View Full Version : dumb things people ask !
OK I used to get asked some stupid questions from tourists
if you have ever been to Maui and Molokini crater this is what I used to work a lot besides on Lanai as a dive instructor for about 15 years when I was younger
I recently moved to the mainland
things like
How far do we have to dive to get under the island !
and amazing this was asked a lot !!!!!!!
on our way out to Molokini they would look to the left and ask what island that is !
i would say Maui
on the way back they look to the right and ask what island is that !
I would say Maui ! and they would say but it was on the other side when we were going out !!!!
(this was asked about daily)
do the islands ever move ?
(lucky not asked to often)
so do you actually live on the island !
(like I would commute ????? this was asked a few times a day !!!!)
a lot more I cant think of :)
just curious what dumb things you have heard people ask on a regular basis in what you do !
spamsammich
10-28-08, 02:35
I grew up in a small island community in Alaska. I was watching a King Salmon derby as tourists were getting off the lighters and going ashore. One older man asked me how high above sea level we were once he got off the ramp. I made an exaggerated movement to look down to the water and I said, "about 3000 ft".
I was also asked if we took American money. To which the lady's husband sad, "Of course they do sweetheart, helloooo, Alaska...50th state..." I couldn't do anything but chuckle.
I don't mind questions so much as assumptions. The "oh I know about that" people drive me up the wall.
Detective_D
10-28-08, 08:44
How far do we have to dive to get under the island !
soooooo??? ;)
You think you get asked stupid questions??? Try being an officer.
"Oh you're an Officer. Do you know so and so? (from PD across the state)"
and that is just the beginning.
~D
They used to say that what seperates us from the animal world is our mind.
I'm not so sure anymore.
Business_Casual
10-28-08, 09:42
My friend and his wife were due to visit England on vacation and we were discussing the trip. Half way through the conversation, she leans over to him and seriously asks: "They speak English there, right?"
M_P
While ordering dinner with a lady friend a few years back at a local Mexican cafe. Waiter comes up and begins taking our orders. Lady friend leans over and asks, "how do you say enchilada in spanish?", Waiter was Mexican, and overheard the question. Thought he was gonna crap his pants he was laughing so hard. Comp'd the lady friends dinner. He was the owner. Said in 5 yrs. of owning the place funniest comment he'd heard while working. Lady friend didn't think it was so funny. I married her - she still doesn't think it's funny.
sixboysdad
10-28-08, 10:44
I jsut want to know why they have Interstate Highways in Hawaii. :D:confused:
dumb questions? I still get, from supposedly "gun" people looking at my AR's, "what do you need that ASSAULT Weapon for anyway?"
soooooo??? ;)
You think you get asked stupid questions??? Try being an officer.
"Oh you're an Officer. Do you know so and so? (from PD across the state)"
and that is just the beginning.
~D
hehehehe
yeah I hear ya on that :)
OH I was on Maui do you know blah blah I think thats their name he was our waiter ????? he kind of looks like a surfer kind of guy ?
sixsboysdad :) even I have wondered that one ? :)
water4545 thats classic ;)
spamsammich man we used to get asked that also like they think we are not a state or something
or better yet when people say OH we are flying back to the states !!!!!!!
theJanitor
10-28-08, 11:59
i've had people ask why we use pacific (HST -10:00) time in Hawaii when we're located by TEXAS!!!
please refer to the map:
http://www.abcdatainternational.com/images/united-states-map.gif
do the islands ever move ?
(lucky not asked to often)!
Actually the islands are moving according to some geologists. Plate tectonics. :p
Although I'm certain that's not what these mental midgets are talking about!
I don't mind questions so much as assumptions. The "oh I know about that" people drive me up the wall.
I agree
white spaniard
10-28-08, 14:02
A couple of years ago an old couple (snow birds) from North Dakota stopped me here in downtown San Antonio, they looked confused and asked me how far in Mexico they were in.
How far do we have to dive to get under the island !
and amazing this was asked a lot !!!!!!!
What was your answer?
I shouldn't knock the Govt employee's like this, BUT, the wife just went to a Governors conference for this state, held in Yellow Stone, and they got onto postage stamps some how. Well this one Govt employee said "I thought the forever stamps meant they would never ever go up in price". I told the wife they should have got up in front of EVERYONE and gave her an award. As in "Here's Your Sign".
zippygaloo
10-28-08, 17:40
My friends wife used to think that the gasoline octane number referred to the year it was made.
87 Octane = 1987
88 Octane = 1988
89 Octane = 1989
90 Octane = 1990
91 Octane = 1991
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/7/75/280px-09-03-06-Octane.jpg
How far do we have to dive to get under the island !
So did you have a sweet little talk with them about "Floating Volcanoes"?
So that folks, is how we keep this water so clear and clean, we filter it with "Floating Volcanoes" that recycle too. That is why you don't see our landfills. If we were to dive under them we would be sucked up and spit out in a blast of fire water. And I don't mean the kind you drink. :D
theJanitor
10-28-08, 17:57
So did you have a sweet little talk with them about "Floating Volcanoes"?
So that folks, is how we keep this water so clear and clean, we filter it with "Floating Volcanoes" that recycle too. That is why you don't see our landfills. If we were to dive under them we would be sucked up and spit out in a blast of fire water. And I don't mean the kind you drink. :D
a kid asked me, "why don't you throw the rubbish into the volcano and let the lava burn it, instead of putting it into a landfill"
i had no answer. really.
i've had people ask why we use pacific (HST -10:00) time in Hawaii when we're located by TEXAS!!!
Please tell me you made that up ...
My three favorites:
NRA Show, Pittsburgh: Guy walks into the SIG booth, sees me there in a suit with a big SIG pin and SIG name tag, and asks, "Do you guys make Glocks?" To which I could only reply, No, we have far too much integrity.
SHOT Show, Las Vegas: My then-boss (VP of Military Sales), our head engineer, and I are sitting in a closed door meeting with some folks from USMC about their then-upcoming SAW replacement procurement. My boss spent a couple minutes talking about his colorful (to him) past in the Army and worked hard to make himself seem well acquainted with small arms. We discuss specifics of the procurement in terms of quantities, SOW specs, etc. A retired 1-star asks my boss, "Does the 551 fire from an open bolt or a closed bolt?" The engineer and I were just imagining our happy places when my boss, with no idea whatsoever, decided to forge ahead regardless and answer, "from an open bolt, of course."
SIG HQ, New Hampshire: A bunch of engineers from Picatinny Arsenal were up to get a briefing on some of our new products. The whole time, everyone from our engineering department to our customer service people tried to convince them to choose .40 instead of .45 for the next service pistol. Finally, the Pic guys got frustrated and told me that it had to stop or they were leaving. OK, it stopped. Finally we met with the CEO, and the first thing he does is start hounding them about the caliber thing. He gets all riled up and asks the head engineer, "If I shot a prairie dog with a .40 or a .45 do you think he could tell the difference?" The engineer's answer was priceless and one of the best moments of my career. He simply replied, "Mr. Cohen, in the event the U.S. is ever invaded by prairie dogs, we'll take that under consideration."
theJanitor
10-28-08, 19:13
Please tell me you made that up ...
the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the....
spamsammich
10-28-08, 21:20
the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the....
There have been rumors of tourists surprised by the cold climate in Alaska because it sits so close to Hawaii on the map...:rolleyes:
usaffarmer
10-29-08, 00:03
I have twin girls that are a little over 4 months old, The stupid questions i get from people when we are out kill me, Like "are they twins?" or the comments "its better you than me" my wifes reply to that one is "and thats why god gave them to us and not you"
Also the living in Alaska and dealing with tourist is true, some people ask what type of money we take and if the credit cards work like in the US. Its good times messing with some of them.
What was your answer?
not very far lets go try ;)
and give them a look of DDUUUHHHHH
the Alaska and Hawaii thing must be close
when I was younger and worked at the Sheraton black rock in the scuba shack the front end girls would push calls back to me with the most insane questions :)
things like
is the water safe to drink there ?
where do the natives live !!!!!! YIKES good way to piss off a local !!!! hehehehehe
do I need special electrical convertors ?
is there running water in the resort ?? (remember they called the Sheraton)
and like the diving ones some really really stupid ones !!!
does the water surround all the island !!!!!
thats a classic
I bet they are the ones that would ask how far to dive under the island :) hehehehe
This isn't so much a "stupid question" thing, more along the lines of someone deliberately misunderstanding an idiot's question just so that they could deliver a smart-ass response.
We were doing a trip on the Euphrates westward from Haditha Dam to al Q'aim, and got hit by a bunch of durkas in a linear ambush (I know, I know, what other kind could there be from a straight riverbank?). Our boats had 3 weapon points, with heavies on the rear points, so we had a mix of M240s, M2s, Mk19s, and two of our boats mounted GAU-17 miniguns, plus the personal weapons of a squad of infantrymen and those of the attachments and boat captains.
While doing our BDA, we came across one poor schmo who'd basically been ripped to shreds, laying next to what was obviously a Mk19 grenade impact. One of our attachments was an annoying prick, who elbowed our doc and asked:
"Whaddaya think killed him? Hyuk hyuk!"
Doc: "Looks like his heart stopped. Duh"
I was assisting another officer on a traffic stop b/c the driver had a warrant out for his arrest. A vehicle pulls up next to the officer's patrol unit and asks, "Do you have a minute?"
Not a question, but when I got hired at my first US company the owner got the crew together and told them "I just hired a guy from Australia, but don't worry he speaks fluent English":rolleyes:
Not a question, but when I got hired at my first US company the owner got the crew together and told them "I just hired a guy from Australia, but don't worry he speaks fluent English":rolleyes:
If you were a Scot I could understand it, but apart from a few colloquial sayings and calling everyone "mate" ;) Aussies are some of the easiest for me to understand.
This isn't so much a "stupid question" thing, more along the lines of someone deliberately misunderstanding an idiot's question just so that they could deliver a smart-ass response.
We were doing a trip on the Euphrates westward from Haditha Dam to al Q'aim, and got hit by a bunch of durkas in a linear ambush (I know, I know, what other kind could there be from a straight riverbank?). Our boats had 3 weapon points, with heavies on the rear points, so we had a mix of M240s, M2s, Mk19s, and two of our boats mounted GAU-17 miniguns, plus the personal weapons of a squad of infantrymen and those of the attachments and boat captains.
While doing our BDA, we came across one poor schmo who'd basically been ripped to shreds, laying next to what was obviously a Mk19 grenade impact. One of our attachments was an annoying prick, who elbowed our doc and asked:
"Whaddaya think killed him? Hyuk hyuk!"
Doc: "Looks like his heart stopped. Duh"
yeah that kind of action I used to get all the time with fat white tourists on the diving boats :) heheheheheheeh
a bit more story than I have ever witnessed :)
I just have to swim and save white whales a lot and people that are trying to get under the island :)
"you got a license for that?"
OK I used to get asked some stupid questions from tourists
on our way out to Molokini they would look to the left and ask what island that is !
i would say Maui
on the way back they look to the right and ask what island is that !
I would say Maui ! and they would say but it was on the other side when we were going out !!!!
When you are taking them "Out" to dive and they ask "What Island is that on the left" you can say Maui, and on the way back the Island on the right is "Texas". And would everyone keep their heads up and look out so we don't run into Alaska by mistake.
I worked as an assistant Range Master at the original Bass Pro Shops Outdoor world and had many stupid questions and statements made as well.
One of the funniest and scariest was from this Older Gentleman who was trying to impress his his Grandson with tales tales of his days hunting Whitetail deer. After he finished with his story he remembered that he didn't have an ammo left and wanted to take his Grandson shooting. I told him that I would be happy to sell him ammo all I needed to know was what caliber his rifle was. He held up his hand with his thumb and forefinger stretched wide apart and said with a straight face.
"Well I don't know the caliber but they are about this long."
What can you say to someone like that?
Sorry Sir...I am going to need a little more information than that.
He returned a few days later with his Rifle. Turned out that he had an old Winchester chambered in .32-20.
When you are taking them "Out" to dive and they ask "What Island is that on the left" you can say Maui, and on the way back the Island on the right is "Texas". And would everyone keep their heads up and look out so we don't run into Alaska by mistake.
OH man I wish I had that comeback when I was on the boats :)
guess I never knew Texas was just off our coast till I saw that map :) hehehehehehe
Could this thread be sheading more light on "Obama Voters"? :D ;) :eek:
A couple of years ago an old couple (snow birds) from North Dakota stopped me here in downtown San Antonio, they looked confused and asked me how far in Mexico they were in.
yeah, but in San Antonio (or Miami) that's a legitimate question,.....
SIG HQ, New Hampshire: A bunch of engineers from Picatinny Arsenal were up to get a briefing on some of our new products. The whole time, everyone from our engineering department to our customer service people tried to convince them to choose .40 instead of .45 for the next service pistol. Finally, the Pic guys got frustrated and told me that it had to stop or they were leaving. OK, it stopped. Finally we met with the CEO, and the first thing he does is start hounding them about the caliber thing. He gets all riled up and asks the head engineer, "If I shot a prairie dog with a .40 or a .45 do you think he could tell the difference?" The engineer's answer was priceless and one of the best moments of my career. He simply replied, "Mr. Cohen, in the event the U.S. is ever invaded by prairie dogs, we'll take that under consideration."
Wow i live in Exeter NH. sig is on the other side of the woods from my house. I wish i could get in there. That story is dam funny.
echosierra3
11-01-08, 19:58
As captain of an excursion boat that took people across Tampa Bay to Egmont Key for the day,one of my jobs was to mingle and smooze with the passengers. One guy runs over and asks me" how far are we above sea level?", I had to walk away. Later my first mate comes and tells me that an older lady seems to have a problem. I go below and there is this woman holding on to the table for dear life and her knuckles are white, she tells me she is soo scared of drowning she can't move. So I lean over and tell her don't worry you won't drown, the sharks will tear you apart before that happens, the look was classic.
1859sharps
11-01-08, 23:27
My friend and his wife were due to visit England on vacation and we were discussing the trip. Half way through the conversation, she leans over to him and seriously asks: "They speak English there, right?"
M_P
I work with some British Subjects, and sometimes I wonder this my self :p
RogerinTPA
11-01-08, 23:44
The most common question I've been asked, no matter what country it was and dumbfounds me to this day:
Your from the US/America? Do you know So and So?:eek:
militarymoron
11-02-08, 02:11
OK I used to get asked some stupid questions from tourists
like...
"eh brah, how come there are so many ABC stores in hawaii? you can see one from the other, like in lord of the rings when they lighted those fires on the mountain tops to pass along the signal"
like...
"eh brah, how come there are so many ABC stores in hawaii? you can see one from the other, like in lord of the rings when they lighted those fires on the mountain tops to pass along the signal"
so true :)
and one can never have to many Coco Joe tiki dolls.
only reason I like em is you can get your parking validated at the Lahaina cannery when you are there :) and you no have to pay parking then :)
We should not be surprised. I wonder what people teach in U.S. high schools these days. I am a graduate assistant in the History department. The English is deplorable and these undergraduates from freshmen to seniors cannot write, speak, or communicate on a level appropriate for their educational attainments.
Their knowledge of geography is attrocious and their knowledge of world culture, history, and languages is abysmal. We all have problems with spellings and on forums like this it is very noticeable. We as a society have become incredibly lazy, thinking that spellcheck and grammar check and google and wikipedia is all we need.
As far as physics and mathematics go, well we are no longer the leaders in the world. The U.S. no longer leads in the number of scientists. More and more American kids are being shunted into the service industry while the multi-national corporations are hiring foreign students straight out of school.
I try to explain to the undergraduates the unpalatable truth that they have to compete in a global market and in most spheres we are behind the rest of the world in preparing our kids to do so.
We are a nation that is being entertained to death. Our heroes are entertainers be it movie stars or sports celebrities and look at electronic games kids are constantly playing. In fact you always see teenagers with something or another stuck into their ears oblivious to the rest of the world. In 50 to 100 years who will give a damn about what the entertainment industry has contributed to our culture. We as a society seem to revel in our ignorance and we have ignoramuses running our country.
Well, enough of my ranting. We as a culture are on the way out.
CarlosDJackal
11-03-08, 10:34
The most common question I've been asked, no matter what country it was and dumbfounds me to this day:
Your from the US/America? Do you know So and So?:eek:
This question is not as ridiculous as you think. You have to remember that not everyone comes from a country that has a very large land mass. In my case, I grew up in a country where most people from the same province knows everyone else no matter how large an area it may cover.
I've actually been asked this type of a question by a complete stranger only to determine that we did know some of the same people. And this has happened multiple times in various States and locations here in the United States.
Sometimes it really is a small world after all. :)
jostha2007
11-03-08, 20:01
I am an IT guy, I get ALL kinds of dumb questions asked to me.
I even had one tell me that her CDROM Wasnt working, so when I went over to look at it, the Slot where the CDROM drive went was poped off and there was an Open Chasis Bay, she thought that it was "Somewhere in there" I was younger and less patient so I had a field day with that one!
militarymoron
11-04-08, 10:38
so true :)
and one can never have to many Coco Joe tiki dolls.
only reason I like em is you can get your parking validated at the Lahaina cannery when you are there :) and you no have to pay parking then :)
not really a dumb question, but a funny (to me) experience in honolulu - my wife and i were staying in waikiki and were walking along the sidewalk. we passed one of the indoor gun ranges where a guy was standing outside handing out fliers. we're asian, so he mistook us for one of the million japanese tourists in waikiki. he handed me a flyer and said 'real guns! want to shoot a real gun?'. i just smiled and said 'no thanks', but my wife cracked up and giggled going 'oh my God - if only he knew'. she thought that was the funniest thing.
we've been to oahu and maui, and maui is much more my kind of place.
not really a dumb question, but a funny (to me) experience in honolulu - my wife and i were staying in waikiki and were walking along the sidewalk. we passed one of the indoor gun ranges where a guy was standing outside handing out fliers. we're asian, so he mistook us for one of the million japanese tourists in waikiki. he handed me a flyer and said 'real guns! want to shoot a real gun?'. i just smiled and said 'no thanks', but my wife cracked up and giggled going 'oh my God - if only he knew'. she thought that was the funniest thing.
we've been to oahu and maui, and maui is much more my kind of place.
heheheheh I can totally see that :) and chances are that guy with the flyers got that job over the McDonalds one :)
Yeah Maui no ka'oi !!!!
I tried never to go to Oahu unless I had to for some reason a bit to much for me
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