Odd Questions - But True O/T

John B.

Well-known Member
What are some of the odd questions you have heard thru the years?

1. I had a young mechanic that had been to school for mechanics ask another mechanic this question; What side of the wire does the fuse protect?

2. My wife was at the bank the other week when it was so cold here in Illinois and the young lady at the bank and my wife were talking about the forecast. The young bank employee said: "Isn't it too cold to snow"?
 
I have been teaching for 42 years. From "which way do I plug in this 3 prong plug", to "how do I keep the rod from burning off, the gap just gets bigger and bigger"? It is a parade of the impossible and getting worse. Jim
 
When I was a Ford Service Manager, a customer asked if his power steering fluid was on the "Full Cold" mark when it was cold, why wasn't it on the "Full Hot" mark when it was hot.

I was too dumbfounded to even fabricate an answer.
 
I had a mechanical engineer girlfriend that asked me why the pressure did not keep building up in the faucet when you closed the valve. It amazed me that they did not cover that in her college. I am an electrical engineer and knew why.
 
I don't think they ever explained that in my ME classes either. Of course the pressure doesn't go any higher because the pressure switch cuts the pump off. Thats the EEs responsibility. I was the guy who would start arguments with professors telling them they didn't know what they were talking about. Its amazing they didn't kick me out...
 
Actually I too am now wondering why when full to the "full cold" mark would not be on the "full hot" mark when hot???? Was he asking the cold and hot meaning weather /climate cold and hot, not fluid cold or hot????
 
Don't ask me to explain it but it doesn't snow much when its cold, meaning near or below zero degrees.
But if it warms up into the high teens or twenties you're more likely to get measurable snow or a blizzard.
So yes it can be too cold to snow. One reason for super cold temps and no snow, especially at night, is because
there's no cloud cover to help hold in the heat from the sun. No clouds, no snow.
 
Had a college degreed industrial engineer stop me by the metal rack one day. In his broken English I finally understood, he was asking me to point out the difference between steel and aluminum!
 
Did you ever notice when you were in school there was always some one who had a very hi IQ. Really smart in some subjects but had no clue what common sense was or what Mr Spock used to say--That's not logical. We had a fellow one time was told to fill up the old diesel locomotive. Another fellow happened to look over there and told him to stop. He said why. Fellow said look underneath, Diesel full running every where. He was filling the sand box. Honest mistake but a good laugh. My nephew told me he thought he was losing anti freeze. I asked him if he checked the radiator. He said he had. Stopped by a few days later and asked him. He said it was full and showed me the anti-freeze reservoir. I said look at this. Took the radiator cap off. No antifreeze. Took over a gallon to fill it up. He had no idea. These younger people aren't being taught a lot of things like we were. we all have done or ask questions that were stupid at the time. Some one will always laugh about it but we will laugh with them.
 
Some time ago I got into a dispute with a degreed person that didn't understand that al-u-min-u-im is not attracted to a magnet.

He was unaware of that.
 
As an EE we were taught that everything electrical had a similarity with a water system.
 
I was going to say that, "To cold to snow" is a common expression in the northeast.
 
A fellow asked ne to do an impossible welding job and I explained that it could not be done and his question was,"How much would it cost if it could be done?"

I told him that I never tried to price impossible tasks

Another asked me how much some other shop would charge. I told him that my competitor was a strange SOB and did not like for me to price his jobs.
 
I was in a paint store the other day and asked for latex paint. The employee said they were out of latex, all they had was water based paint.
 
I think it can be too cold to snow, and Which-side-of-the-wire is actually a good, thoughtful question. That young person was carefully thinking, and should have got a good thoughtful explanatory answer. "No such thing as a dumb question."
 

2x common expression in Northeast. When you have cloud cover it can snow, but the clouds insulate the earth so there is less radiational cooling. With no clouds for the snow to fall out of it tends to get colder.
 
Ordering a coffee, no sugar, no cream.

"Sorry, we're all out of cream, how bout no milk?"

Ok - it's an old joke - but I had to prove there ARE such things as stupid questions. :)
 
Sometimes I ask what might be a dumb question to see if the other guy knows what HE'S talking about.
 
There is a difference, waterborne is not latex, nowadays it's often used for painting cars etc, at work we use it to paint dumpsters, it cleans up with water but a different animal than latex for sure
 
I am a ME also and I was always questioning the professors on different subjects. It really surprised me at how many PHD's do not know the actually application of what they are teaching.
 
We have a sign hanging in our shop:

"I can explain it to you, but I can not understand it for you."

Mom has one that says:

"I would love to stand here, and have a battle of wits with you, but you appear to be unarmed..."

Oh, and on the snow subject. It is a well known fact around here, that it is VERY rare to get snow below 15 degrees, and that is a push. Usually get snow around 25-30. Too cold to snow is very real.
 
(quoted from post at 06:10:47 02/04/16) Don't ask me to explain it but it doesn't snow much when its cold, meaning near or below zero degrees.
But if it warms up into the high teens or twenties you're more likely to get measurable snow or a blizzard.
So yes it can be too cold to snow. One reason for super cold temps and no snow, especially at night, is because
there's no cloud cover to help hold in the heat from the sun. No clouds, no snow.

Also, for water to turn to ice (snowflakes) it has to give up its heat, so that heat goes into the atmosphere and it warms up.
 
Yep, not so much this winter, but here in SD it is often too cold to snow. Air doesn't hold a lot of moisture at -20F. Unfortunately, it's never too cold to blow, and last weeks snow likes to drift into bad places so you still need to start the tractors when it's "too cold to snow".
 
My wife's good at that. I headed for the door one morning to go to a meeting. I said "I'm leaving,I've gotta be there at 11.". Without even having time to take a breath she said "What time does the meeting start?".
 
I am also wondering why the PS reservoir would not show full hot when the fluid was hot?

It can actually be too cold to snow because colder air is dryer air.
 
Nothing wrong with odd aka stupid questions.
Always told my employees and my sons;

"There is no such thing as a stupid question until you ask me the same question for the third time".

Asking a question about something one is not knowledgeable or educated on does not translate to being stupid.
Asking the same question a second time, well nobody remembers everything the first time they hear it.
Asking the same question a third time, well yes you may need advanced help and may have earned yourself a new title.

Easier and cheaper to answer stupid questions than it is to fix stupid mistakes.
 
(quoted from post at 08:29:55 02/04/16) I think it can be too cold to snow, and Which-side-of-the-wire is actually a good, thoughtful question. That young person was carefully thinking, and should have got a good thoughtful explanatory answer. "No such thing as a dumb question."
Pretty much agree with that last statement. I've asked my share of "dumb questions" regarding things I'm not familiar with. Like to my wife (a nurse) regarding medical stuff. Or even things mechanical or electrical (with which I have some familiarity with) but on a topic I've not encountered before.

So, I'm very patient with others (especially young people) in explaining things that seem obvious to some.

Also, I'm sure my 2 daughters (attorneys) have no knowledge on how water gets to the faucet or how electricity gets to an outlet. But they have enough money to pay those bills or to call an electrician or plumber if either of those things aren't working. If I were to ask them a question about it they would not hesitate to say " I don't need to know".
 
Easy enough to weld or glue some back on if you cut it too short, but whatever you do, don't cut it too long 'cause then there's not much you can do. Often said by my brother just to see how many people nod their heads w/out really listening to what he said.
 
At the Forest City show I run a small, home made, hand fed sawmill. We typically saw old cedar highline poles as the saw is everchanging and the dry cedar is more forgiving and it is available. Granted, not everyone knows lumber or even the bark of a tree. When you have a barkless, straight, perfectly round log on the carriage that looks like the same thing the light at the corner of your street is hanging on it gets tough to answer the same question repeatedly over the course of the day. Had one spectator that caught my attention because he was boisterous in the way he was describing the workings of the old mill to the bystanders. Upon his asking what type of wood we were sawing I replied "Electric Cedar". "Oh really! Where does that grow?" he asked. "typically along the township road"!
 
I rarely see heavy snows when the temperature is below 10F, just light dry fluffy snow that can be blown away with a leaf blower.

We all start life with zero knowledge and zero experience. When a person asks questions, even dumb questions, they are trying to learn more.
 
i now of a case when a young who farmed with his dad bought a new 4020 his dad had always had ih tractors had a new 966
dad was going to fuel up 4020 filled raditor with diesel took only a couple of quarts and had diesel fuel running everywhere
 
Well. I don't get the wire question, but it is absolutely true that it can be too cold to snow as you will see in the other comments. Smart girl at the bank, she listened to her father.
 
I was installing drywall at a brain surgeons house several years ago. I placed the T square against the drywall and promptly put my foot against the bottom so it would stay put while cutting. He saw me doing so and says 'so that's why I could not cut it square'! For one moment in time I was smarter than a brain surgeon!
 
(quoted from post at 20:37:10 02/03/16) What are some of the odd questions you have heard thru the years?

About 1965 I was working as a draftsman at a Hewlett-Packard plant and was in a lab setting with both electrical and mechanical engineers. One day a newly-hired mechanical engineer asked me the following question: 'How many threads per inch are there on a 4-40 screw?' I didn't laugh or fall off my stool but managed, with a straight face, to say 'I don't know, go ask the boss!' and this guy was an engineer???? :shock: The boss did NOT laugh! :lol:
 
i asked a person what were they making,,, they took water and boiled it, [added tea], put ice in it to cool it down, added sugar to sweeten it up, then added lemon to sour it,,
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another quick one,, even been on a non-stop flight to some where, and the person asks you where are you flying to? duh
 
(quoted from post at 00:55:14 02/05/16) another quick one,, even been on a non-stop flight to some where, and the person asks you where are you flying to? duh

One persons non stop could be another passengers connector.
 
(quoted from post at 03:55:14 02/05/16) another quick one,, even been on a non-stop flight to some where, and the person asks you where are you flying to? duh

Hopefully every flight you take ends up being non-stop!
 

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