There is no such thing as a stupid question. At least that's what some folks firmly believe as asking a question is preferred over remaining blissfully ignorant or unaware.
While that may be true, some things are widely perceived as common sense and don't require explanation.
Curious to hear examples of what these might be, strangers online had plenty to share when Redditor Ok-Marzipan6892 asked:
"What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve had to explain to someone who should have known better?"
These Redditors how they were cut from the same cloth as far as intelligence was concerned.
Cocksure Surfer
"My brother, against all laws of known physics, is absolutely certain that if he was ever in a tsunami he could just 'swim under it.' "
"We've both been in the ocean plenty of times, surfed a bit, and have definitely had our share of waves wreck our sh*t, but he's still certain he could do it if he got the timing right."
– Only-Speaker-2386
Blinded By The Force
"My physics challenged brother insisted that the lasers in Star Wars were real and that it was possible to see light travel. He even insisted he could see light travel across a room when he turned the light on."
– g8briel
The Family Crook
"I had to explain to my 40yo brother that just because other people did something didn't make it okay. This conversation happened after he was caught stealing $200k, committing wire fraud, and lying on government documents. He still doesn't seem to understand that being able to do something doesn't suddenly make it legal to do it."
– IcedMercury
People in charge don't always know what's best.
Completing The Task
"I once had to explain to my boss that emails need to be sent with the 'send' button, not just typed up and left in drafts."
– Popular-Dress8532
"Back in the 90s I knew a guy who would have his secretary print his emails, he would hand write a reply and she’d type it up. 🙄"
– trazom28
"I know someone that edits a Word file then prints. Scans back in to create a PDF to email out. I showed the person that the .doc can be saved as a PDF (better resolution than the scan) and emailed. The tip isn’t getting through."
– TopShoe121
It's A Confusing Time
"I had to explain time zones to a professor of education."
"I was doing my M.Ed. online during COVID, and assignments had to be turned in by a certain time in the time zone where the college's physical campus was. I was in a different time zone than the college, and the professor was in yet another time zone."
"She marked an assignment down because it was late, but the due date (or hour) hadn't passed in the college's time zone yet. I assume she was basing it off her own time zone, and questioned her."
"Turned out she had no idea that the college was in a different time zone than she was."
– pinkkittenfur
Fake history never fails to amuse.
Directions To Freedom
"I have met many people, both young & old, who think that the Underground Railroad the slaves used was an actual railroad that was underground. They think the slaves escaped by taking the subway."
– Born_Without_Nipples
Presidential
"I had to explain that Denzel Washington wasn't the president of the United States."
– Ok-Equipment-6239
Avian Dissertation
"I'm a history professor. I had a paper as a teaching assistant once that was so infamous we hung it up (name redacted, of course) in the teaching assistant office. My class had to write a paper on the medieval manor system."
"As I was reading the papers, I got to one where the student was going on and on about how well the local lords would treat their birds, caring for them and seeing to their welfare. I had no idea what they were trying to say until I got to page two and they finally referred to the 'lords and their pheasants.' "
"The entire week we discussed the middle ages, this student legitimately didn't know what peasants were, and thought I was talking about pheasants. She wrote an *entire paper* on lords and pheasants. "
– DrTenochtitlan
Head In The Stars
"I took an astronomy course in college. A girl sitting next to me, about halfway through the semester just blurts out, 'this is way more boring than I thought it would be. When do we learn about birth charts and the zodiac?!' "
"Took me a minute to even process that. She ended up arguing with the prof about how it's the same, then stomping out threatening to sue him and the university for false advertisement of a course. It's been over 20 years since that happened, I hope she's thriving amongst her crystals and such."
– BlackBetty504
It's a wonder how some people go through their adult lives without major setbacks.
That Time Of The Month
"That women don’t choose when their period comes. Like, we can’t hold it in like pee."
– BagelwithQueefcheese
"God that would be convenient. I’d just keep 'rescheduling' until I hit menopause."
– MzHellfier
The Thing About Voting
"Co-worker, who was a VP of bank, 'knew for a fact' that when you register to vote and declare your party affiliation you no longer have to actually vote. The county just assumes you would have voted for your party’s candidates and assigns your vote accordingly."
"The only reason to show up on election day is if you want to vote for someone in another party. (I spent a lot of time deciding whether to correct him)."
– JustSomeGuy_56
It's Taxing To Explain
"When you 'jump' tax brackets, you don't take home less money."
– kbragg_usc
"The amount of times I’ve had people tell me that working overtime is a waste of time and that I’m actually losing money is astounding."
"Yes, more dollars come out in taxes. But you take home more money too. I’ve explained the math many times to coworkers l, going so far as to math it out using actual tax rates. A large part of their argument is that it changes your tax bracket. I’m already just within the low end of my bracket. Overtime isn’t pushing me into another bracket."
– REDuxPANDAgain
Two Kings Of Pop
"That Michael Jackson was black. I had a mate who thought there were 2 Michael Jackson’s & he couldn’t understand how the one who sang Bad didn’t change his name so people didn’t get him mixed up with the other one."
– sgw79
A Helping Hand
"I'm a nurse. I had a patient who thought we help them give a semen sample by using our hands."\
– Missgrumpy00
"I work at a fertility clinic and the andrology lab staffers get asked for 'help' more often than you’d think 😡 sometimes guys think their 'jokes' are soooo funny. PSA everyone - don’t proposition the staff is a good rule almost anywhere you go."
– paulsclamchowder
Short-Circuit Upstairs
"First job was working help desk / pc support for a series of doctor offices. Had a call from a nurse that her computer was flickering and randomly turning off. I went out to the PC in question and found that they liked to store their open jugs of water on top of the computer. There was literally a puddle of water that actively dripping down into the case."
"So I had to explain to a college-educated adult how water and electricity didn't play well together."
– gidikh
A high school classmate asked me what I was doing for spring break, and I told him I was visiting my cousin in New Mexico as she was there for a student exchange program.
He then asked me, "What happened to Old Mexico?"
I had to gently break it to him that "Old" Mexico was a separate nation south of our border and that where I was going was a U.S. state.
Jonathan was a sweet guy, so I can't shame him for something he was genuinely confused about. He was a cutie, too. Just sayin'.
@NBCNews/X
@donny_rover1879/X
@RealCandaceO/X
@joekent16jan19/X
