.
Growing older takes no effort and will happen with just the passage of time. Learning something takes effort and won't happen unless you try.
Load More Replies...I remember in fifth grade we were doing a worksheet on different types of energy. One of the questions said "Susan is moving a box into another room. What type of energy is she using" or something like that. My teacher said she was using thermal (heat) energy because she would be hot and sweaty, and the entire class agreed. I raised my hand and told her it would be mechanical energy because she was in motion, but she told me I was wrong. It wasn't until ten minutes later when she realized I was right and told everyone. In my mind, I was yelling "I told you so!" So that's my story of having to tell an adult something simple.
There are many people who think that the atmosphere has many, many times more volume than it does. They think the sky goes up so far that we can just dump as much soot, smoke, and any other gas into it and all that will just end up being the teeniest, tiniest proportion of the all the atmosphere. And therefore they really think that humans can not noticeably impact the composition of the air that surrounds earth. Most of the air in the atmosphere is within 10 miles of the surface. There really isn't a lot of room for all the c**p we pour into the sky to spread out.
I walked and hitchhiked the Western United States for a few years. In San Francisco it was explained to me that when you're walking south you are always walking downhill. Have you ever met the hills in San Francisco?
Ever try to explain to someone that the new millenium didn't start until 01/01/2001? You'd think they'd get it when I point out that the first year was not called "Year Zero", so the end of the second thousand years was not till the the LAST day of 2000. The last day of 1999 was the end of the 1999th year, not the 2000th.
It makes sense, and I don't know why they wouldn't get it when you explain it. But I hadn't realized it. Mainly because I don't care enough to give it any thought. (There is nothing special about the number 2000. If we used a different base, it might not seem any more unusual to us than 1971. So, once I knew my and most companies had fixed their Y2K problems, I just didn't give it any more thought.)
Load More Replies...Had to explain to a family member that they were wrong in thinking that if you are under the age of 2 and lose a limb it will grow back. Like a lizard.
a.) I was moving out of a rental duplex, explaining to a new guy coming in he needed to set up utilities. 'In my name or yours?' He asks. 'In yours.' I replied as calmly as I could. (Many communication issues w/ this guy). b.) That Sherrod Brown is one of the US Senators for Ohio, not our Governor (admittedly a tad confusing since he'd talked of running for Gov. before). c.) That in 49 states there's a State Senate, and all 50 also have two US Senators - but US Senators for a state are not that state's State Senators (admittedly it's a bit confusing the way that's worded, and b/c sometimes the same people have been both things - e.g. Obama in Illinois).
When I was a child, I went to this big building in my town, five days a week, where people told me stuff about the world and the things in it. We called it a school. Sometimes, I wonder that perhaps not every town had one.
My one big dumb blonde moment is when mom had to explain to me, her 13-year-old daughter, that you can't get pregnant on your period. Somehow when I learned that getting your period is what signals fertility I decided women can only get pregnant while on their period. Thankfully mom corrected me before we learned about the reproductive system in school, so I didn't embarrass myself in class.
In fact, you can. The only 100% effective method is abstinence or (temporary) sterilisation. Your period is the shedding of the uterine lining, not just the egg, and the egg is by no means the first out of the gate. If you don't want to get pregnant, always always ALWAYS use protection. ;)
Load More Replies...Never argue with dumb people. They will drag you down to their realm.....
At least I am smart enough to realize that I am too stupid to reproduce. It's too bad most people don't think this way.
I explained to a colleague that a history of twins on the father's side does not mean a greater chance of a twins pregnancy. I told her that it's the woman's eggs that determine the number of babies, not the man's sperm. She looked so confused. She was a fellow teacher who had taught the reproductive system to fifth graders.
When he was living in Chicago, my grandfather knew a guy who had a close friend who lived in Gary, Indiana, very close to Chicago, just across the state line. The guy's friend was going to move to Illinois -- SOUTHERN Illinois, much farther away than Gary, Indiana. The guy was overjoyed that he and his friend would be living closer to one another because they'd be living in the same state. My grandfather explained that southern Illinois was farther away than Gary, Indiana, but the guy couldn't wrap his head around that concept!
I had to explain to my idiot classmates that cake isn't bread with sugar. They kept arguing that it was. I kept telling them that I'd been baking since I was six. They kept saying more idiotic things. One of them was only in are class because they failed second grade. The other was at risk of failing fourth grade. Yes, we were ten. Almost two years later, and they still won't believe me.
I had to tell a woman in her late 60’s that thunder came from lightning. She argued with me, insisting that it just came from “the sky”, but could not give more detail. She then said she once heard that “if you hear thunder and count until you see lightning, that’s how many miles away the thunder was”... it was a very long day.
1. Alaska is part of the United States. 2. You can drive to Alaska from the lower 48 3. People live in Alaska. 4. Alaska has airports and grocery stores and hospitals and ...
These really don't surprise me, but I can't score them, they're just too painful. No wonder people believe leaders like Trump and Johnson. 😢😢
I'm not a genius, but I'm certainly not an idiot. Anyway, after reading these, I sure do feel a lot better about myself.
OKAY so much of this is politically correct revisionist education. Some of this is total lack of common sense. Can't fix stupid
The lights at pedestrian crossings don't change faster if you keep pressing the button. Once you've pressed it, it is activated.
and more often in busy cities the lights are on an automatic setting regardless of traffic and pressing buttons.
Load More Replies...Oh, oh, I've got one! In elementary school, our teacher tried to tell us that green was a Primary Colour, and therefore you could never mix any colours and get green. I told her that yellow, blue and red were primary colours, and that you could mix yellow and blue together to make green. She refused to believe me.
Depends if you are talking about light (red, blue, green) or paint (red, blue, yellow)
Load More Replies...That electrons are negativity charged. To a Biochemistry professor. That wasn't promptly let go of because she was the wife of the Dean. And no. It wasn't a one off mistake... She literally thinks that electrons are positive...
I once had to explain to my cousin that saying you are a vegetarian does not MAKE you a vegetarian. this is how the conversation went: 7-year-old cousin: I'm a vegetarian! Me: your eating chicken. Cuz: Yeah? And? Me: So your not a vegetarian Cuz: Oh... I thought I was a vegetarian Me: do you even know what a vegetarian is? Cuz: shakes her head Nope!
A friend told me about a roommate who'd complain about her washed clothing always smelling weird, she asked my friend to have a look at how she handled the washing machine - everything was fine. A few days later my friend saw that in the room her roommate had small clothing piles all across the floor... wet clothing piles. That's how she was drying her clothes! So my friend had to explain to her that you need to hang your clothes to dry xD They where about 18 and the roommate obviously never had to do any housework while still living at home^^`
That roommate also did not know how to cook, she ate sushi everyday o.O and was really fascinated by my friend's simple cooking (pasta and such).
Load More Replies...My library held a viewing event during the solar eclipse. I explained some facts about the eclipse, handed out glasses, answered questions, etc. A woman asked me why she couldn't see anything. I had to explain that she had to wait for the clouds to move out of the way before she would be able to see the sun.
I have several co-workers who think a full moon means more patients. It's amazing how many people believe this but it's all confirmation bias. They don't think about the times we're busy and there isn't a full moon nor do they think about the times there is a full moon and we're not busy. One co-worker in particular said that when the moon is less full that the lower gravity has to affect us in some way. I had to explain to her that no matter what the phase of the moon the whole moon is still there even if you can't see it. The look on her face as the gears in her brain stripped was priceless.
Have been working in bars for some time and strangly when there was a full moon there were more incidents of people fighting, couples splitting up, drunks getting violent.
Load More Replies...I was just contemplating exactly the same thing.
Load More Replies...I'm Native American, so my favorite one went like this. Them: "Hey, you are pretty tan, Cuban?" Me: "Nope, Native American." Them: "Can't be, you people died out a long time ago." Me: "Haha, na we are still around believe or not." Them: "So you telling me, you are like (proceeds to make the Woo Woo noise with hand over their mouth) Indian? Like Tonto in that movie with Jonny Depp?" Me: With a very serious face, repeats the Woo Woo noise while looking them in the eye "That is the sound of my people, how did you know!?"
I had a friend who ran up to me years ago in high school and with the most sincere look on her face ask me "there are 100 seconds in a minute, right?!"... I had to physically "reset" myself after hearing that absurd question lol I then try to explain there are 60 seconds in a minute by showing her an analog clock, having her count each line on it out loud only to have her at the end ask "but where did the other 40 seconds go?"... SMH Learned a valuable lesson that day, you can't fix stupid! haha
Best thing is if they have such a serious look on them and the discussion goes on for so long that you start to question yourself. Like how some word start to feel weird to you when you repeat them too often.
Load More Replies....... & this is 1 of the reasons I think Trump could be voted in office, yet again :-/ As I unfortunately believe lots&lots of Murican-adults aren't any better then whats is displayed in this post........So sad to see a former great nation loose all of their WW2-credits in just a single decade :-/
Germany lost all their pre-WWII credits in a single decade. A lot can happen in 10 years.
Load More Replies...I've had to explain multiple times since moving to the US that Christmas is still on December 25th in New Zealand even though it is Summer there in December.
When my condescending niece was in her last semester of college for a bachelor's degree in education, she asked, "Which is closer, the sun or moon?" and " How do they not collide? ". She was not amused by my 10 minutes of laughter.
I once tried to explain to a group of adults what cardinal directions were -- evidently they're not big on teaching that in New Jersey. They insisted that the direction depended on which way you were facing (i.e., North is always in front of you, East to your right, etc.). After a good 10 minutes I finally gave up.
When I worked as a CSR for a service with a monthly premium, I ran into a LOT of people that didn't understand how credit cards worked. I'd get customers who'd think it's just free money they don't have to repay or after paying for the service on their credit card, they thought by not paying their credit card bill they'd get out of paying us. Mind-boggling to be sure.
I have met people who think that praying can actually prevent accidents and other bad events from happening.
I've been praying recently (after years as a dyed-in-the-wool atheist) but my prayers are more like a journal addressed to God or expressing thanks rather than asking for stuff.
Load More Replies...One of my favorite moments was with my daughter, she was a teen, and had a complete "blonde" moment if you will. She came up to me one day and said "Mom, how long have you been a mom?" .... now because I have routinely told my children I was going to give them just enough dysfunction to make them funny couldn't resist. I said. "That depends.... How long have you been a kid?" She thought for a moment and busted up laughing "OMG mom, I was seriously adding up me AND my siblings" I was like, "There it is....." lol. I promise you she's a bright young lady but sometimes....... lol
One of the first conversations I had with my Freshman roommate Her: Are you Christian? Me: Yes, I'm Episcopalian. Her: So you're NOT Christian? Me: No.... I am. Her: You cant worship anything other than Jesus and say you are a CHRISTIAN! Me: ....? Her: You worship CATS!!!! Me:... are you thinking about Egyptians? Cue a 30mins conversation where I have to explain the concept of DENOMINATIONS to a West Texas Non-Denom.
I had to tell a high school teacher that just came here from Europe that native people to this land are called indigenous. Nope they don't where loin cloths and head dresses. I had to tell her she probably passed many on her way to work. ?!??!?!? wtf?
Here's mine. My Seventy year old mother called me once...there were growths on her potatoes. Me..."You mean eyes?" Her "WHAT?" Me: "Growths on potatoes are called eyes." Her (in a very concerned/frightened whisper "Are they just called eyes or are they really eyes?" Me: "What...no the are just called eyes." As my husband choked on orange juice....
Many of these are sad because the person is an adult and you wonder how they got there not knowing basic things.
Growing older takes no effort and will happen with just the passage of time. Learning something takes effort and won't happen unless you try.
Load More Replies...I remember in fifth grade we were doing a worksheet on different types of energy. One of the questions said "Susan is moving a box into another room. What type of energy is she using" or something like that. My teacher said she was using thermal (heat) energy because she would be hot and sweaty, and the entire class agreed. I raised my hand and told her it would be mechanical energy because she was in motion, but she told me I was wrong. It wasn't until ten minutes later when she realized I was right and told everyone. In my mind, I was yelling "I told you so!" So that's my story of having to tell an adult something simple.
There are many people who think that the atmosphere has many, many times more volume than it does. They think the sky goes up so far that we can just dump as much soot, smoke, and any other gas into it and all that will just end up being the teeniest, tiniest proportion of the all the atmosphere. And therefore they really think that humans can not noticeably impact the composition of the air that surrounds earth. Most of the air in the atmosphere is within 10 miles of the surface. There really isn't a lot of room for all the c**p we pour into the sky to spread out.
I walked and hitchhiked the Western United States for a few years. In San Francisco it was explained to me that when you're walking south you are always walking downhill. Have you ever met the hills in San Francisco?
Ever try to explain to someone that the new millenium didn't start until 01/01/2001? You'd think they'd get it when I point out that the first year was not called "Year Zero", so the end of the second thousand years was not till the the LAST day of 2000. The last day of 1999 was the end of the 1999th year, not the 2000th.
It makes sense, and I don't know why they wouldn't get it when you explain it. But I hadn't realized it. Mainly because I don't care enough to give it any thought. (There is nothing special about the number 2000. If we used a different base, it might not seem any more unusual to us than 1971. So, once I knew my and most companies had fixed their Y2K problems, I just didn't give it any more thought.)
Load More Replies...Had to explain to a family member that they were wrong in thinking that if you are under the age of 2 and lose a limb it will grow back. Like a lizard.
a.) I was moving out of a rental duplex, explaining to a new guy coming in he needed to set up utilities. 'In my name or yours?' He asks. 'In yours.' I replied as calmly as I could. (Many communication issues w/ this guy). b.) That Sherrod Brown is one of the US Senators for Ohio, not our Governor (admittedly a tad confusing since he'd talked of running for Gov. before). c.) That in 49 states there's a State Senate, and all 50 also have two US Senators - but US Senators for a state are not that state's State Senators (admittedly it's a bit confusing the way that's worded, and b/c sometimes the same people have been both things - e.g. Obama in Illinois).
When I was a child, I went to this big building in my town, five days a week, where people told me stuff about the world and the things in it. We called it a school. Sometimes, I wonder that perhaps not every town had one.
My one big dumb blonde moment is when mom had to explain to me, her 13-year-old daughter, that you can't get pregnant on your period. Somehow when I learned that getting your period is what signals fertility I decided women can only get pregnant while on their period. Thankfully mom corrected me before we learned about the reproductive system in school, so I didn't embarrass myself in class.
In fact, you can. The only 100% effective method is abstinence or (temporary) sterilisation. Your period is the shedding of the uterine lining, not just the egg, and the egg is by no means the first out of the gate. If you don't want to get pregnant, always always ALWAYS use protection. ;)
Load More Replies...Never argue with dumb people. They will drag you down to their realm.....
At least I am smart enough to realize that I am too stupid to reproduce. It's too bad most people don't think this way.
I explained to a colleague that a history of twins on the father's side does not mean a greater chance of a twins pregnancy. I told her that it's the woman's eggs that determine the number of babies, not the man's sperm. She looked so confused. She was a fellow teacher who had taught the reproductive system to fifth graders.
When he was living in Chicago, my grandfather knew a guy who had a close friend who lived in Gary, Indiana, very close to Chicago, just across the state line. The guy's friend was going to move to Illinois -- SOUTHERN Illinois, much farther away than Gary, Indiana. The guy was overjoyed that he and his friend would be living closer to one another because they'd be living in the same state. My grandfather explained that southern Illinois was farther away than Gary, Indiana, but the guy couldn't wrap his head around that concept!
I had to explain to my idiot classmates that cake isn't bread with sugar. They kept arguing that it was. I kept telling them that I'd been baking since I was six. They kept saying more idiotic things. One of them was only in are class because they failed second grade. The other was at risk of failing fourth grade. Yes, we were ten. Almost two years later, and they still won't believe me.
I had to tell a woman in her late 60’s that thunder came from lightning. She argued with me, insisting that it just came from “the sky”, but could not give more detail. She then said she once heard that “if you hear thunder and count until you see lightning, that’s how many miles away the thunder was”... it was a very long day.
1. Alaska is part of the United States. 2. You can drive to Alaska from the lower 48 3. People live in Alaska. 4. Alaska has airports and grocery stores and hospitals and ...
These really don't surprise me, but I can't score them, they're just too painful. No wonder people believe leaders like Trump and Johnson. 😢😢
I'm not a genius, but I'm certainly not an idiot. Anyway, after reading these, I sure do feel a lot better about myself.
OKAY so much of this is politically correct revisionist education. Some of this is total lack of common sense. Can't fix stupid
The lights at pedestrian crossings don't change faster if you keep pressing the button. Once you've pressed it, it is activated.
and more often in busy cities the lights are on an automatic setting regardless of traffic and pressing buttons.
Load More Replies...Oh, oh, I've got one! In elementary school, our teacher tried to tell us that green was a Primary Colour, and therefore you could never mix any colours and get green. I told her that yellow, blue and red were primary colours, and that you could mix yellow and blue together to make green. She refused to believe me.
Depends if you are talking about light (red, blue, green) or paint (red, blue, yellow)
Load More Replies...That electrons are negativity charged. To a Biochemistry professor. That wasn't promptly let go of because she was the wife of the Dean. And no. It wasn't a one off mistake... She literally thinks that electrons are positive...
I once had to explain to my cousin that saying you are a vegetarian does not MAKE you a vegetarian. this is how the conversation went: 7-year-old cousin: I'm a vegetarian! Me: your eating chicken. Cuz: Yeah? And? Me: So your not a vegetarian Cuz: Oh... I thought I was a vegetarian Me: do you even know what a vegetarian is? Cuz: shakes her head Nope!
A friend told me about a roommate who'd complain about her washed clothing always smelling weird, she asked my friend to have a look at how she handled the washing machine - everything was fine. A few days later my friend saw that in the room her roommate had small clothing piles all across the floor... wet clothing piles. That's how she was drying her clothes! So my friend had to explain to her that you need to hang your clothes to dry xD They where about 18 and the roommate obviously never had to do any housework while still living at home^^`
That roommate also did not know how to cook, she ate sushi everyday o.O and was really fascinated by my friend's simple cooking (pasta and such).
Load More Replies...My library held a viewing event during the solar eclipse. I explained some facts about the eclipse, handed out glasses, answered questions, etc. A woman asked me why she couldn't see anything. I had to explain that she had to wait for the clouds to move out of the way before she would be able to see the sun.
I have several co-workers who think a full moon means more patients. It's amazing how many people believe this but it's all confirmation bias. They don't think about the times we're busy and there isn't a full moon nor do they think about the times there is a full moon and we're not busy. One co-worker in particular said that when the moon is less full that the lower gravity has to affect us in some way. I had to explain to her that no matter what the phase of the moon the whole moon is still there even if you can't see it. The look on her face as the gears in her brain stripped was priceless.
Have been working in bars for some time and strangly when there was a full moon there were more incidents of people fighting, couples splitting up, drunks getting violent.
Load More Replies...