Question #48

What do you do when unexpectedly, your pet octopus starts having babies?

(That wasn't technically a Hmm Question, but I bet it did make you go Hmm. Seriously though, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to come up with more Hmm Questions in the next few days because that DID happen to us. We woke up this morning to find many live baby octopuses in our tank and I've a feeling we've got our tentacles... hands full)

Question #47

Since our eyes invert the images coming through our retinas, does that mean what's up is really down?

Question #46

Why is it some people take clarification as a cue that you can't be bothered, when all it means is you need clarification?

As in, "Did you mean this binder?" "Oh gimme that! I'll do it."

Question #45

Who is the most underrated actor in today's world?

My bet is on Johnny Depp.

Question #44

Why do they call it the birds and the bees when interspecies mating is impossible?

Question #43

Why do people who go on vacation, often forget that there is civilization at the destination?

(I've often traveled with people who have to bring EVERYTHING but the kitchen sink - it's not the end of the world if you forget the toothpaste, there ARE stores that carry toothpaste unless you're going to an ice station in Antartica and even there, I'm sure you could find some).

Question #42

This question was asked during a live Q&A with Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post:

How many corners can we turn around in Iraq before we realize we're running in circles?

Question #41

If the Jewish tradition is about hierarchies, why are there so many examples in Jewish/Christian lore about the younger son usurping the elder's role?

(Moses and Aaron, Cain and Abel, Joseph and his twelve brothers - he wasn't the youngest; just the second to the youngest Benjamin, Esau and Jacob)

Question #40

If it's all in your head, do you cut your head open to get it out?

Question #39

Submitted by Bratworse:

If you don't believe in yourself, do you exist?

Question #38

Will anyone notice that I skipped question #35?

Question #37

A corollary to question #36 is:

If you have 15 objects on your bed, why is it that the ONE thing you need for that meeting in the next hour, is the one that falls behind the bed?

Question #36

If you have 6 remote controls, why is it that the one you need is always the 6th one?

Question #34

Why is it, whenever someone says "I don't whine!", it's inevitably in a whiny voice?

Question #33

Are humans the only beings that have a gag reflex? I mean, dogs will eat their own throw-up and yet, we gag at the sight of baby spew. (Yes, I was around a 4-month old baby this weekend and watched all sorts of adults get grossed out at the baby spew).

Question #32

Submitted by my other half, Bratworse:

If the grass is always greener on the other side, which side are you on?

Question #31

This is in honor of a pal of mine:

If fishing was so easy and you caught fish all the time, wouldn't it be called catching instead of fishing?

Question #30 - submitted by Raen in the comments

If fish oil is made from fish, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then why isn't baby oil made from babies?

Question #29

How DO the metering lights help traffic?

Question #28

If people get cryogenically preserved, when they thaw out, will they suffer from freezer burn?

Question #27

Why do you usually need a vacation to recover from your vacation?

Question #26

What is the difference between hair, fur, and mane?

Question #25

It has been proven scientifically that 9 out of 10 people won't drink water that they themselves spat into. Why? It's your own saliva.

Question #24

If the Bible was literally true and not figuratively true, like some fundamentalist Christians believe, then who did Cain and Abel marry? (For those not up on Biblical/Jewish lore, Cain and Abel are Adam and Eve's first sons. They married, begat kids, then one killed the other over God's "favor")

Question #23

Because color has a perceived property (it has no dimensions to speak of so to describe the color "yellow" you'd have to use subjective values), if I got your eyes, could my "yellow" be your "red"?

Question #22

If we had been born with five fingers and a thumb, would our counting system be based on 12 instead of 10 then?

Question #21

How do manufacturers of pet food know which flavors are which? In the same vein, how do pet owners know that the "salmon" cat food actually tastes like salmon? And lastly, if somehow, you as a pet owner decide that it doesn't taste like "salmon", how would you go about proving it?

Question #20

If even the Vice President of the U.S.A. could say go F**k yourself on the floor of the senate, if Justice Antonin Scalia could make an obscene gesture on the steps of a cathedral, why oh why can't people say "fuck" on TV?

Question #19

Are there seeing eye dogs for aging seeing eye dogs who've lost their sight?

Question #18

Since Mexico and Canada are part of North America, and there's Central America and South America, why are Americans called Americans then?

The correlating question is:

Since Mexico is officially the United States of Mexico, how did U.S. of A. become shortened to U.S.? (Since both countries have the same starting initials).

Question #17

If having absolutely symmetrical features make a face seem fake, why do humans try to force nature into symmetry? (as in gardens - think hedges).

Question #16

If you die of boredom from listening to someone, will the person be charged with murder?

Question #15

If people are actually interested in kids learning, why are textbooks so boring?

Question #14

When you train a toddler to use the toilet, we call it potty trained. When you train a puppy, shouldn't we be calling it outside trained instead of house trained?

Question #13

When men participate in internet sex, do men fake orgasms then?

Question #12

If you are double-jointed, does that mean you have to be x-rayed twice?

Question #11

If humans are 70% water, then where do women get the extra water from, once a month?

Question #10

If war is needed to end war (and obviously that paradigm isn't working), shouldn't we try peace to end peace?

Question #9

If a bird was watching you through a window, and you make an omelette, do you apologize?*

*tribute to Steven Wright

Question #8

If I'm 40+ years old and I get carded for buying alcohol, shouldn't I get a discount for age-defying looks? Geeze, it should account for something!

Question #7

If you marry someone your kids' age, at dinner gatherings, does your spouse have to sit at the kids' table?

Question #6

If a bunch of other media uses comic books as a launchpad for ideas (V for Vendetta was based on a comic book; Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles;) why are comic books still generally thought of as kids' fare?

Question #5

If you poke a hole into the one end of the poop that is floating, would you smell poop or a fart?

Question #4

If the Senate and the House of Congress vote every year to give themselves raises, and they don't want to raise minimum wage, do they see Grinches in the mirror when they look at themselves?

Question #3

If we are going to require that foreigners speak English, shouldn't we first require that our president speaks it?

Ref: "Decider"

Raen's Question

Just got an IM from Raen, who commented on the last question. Her query is:

Question #2: If 50% of our oil comes from the middle east, and 50% of it comes from Alaska, and another 25% of it comes from the gulf - according to two different articles in Newsweek... then where the F**K does that extra 25% go and if it's surplus, why are we paying so much?

Welcome!

Welcome to Question that Make You go Hmmm.

I hope to post one of those types of questions every day. Feel free to answer them or pose questions of your own.

Question #1: If you were the last American on Earth, would you have to pay off the National Debt?