History Main / AskAStupidQuestion

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8594674/2/Of-Eagle-and-Lion Of Eagle and Lion]] [=McGonagall=] takes Hermione and Harry to Diagon Alley.

* In an early issue of ''Franchise/SpiderMan''. Betty Brant, the Daily Bugle secretary, asks Peter Parker what his "trade secret" is concerning his photos of Spider-Man. Peter tells her [[SarcasticConfession he gets good pictures of Spider-Man because he secretly is Spider-Man]]. She responds with, "Oh well, ask a silly question..."

* ''Toys/Bionicle'': During a flashback to his Matoran days, Whenua is keeping watch over some large sea creatures that he and Mavrah are studying. Unlike most Rahi in the Archives, these particular ones aren't in stasis. While observing a Rahi with ice eyebeams, Whenua fails to notice another, larger Rahi's movements which suddenly shake the building, making Whenua fall into the holding tank. After Mavrah pulls him out:

'''Whenua:''' I decided I needed a bath. You think it was my choice to be Rahi bait? The earth tremors knocked me in.

... and {{ye|oldebutcheredeEnglishe}} shall receive [[JustForFun/GetAStupidAnswer a stupid answer]].

* Nigerian [=TikToker=] Charity Ekezie has made numerous videos providing [[DeadpanSnarker impressively sarcastic]] responses to some of the ridiculous questions she gets asked online. Wait, Africa is a ''continent''? No, of course not, it's a small country consisting of just 54 villages (where only the rich can afford to live in huts; everyone else just sleeps out in the jungle). Air conditioning? No, they don't have that, they get the elephants to flap their ears to provide a cool breeze. Internet? No, this video was posted online with [[AWizardDidIt literal magic]]. To hammer the point home, she typically films them while standing in front of the thing she's explaining they don't have.

Keep in mind, not ''every'' case of this trope is one where the asker is being stupid. In fact, many of these “stupid questions” are more of a case of verification rather than idiocy. Think of it like this: Say you’re supposed to meet up with someone named Bob (you’ve never met him before and don’t really know what he looks like) and then once you meet him you ask him if he’s Bob, even if he fits every description you do know about him. Really, no one’s gonna fault you for asking since you just wanted to be sure, and it would be awkward/embarrassing if you start talking to someone and it turns out he ''isn’t'' Bob. If Bob gives a sarcastic or snarky response like “No. I’m [[{{WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse}} Mickey Mouse!]]”, it really makes ''him'' look bad and potentially paints him as a JerkAss. For this reason, it's [[{{SincerityMode}} generally not a good idea to give a "Stupid Answer" to what you think is a "Stupid Question"]] in Real Life, since it's seen as incredibly rude rather than funny. [[note]]Unless you do it with friends, but even then its only if they accept it.[[/note]] And it might just get you into trouble, especially if done to an authority figure like a police officer or a teacher.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' episode "Operation: CAKED-THREE". Numbuh One was enthusiastic about Numbuh Two's plan to attack the Delightful Children by using a weapon that uses "a kajillion eggs" as ammunition, until...
-->'''Numbuh One:''' This is '''stupid!''' Why did you put the kajillion eggs in ''my'' room?!\\

* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/51129/1/Dying-Of-The-Light "Dying of the Light"]]: [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy]] contacts Giles when she discovers that head Watcher Quentin Travers has betrayed Sunnydale to the demons of the Hellmouth.

-->'''Oscar''': (''inside Lenny's mouth'') [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Don't. Swallow.]]\\

-->'''Mickey:''' If plant these beans in the light of a full moon, you know what'll happen?\\
'''Donald:''' Yes, ''we get more beans!''

** In the prequel book ''Recap/StartOfDarkness'', when Redcloak and the Monster in the Darkness meet for the first time:

** In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsShazam'', [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] is trying to stop the Brooklyn Bridge from falling when he sees ComicBook/MaryMarvel flying towards him. When he asks what she is doing there, Mary asnwers "Don't ask dumb questions, brother mine!"

Keep in mind, not ''every'' case of this trope is one where the asker is being stupid. In fact, many of these “stupid questions” are more of a case of verification rather than idiocy. Think of it like this: Say you’re supposed to meet up with someone named Bob (you’ve never met him before and don’t really know what he looks like) and then once you meet him you ask him if he’s Bob, even if he fits every description you do know about him. Really, no one’s gonna fault you for asking since you just wanted to be sure, and it would be awkward/embarrassing if you start talking to someone and it turns out he ''isn’t'' Bob. If Bob gives a sarcastic or snarky response like “No. I’m [[{{WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse}} Mickey Mouse!]]”, it really makes ''him'' look bad and potentially paints him as a JerkAss. For this reason, it's [[{{SincerityMode}} generally not a good idea to give a "Stupid Answer" to what you think is a "Stupid Question"]] in Real Life, since it's seen as incredibly rude rather than funny [[note]] Unless you do it with friends, but even then its only if they accept it [[/note]]. And it might just get you into trouble, especially if done to an authority figure like a police officer or a teacher.

* Most likely the earliest example: [[http://www.toonopedia.com/foolishq.htm Rube Goldberg's "Foolish Questions"]].

* In the ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2559155/3/The-Twists-and-Turns-of-Love The Twists and Turns of Love]]", when Kim and Ron are giving a press conference after the Diablos incident, after they confirm they're now dating Kim informs the attending press agents that she and Ron are off to prepare for a date so any further questions will be directed to Rufus. Naturally virtually nobody has any idea what to say to a naked mole rat at first, although someone eventually asks "What does synthodrone taste like?", to which Rufus just answers "Blech!"

* ''Film/RunFatBoyRun'': Dennis, the fat boy in question, is running a marathon. [[spoiler: After explicitly pointing out that Dennis is running on a broken ankle, the reporter then asks:]]

* In the Creator/AgathaChristie novel ''Literature/WhyDidntTheyAskEvans'', a boy comes across a scene with a wrecked car whose front-end is smashed into a stone wall with an injured woman hanging halfway out of the car. The boy asks, "Has there been an accident?" prompting another character to say, "No, the lady ran her car into the wall on purpose." [[spoiler: Though as a matter of fact, [[SarcasticConfession the lady did run her car into the wall on purpose.]] ]]

* A variation is used in the Music/TomLehrer song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6OaYPVueW4 New Math]], in which he tries to teach the audience how to solve 342-173... in base 8. While Lehrer treats the audience's hypothetical confusion over one of the steps as a case of this trope, the convoluted explanation is meant to illustrate how bizarre new math is.

** Done in [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2011-08-10 this strip]]. To be fair, [[SeenItAll given the crazy stuff]] the Toughs have seen up until that point, the question isn't ''that'' stupid, just a bit redundant. Namely, Bunni learns that an operation to illegally produce Blood Nannies was being sabotaged by a plant, and she feels the need to ask the possibly stupid question of whether the plant was a spy or flora.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', when Florence discovers a robot on a space station that isn't supposed to have any robot labour, and it explains that the humans don't know it's there, she asks if there are any other robots hiding on the station. The robot replies that it doesn't know, because that's how hiding works. [[spoiler: For the record, it turns out that, yes, there are other robots hiding on the station.]]

* ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'' has two examples: during the review of ''Clones of Bruce Lee'', a character mentions Creator/BruceLee and another character asks "The actor?". Spoony sarcastically responds, "No, the golfer." Later, during Spoony's review of ''Ripper'', a character mentions that technology similar to what the Ripper (a serial killer) is using was recently stolen from her. The main character asks, "And you think the Ripper did it?"

* In one [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Uncle Scrooge]] story, a Beagle Boy attempts to rob Scrooge's house and runs afoul of McDuck's BattleButler;

* In [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8831374/4/The-Power-of-the-Press The Power of the Press]]'' Hermione shakes Harry awake shortly after discovering some interesting information.

* It's really easy to miss, but in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Helen has just discovered her kids on board the plane. She asks, "Wait a minute, wait a minute. You left Jack-Jack ''alone?!''"

* ''Fanfic/ThisBites'': In Chapter 32, when Commander Drake asks if Vice Admiral Jonathan is alright after a meeting with Cross, Jonathan dryly reminds him that he is a [[OneManArmy Vice Admiral]] whereas [[GuileHero Cross]] is a member of a rookie crew and not a terribly strong member at that.

Keep in mind, not ''every'' case of this trope is one where the asker is being stupid. In fact, many of these “stupid questions” are more of a case of verification rather than idiocy. Think of it like this: Say you’re supposed to meet up with someone named Bob (you’ve never met him before and don’t really know what he looks like) and then once you meet him you ask him if he’s Bob, even if he fits every description you do know about him. Really, no one’s gonna fault you for asking since you just wanted to be sure, and it would be awkward/embarrassing if you start talking to someone and it turns out he ''isn’t'' Bob. If Bob responds with a sarcastic or snarky response like “No. I’m [[{{WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse}} Mickey Mouse!]]”, it really makes ''him'' look bad and potentially paints him as a JerkAss. For this reason, it's [[{{SincerityMode}} generally not a good idea to give a "Stupid Answer" to what you think is a "Stupid Question"]] in Real Life, since it's seen as incredibly rude rather than funny [[note]] Unless you do it with friends, but even then its only if they accept it [[/note]]. And it might just get you into trouble, especially if done to an authority figure like a police officer or a teacher.

Also, there are cases, more so in conversations, where the subject simply is not as obvious as the responder thinks it is. This is often because of AmbiguousSyntax, being ObliviousToHints, [[SarcasmBlind not getting sarcasm]], etc. Ultimately, whether the asker is foolish, the responder is being rude, both, or even neither is up to the work & the audience.

* In a case arc of ''Manga/TheKindaichiCaseFiles'', Saki does this when he, Kindaichi, and Miyuki encounter a patron wearing a face mask at meal time in a hotel where they stay.

* In the movie version of Dr. Seuss's ''WesternAnimation/HortonHearsAWho,'' Morton shows up to warn Horton about Kangaroo sending Vlad the eagle to snatch the clover, and the following exchange happens:

... and [[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe ye]] shall receive [[JustForFun/GetAStupidAnswer a stupid answer]].