Everyone jokes about not liking small talk and how ridiculous it is to talk about the weather, sports, and the traffic all the time.
But compared to the most uncomfortable questions someone might ask, those dull topics might be the way to go.
Redditor Dr_Cloying asked:
"What's the most uncomfortable question you've ever been asked?"
Almost Arrested
"Have you been dancing with my wife?"
"From an angry cop as his wife and I exited a country bar where we had danced for hours."
"Note: I met her there and she told me she was single."
- PantsDownDontShoot
Truthful Kids
"A small child crawled under the stall I was using and immediately asked me why I didn’t have hair down there."
- mahhhhhh
Lose-Lose Question
"'Am I fat?' from a random middle-aged woman I’ve never met before while I was at work."
"She completely caught me off guard."
- xanhadd
Jokes on Demand
"Can you tell me a joke?"
"My friend passed away in his early 20s and I was at his wake when his mom said she remembers hearing that I'm funny (I'm not) and asked me that question."
- Ok-Resolution-9625
Spectrum Radar
"My brother was asked by a girl on a first date if he had Autism."
"As it turns out, he did, but it was undiagnosed up to that point."
- PrometheusHasFallen
Adoption Costs
"'How much did you cost?' I’m adopted."
- RambleJar
"My sweet 10-year-old boy just came back from summer camp. He told me one of the boys in his cabin was a foster child and didn't have a family."
"He asked, 'Can we buy him?'"
"I gently explained that the correct term was 'adopt,' lol (laughing out loud)."
- yourmomprobably
The Most Important Question
"Some weeks ago, my mum asked me, 'Are you happy?'"
"That question hit me deeper than anything else."
- BuDDah77
Disability Awareness
"'What did you do to yourself?'"
"I was a kid with leg braces and a physical disability I was born with."
"I always replied with, 'I was born…'"
- Famous-Tumbleweed-98
Child Loss
"At the start of the pandemic, my hospital asked all pregnant staff to go home and shield. I was very early in the pregnancy and had had two previous miscarriages that no one at work knew about."
"Everyone found out why I was shielding, because what other reason did a doctor have to not work during the pandemic?"
"I ultimately had another miscarriage and came back a few months later."
"A male colleague I was friendly with said, 'It's so good to see you back, what did you have?' (Assuming I had the baby.)"
"I said, 'A miscarriage.'"
"(He literally stopped in his tracks, apologized a ton, and was extra gentle around me for a few weeks. I've got an amazing two-year-old now and am due with my second any day. )"
- DrBasia
Apparel Reveal
"Because of the size of my chest, people automatically think it's acceptable to ask what bra size I am/how big are they."
- SaraSmashley
Inappropriate Dates
"I got asked for my number by an overbearing sales canvas guy in town. He was way older than me and I was only 16. Ugh."
- c0mpromised
Invasive Questions
"I'm a disabled veteran and when some people learn that they say, 'Really, what's your disability?' which I find to be an invasive and highly personal question."
- Backsight-Foreskin
Digging Up the Past
"Because I have military tattoos and Dog tags and a tattoo of a rifle driven into the ground on my arm, it is clear I served overseas."
"I get asked by strangers all the time, 'Did you ever kill anyone, did you have any friends die, did any friends die in your arms, did you see anyone die, what is the worst thing you saw?'"
"I get that people are curious but holy f**k, who asks questions like that."
- Irondaddy_29
Dating Scene
"On the third night that my wife was in the hospital for blood clots, a nurse asked me, 'If she passes away, how long before you start dating again?'"
"WHAT?!"
"I told her that, 'Should she die, YOU are the first person I'll have investigated.'"
"I never saw that RN again the rest of my wife's stay in the hospital."
- GeneOTheGreen
In Need of a Filter
"I have a stepdaughter. She’s fair-skinned and has red hair. A clerk at a store asked me two days ago where she got her light skin, saying I’m much darker."
"That might not have been the MOST uncomfortable question I’ve been asked, but it’s a recent example of an uncomfortable question."
- Dovleti
These were undeniably unreasonable questions for someone to ask another person, especially if that is a person they do not know well.
As boring as it might be, sometimes it's best to stick with talking about the weather.