The dumbest question you've ever asked/heard

This actually seems to be a perfect example of a question or a statement that is harmless and not at all bad or dumb, but is made to look that way because of an unnecessarily snide response.

I hope somebody eventually gets up enough nerve to ask Burke if he ever gets tired of making sure everybody knows he's the smartest guy in the room.

 

It wasn't necessarily a stupid question, but Joe Paterno made me feel dumb asking it.

Me: Joe, Anthony Morelli threw an interception early, but bounced back in the second half. What does that say about his performance today?

Joe: Who?

Me: Anthony Morelli. He threw an interception, then played well the second half. What does that say about his performance today?

Joe: What? Who?

Me: Anthony Morelli. Your starting quarterback.

Joe: You need to take a speech class, I can't understand you. Morelli? (mutters something unintelligible.) He's a good kid.

And that's the quote I had to take back to another reporter I was running quotes for ...

 

Worst I've asked to a private school high school baseball coach:
Q: Coach, when is the state tournament?
A: We won state last week.

Worst I've heard:
Q: Did you guys expect to be 0-8?
the player nearly went off

 

Covered a baseball game once. It was a July 4 celebration and some people got together and played a game like it was 1890. They had bats, balls, gloves and iniforms the way it would have been back then. Even fans dressed up in old-fashioned outfits. I was there to write a feature piece.

I ask the pitcher for one of the teams for some comments and he says 'no problem' as if he's done this kind of thing before. Gave me some great quotes.

After the interview I ask for his name. He looks at me like I'm crazy. He then tells me and I immediately feel like a dumb ass. It was the city mayor. I guess that's why I'm in sports.

 

How do you connect to the wireless internet again? (for the sixth time).

At a game. By a reporter to another colleague, with his connect card popup open on his desktop.

 

This one prompted me to remember a story when I was a freshman in junior college. I was hanging around the office and they find out there is a fashion show with student models getting ready to happen on campus. I'm the only one around so they send me over to get a little story on it.
I go over and talk to one of the models. She said how great this is, her dress was designed by Mr. Blackwell, etc. .......
I ask, "What is his first name ...."

 

"What did you think of Dave Kingman's performance?"

 

I am ignorant to most pop culture for the most part, mind you:

When I was anchoring the morning sports one day, I walked into the "green" room and there was a guest in there, a taller, attractive mid-50s/later 40s black woman.
I just start to shoot the shit, being the nice, morning sports guy that I am. She kinda gives me the blow-off, like she was too good to talk to me.
Our feature reporter comes racing in and apologizes to the woman for being disturbed (I guess she had asked to be alone and I didn't get the memo) and some other woman that must have been with the lady, gives me the evil eye.
"Don't you know who that is?" my co-worker hisses to me.
"Uhhh, no."
"Iman."
"Huh?"
"You know David Bowie's wife!"
At this time, unknown to me, Iman and her PR person walk out of green room.
I ask, "And how does that make her important?"

Again, I had NO CLUE she was a famous model and she was hawking a new line of whatever it is chicks use with celebs names on it.
So yeah, dumbest rhetorical question I've ever asked in my life. I made sure to hide in the newsroom the rest of the show until they left.

 

Sirs, Madames,

To the media crew, who, like the asker, had been covering the world junior hockey tournament for a week and worked four of the Swedish team's games:

"Do you guys know who's the Sedins' centre?"

(It was a Canadian guy, so I've used the appropriate spelling.)

YHS, etc

 

TV dude sitting three right behind me:
"Coach Mora, what does this loss do for your playoff chances?"

 

I wouldn't have hidden. If anything, I'd still be asking for the proof that she was at all an important person.