It’s National Ask a Stupid Question Day

As Pee-Wee Herman helpfully reminds us, today is National Ask a Stupid Question Day. Thankfully, this isn’t a Hallmark holiday: Rather, the original idea behind Ask a Stupid Question Day is for students not to feel inhibited about asking ‘stupid’ questions in an educational setting — or, more broadly, in the world.

According to a Telegraph report last year, the tradition dates back to the ’80s in the US; the day falls on either the 28th of September or the last schoolday of the month. A few ‘stupid’ (but fun) questions asked by British schoolchildren in honor of the event, as answered by a question-answering texting service:

Q: How long would it take to roast a fully grown Indian elephant?
A: An Indian elephant, average weight 5000kg, would take 2916 hours and 40 minutes to roast to perfection (based on 35 minutes a kilogram). You would need an extremely large serving dish.

Q: How long would it take a snail to slide around the world?
A: 34,519 days at 0.7 miles a day or 0.03 miles per hour, the average speed for a garden snail.

Q: I want to write a film script which makes me millions: what should it be about?
A: Based on the top-grossing films, your script should be about a young wizard and a robot looking for a ring on a pirate ship which sinks. Good luck.

(via @peeweeherman)

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Robert Quigley