What stupid questions have you been asked or overheard?

[TheTecknician]

During a training session when I worked in the motor insurance business, someone enquired if 'registration' and 'registration mark' were the same thing. The trainer's disdainful expression was a corker. In fairness to our enquirer, he has come a long way and is now MD of a large commercial insurance broker.

I think one daft question we will all have heard at some time or other is,

'Excuse me, do you have the right time?'
'No, but I have the wrong time if that's any use.'

I think this is a fair question - midnight mass services don't start at midnight! The act of communion takes place at midnight but the service starts earlier.

My eldest who has a PhD asked me during a summer walk, ‘oh look a Robin, what’s that doing out, it’s not Christmas’. I was momentarily speechless.

I also once, while visiting a children’s farm, overheard one of the parents ask her friend ‘why don’t the eggs you buy in the shops have chicks in them?’. Her friend replied that ‘the eggs in the shops are laid outdoors, I think only ones laid inside a barn will hatch into chicks’. I had to swiftly turn away and show interest in a bale of hay to hide my laughter

It would have blown his mind if you had said "oh, we thank the Russians instead".

I work in a deli and was asked how many sausages are in a triple sausage baguette!

Called the veterinary surgery to register DS cat. Receptionist asks questions pertaining to said cat:
R: What's the cats name?
Me: Penguin
R: What colour is Penguin?
M: Errrr, black and white.

I used to have a friend with the same first name as me, and we often went about as a twosome.

Let’s say we were both called Mary. So when met new people who asked our names, we’d need to say some version of “I’m Mary”, and “I’m also called Mary”.

More than once we then got asked “Oh, are you sisters?”

🤔

Standing outside Windsor Castle and a big plane flew over, taking off from Heathrow Airport..someone behind me said “why did they build the Castle so close to the airport, the noise of the planes ruins the feel of it”

Not quite a question but I was once waiting for a friend and stood by the cash machines outside a supermarket.

One lady said to her friend “I don’t know how much money is in my account so I’ll see if I can get £50 and keep going down in amounts until it goes though”. Her friend asked why she just didn’t check her balance before requesting the cash, to which the first lady said “No, it just says check your balance to remind you to check how much money you have before you take it out”. Her mind was well and truly blown when her friend pressed the button next to “check your balance” and it actually showed on the screen how much she could take out 😂

I got asked do we have traffic lights in Ireland?

Hmmm... we were old school/parish/church... it is always held at midnight.

I've got one that wasn't a question as such, but came up in conversation.
She thought that the sea was one depth level all over like a swimming pool. Honestly. As a 40 year old.

I’m an identical twin…So do you like being a twin? 🤷🏽‍♀️

I am a twin (female) and my brother is male. The amount of time we have been asked are we identical is unbelievable.

Is that that mediterranean sea?

Asked at a viewing point over a lake in France. You could quite clearly see all sides of the lake. We were 40 miles inland from the sea.

I know things seem smaller compared to the US but.....

This is interesting because both churches I've attended, midnight mass ended soon after midnight but the service started at 11pm at one church and 11.30 at the other. So not unreasonable to ask.

I work in a supermarket so get asked silly questions all the time. The most recent was when a customer asked me whether a particular type of curtain would suit her bedroom at home.

OK, my one, conversation i had many years ago (I had one child aged about 7 at the time).

Her: Shame your son is an only child. Don't you want any more?
Me (taken aback): Erm yes but we've had problems.
Her: What sort of problems?
Me: Fertility problems.
Her (triumphantly thinking she is solving the problem): You should go to the doctor!
Me: Thanks, I never thought of that. <withering stare>

My absolute favourite of all time “does a washing machine need a water supply then?” Said by an adult may I add

The woman who runs the local dog groomers is a bit mad. She phoned me once to ask which Herbert I was, as she had my phone number written down twice, once next to a Herbert, once next to a H Pootle. She couldn’t understand when I explained they were both me, just written twice slightly differently. Had a 10 minute conversation about it. She kept asking who the other person was, I kept saying both are me. Then she’d say but whose is the other number and I’d reply they’re both mine, they’re the same number. And then ask which was the best number to get me on, so I’d say, either as they’re both the same. In the end she said she’d cross the other one out as I was the right Herbert anyway and she didn’t need the other one. 👀

The dull and the ignorant move among us.

An international tourist on the esplanade at Edinburgh Castle while looking North and spotting something distant and upright in Fife: 'is that the Eiffel Tower?'

You really need better examples OP.

I swim in the river through the year.
In the depths of winter, we regularly get ‘is it cold?’

When I was delivering for Amazon, the amount of times people would look at the parcel, then me, totally confused and ask ‘what is it?’
I would explain there was no way I would possibly know, but given they had ordered it, they should have half an idea!