#1
He wound up dying about the fourth day I was there. To this day I hear people make comments that it doesn't exist or never did or whatever dumb thing they have to say about it. I have to turn around and walk away from them or ignore them on whatever platform I'm on to avoid smacking them up beside the head.
#2
A 23 year-old man, who had the right to vote, who had a driving license, who had a job, and could get married and start a family...
THOUGHT PEOPLE WERE HANGING THE MOON IN THE SKY.
Like, the moon, Earth's natural satellite, was being hung on the sky like... a painting on a wall?
I'm still reeling over that one. This man had gone to school, had a formal education and was actually going to college. He *learned* about that in primary school!
And the kicker? I was the one to explain it to him, because I was his girlfriend at the time.
And let me tell you, things unraveled real fast when I started paying attention and saw through the smokescreen.
Dude was willfully ignorant, and bone-dead stupid on top of it. He was really, really good at hiding it.
I dropped him like the mess he was and dived into more and more books to compensate the loss of brain matter I suffered from going out with him.
#3
It was then that I understood why the school nurse had to explain to me in 5th grade why I kept bleeding through my pants every month at school, and not my mom.
Whether it’s at a party, at work, or during a casual conversation, we’ve all encountered situations where someone asks something that makes you want to pause and question the state of human knowledge.
Here’s the thing: asking questions isn’t bad—part and parcel of development and learning. None of us are born with all the knowledge in the world, and curiosity is an essential part of our lives. There are times, however, that people ask questions that seem to defy basic logic or common knowledge.
#4
A woman calls in, complaining her wifi isn’t working.
Go through the normal troubleshooting questions, what’s your device, how are you connected, and finally “what can you see on your screen?”
Crazy woman (CW): it’s black
Me: how do you mean? Are you getting errors?
CW: the whole screen is black.
Me: have you turned the laptop on?
CW: I can’t.
Me: …. Why not?
CW: I’ve lost the charging cable
Me: ok…uh, do you have another device I can help you connect with? Maybe a tablet or your phone?
CW: no, you need to get the laptop reconnected.
Me: …can you go and buy another charging cable?
CW: no, you need to send me one.
Me: we don’t supply them…also we didn’t supply you with your laptop, we just provide internet
CW: yes, and now you’re not providing me internet, so you need to fix it
40 mins this went on, as my team around me stared in incoherent disbelief that this woman couldn’t understand why her internet provider couldn’t connect wifi to a computer with now power.
I remember hanging up the phone and putting myself on break. My manager looked at me and told me to take a walk, while barely hiding her unrestrained giggles.
#5
#6
She thought she was legally entitled to free electricity because "it's a requirement for human survival."
Edit to add: She wasn't in need. She worked a very well-paying job, and she enjoyed shopping for expensive things. This was *not* one of those situations where she needed assistance or mercy. She needed a foot lodged firmly in the backside, and the power company put on its boots.
You might find yourself sitting in a meeting when someone asks if the office will be open on Christmas Day—despite it being a national holiday. Or you may even be engaging in a conversation with one of your friends who, out of nowhere, asks whether brown cows give brown milk. You cannot help but blink at these questions, wondering what planet you are on.
But before we jump to conclusions, it is worth analyzing what makes such questions possible in the first place. There are situations where people are just credulous or ignorant about certain things. It could be, somehow, they never got the opportunity to know it, or perhaps they’ve been given wrong information.
#7
1) That the ticks on a male dog were actually nipples...and that male dogs have nipples...just like every other mammal.
2) That a rabbit that clearly has visible testicles was a male.
3) That you cannot feed an animal that is strictly a carnivore (a ferret, fyi) a "vegan" diet (that thing so SO sick when it came in).
4) That yes, when you have two animals (same species) of opposite genders in the house and they aren't spayed/neutered...they will breed. Even if they're mother/son, brother/sister, different ages, different sizes, different breeds, etc. You'd be shocked at how many people "didn't think this would happen". O_o Like...do you understand biology at all?
#9
Other times, it could be possible they are nervous or distracted, leading them to ask something they’d usually know the answer to. We’ve all had those moments when we asked something we later realized was a bit silly. Let’s say you finally get to see your sports idol, and out of excitement, you ask rather silly questions like, “Do you like sports?”
#10
#11
I had to explain to a grown (college-educated!) adult that no, a**l sex does not "cause" AIDS. That no, if both parties are HIV-negative, they cannot "create" AIDS by engaging in this activity. NO, Daniel, that's not how viruses work!
#12
What’s more interesting is how many people are afraid to ask questions because they don’t want to appear stupid. The fear of looking foolish in front of others can stop us from seeking out the knowledge we need. In a way, this fear can be more damaging than asking an ‘obvious’ question. It hinders us from learning, growing, and understanding the world better.
#13
this person kept trying to tell me it was "up to interpretation" like no its not!!! its geography
#14
Eventually I just went in the back for a few minutes, made a cup of tea for a co-worker, and came out saying we don't have any. She got mad at that too.
#15
Consider a situation where you’re new at a job, and during the orientation, the presenter talks about “the cloud.” You know you came across the phrase some weeks ago, but you can’t place what it implies.
Everyone around you seems to know, so you hesitate to ask for clarification. Now since you were afraid to ask, it could potentially lead to bigger misunderstandings later on.
#16
I could not believe that I had to explain to her that we cannot inject her through the phone.
#17
Omfg
#18
P.S. The look on their mama's face was so funny. She turned to me, threw her hands up, and said "I've failed." In the most defeated tone. That poor woman.
Edit: I would like to point out that we did, in fact, have a serious talk to these girls about proper fire safety, and when to NOT use water on an open fire.
In reality, making requests, even the simplest ones, should be allowed and even encouraged. It’s easy to forget that at some point, everyone was ignorant of something.
The person who doesn’t know what the cloud is might be an expert in a completely different field, with knowledge you don’t possess. We all have gaps in our understanding, and the only way to fill them is by asking questions.
#19
#20
