20 stupid questions asked by tourists

[Finn]

This reminds me of a story. Not a dumb tourist question, but a dumb remark. It goes like this. Years ago, a plane went over that big meteor crater in Arizona (about a mile wide if I remember right). A lady remarked that if the meteor was a bit to to the right, it would have hit the road.

 

[RoJoHen]

This reminds me of a story. Not a dumb tourist question, but a dumb remark. It goes like this. Years ago, a plane went over that big meteor crater in Arizona (about a mile wide if I remember right). A lady remarked that if the meteor was a bit to to the right, it would have hit the road.

It amazes me how dumb people can be sometimes.

I bet a few minutes after she said that she had an "Oh!" moment and realized what a stupid comment it was.

 

[John Picard]

This reminds me of a story. Not a dumb tourist question, but a dumb remark. It goes like this. Years ago, a plane went over that big meteor crater in Arizona (about a mile wide if I remember right). A lady remarked that if the meteor was a bit to to the right, it would have hit the road.

It amazes me how dumb people can be sometimes.

I bet a few minutes after she said that she had an "Oh!" moment and realized what a stupid comment it was.

Doubtful. Many people are permanently clueless.

 

[Trekker4747]

Someone who was lost once stopped and asked me for directions to some location.

I started by telling them, "Go east 3 blocks..."

They then asked me which way east was.

It was a clear day.

It was sunny.

It was after noon.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

And there was one place I visited - I can't remember if it was Boston, or somewhere else - where you have to swipe your ticket to get out of the subway. I'd never seen that before.

They also do that in the D.C. Metro, and in London.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

Someone who was lost once stopped and asked me for directions to some location.

I started by telling them, "Go east 3 blocks..."

They then asked me which way east was.

It was a clear day.

It was sunny.

It was after noon.

Well dude in that person's defense, i am equally bad in taking cardinal directions like that. Some people just are. Tell us left or right, and we'll be fine.

 

[Trekker4747]

Sun rises in the East and sets in West.

My 5 year old niece has known that since she was 3.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

I know that. Some people are just bad at those type of directions, is all i'm saying.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

This reminds me of a story. Not a dumb tourist question, but a dumb remark. It goes like this. Years ago, a plane went over that big meteor crater in Arizona (about a mile wide if I remember right). A lady remarked that if the meteor was a bit to to the right, it would have hit the road.

To quote Bill Engvall
"Here's your Sign!"

 

[Aragorn]

DO... YOU... SPEAK... ENGLISH!?!?!?!?

 

[Captain Ice]

Everyone has an accent, dear. I have quite the California accent, for example.

^ As do I.

It's been a while, but every once in a while I'll say something to a complete stranger and they'll ask if I'm from California.

 

[clint g]

While not a question, I have seen more than my fare share of tourists stumped in regards to how to ride the subway. Thats always confused me since its really simple. Put money in vending machine. Pull out metrocard. Swipe card. Done.

Not every city uses that system, though. Here in Toronto, you buy tokens or a pass from either a machine or the collector in the booth. If you're using tokens, you deposit one in the fare box or in a slot in the turnstile, and just go through. If you have a pass, you show it to the collector or swipe it in the turnstile.

I know

The first time I rode the MARTA in Atlanta, I had no idea where to get a ticket or how to use it. And once I'd bought a ticket, I had no idea that you were supposed to tap it against the top of the turnstile. I was looking for a slot to swipe it through. And the idea of "refilling" a ticket you'd already used was completely foreign to me.

Its sort of hard not to figure it out. There are well labled vending machines and usually a line of people behind them

And there was one place I visited - I can't remember if it was Boston, or somewhere else - where you have to swipe your ticket to get out of the subway. I'd never seen that before.

DC perhaps? Over there they use a system that charges you based on where you entered and how far you traveled

 

[John Picard]

And there was one place I visited - I can't remember if it was Boston, or somewhere else - where you have to swipe your ticket to get out of the subway. I'd never seen that before.

DC perhaps? Over there they use a system that charges you based on where you entered and how far you traveled

The BART in California was like that when I lived there in the late-80's. Buy a ticket and then have the ticket processed once your destination is reached. I used to load up a ticket with $10 in fare and could use it for a week's worth of travel.

 

[Kirby]

My Grandparents, who never travelled outside of the southeast corner of the US, thought that everyone in Colorado lived on mountains and that cows freely walked around everywhere.

 

[ambessalion]

Sun rises in the East and sets in West.

My 5 year old niece has known that since she was 3.

if i'm driving some place idk and i need to figure out directions during the day...that's my ticket...because i use my brain...

a lot of people don't (especially in hillbilly central where i live)

a lady once asked me how much $5 Phone Card costs
[i used to be a cashier at a convenience store...]

 

[Canadave]

While not a question, I have seen more than my fare share of tourists stumped in regards to how to ride the subway. Thats always confused me since its really simple. Put money in vending machine. Pull out metrocard. Swipe card. Done.

Not every city uses that system, though. Here in Toronto, you buy tokens or a pass from either a machine or the collector in the booth. If you're using tokens, you deposit one in the fare box or in a slot in the turnstile, and just go through. If you have a pass, you show it to the collector or swipe it in the turnstile.

I know

The first time I rode the MARTA in Atlanta, I had no idea where to get a ticket or how to use it. And once I'd bought a ticket, I had no idea that you were supposed to tap it against the top of the turnstile. I was looking for a slot to swipe it through. And the idea of "refilling" a ticket you'd already used was completely foreign to me.

Its sort of hard not to figure it out. There are well labled vending machines and usually a line of people behind them

I don't know. Public transit is something that you kind of get locked into a routine for. For example, in Ottawa when I board the bus, I put my tickets in the machine and always, always take a transfer, because it functions as my proof-of-payment (I don't want a fine) and because it's good to reboard any bus for an hour and a half after picking it up.

But then I was in Guelph, Ontario once, and took the bus. I put my ticket in the machine, like I do in Ottawa, and then stood there waiting for a transfer to print. The driver asked if I was transferring buses and I said "Er, no?" and continued to wait for a transfer before he explained I didn't need one. Something as simple as boarding the bus became more complicated, simply because I was used to the routine in another city.

The same thing happens to me when I go on a subway I'm not used to. There's always some disorientation, no matter how simple it is, if you're used to something else.

 

[Trekker4747]

My best friend lived in Zanesville, Ohio for a time. In Zanesville they have a "Y-Bridge" (the bridge has one entry on one side, two on the other.)

He worked at an Ambulance station on the "one" terminus side of the bridge and said he'd ocassionaly get asked by tourists how to get to a location on the otherside of the bridge and would answer, "drive to the middle of the bridge and turn left" and then get less-than couth responses from the lost driver.

Granted, not a "stupid question from a tourist" as a Y-Bridge is a rare and even foreign concept to great many people, but it's a story that makes me chuckle.

 

[John Picard]

My best friend lived in Zanesville, Ohio for a time. In Zanesville they have a "Y-Bridge" (the bridge has one entry on one side, two on the other.)

He worked at an Ambulance station on the "one" terminus side of the bridge and said he'd ocassionaly get asked by tourists how to get to a location on the otherside of the bridge and would answer, "drive to the middle of the bridge and turn left" and then get less-than couth responses from the lost driver.

Granted, not a "stupid question from a tourist" as a Y-Bridge is a rare and even foreign concept to great many people, but it's a story that makes me chuckle.

Wow. That is a funny story

 

[Crusher Disciple]

.
"Are there a lot of cactus and tumble-weeds there?" Why, yes. The swamp is known for that sort of thing.
"Do the cattle still stop the traffic?" Um...not if they carpool.

It's the 4th largest city in the United States, not the back-lot set to "Gunsmoke." It's a big, ugly, smog-filled, concrete swamp, consisting of office buildings, strip malls and toll roads.

I really miss that swamp sometimes.

I love it when people find out I live in Texas and they assume I'm a Bush loving, ultra religious, Conservative Bible thumper.

I just tell them that no, I live in Austin. The one cool blue oasis in the middle of the state. But we're gaining on the red.

 

[Franklin]

I lived in St. Louis for a few years. You'd be surprised how many people ask if there's a restaurant at the top of the Gateway Arch.

Here in the DC area, you could write a book on the stupid things tourists ask. Like others have said, they can be right beside a monument, and ask where it is.

A kid asked his dad who that statue in front of the west lawn of the Capitol is. He told him it was Robert E. Lee. (It's U.S. Grant.)

If you hang out in front of the Capitol long enough, you'll eventually hear someone ask someone else if that's the President's house.

There are two mulligans I'll give foreign tourists to DC. First, some are struck by how the city has no skyscrapers. None at all. And they ask, "Where are the tall buildings?" (There's no reason they should know no building can be taller than 287 feet, the size of the Capitol.)
Second, some honestly don't believe they are seeing the White House because it seems so small compared to palaces in Europe. My family was once part of a small group given a private tour of the White House, and our host told us it's common for European tourists to be disappointed in their visit to the White House because it is so "small." They are truly unimpressed.