Ask a Stupid Question: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:snappyanswer 4136.png|link=Mad Magazine|right]]

 

 

You know how obnoxious [[Captain Obvious]] can be. You just want to yell at them and say, "Any blind idiot can tell what's going on!" But then there are those [[Captain Obvious|Captains Obvious]] who can not only tell what is going on, but ask a stupid question ''just to verify.''

While examples on this page are of [[In-Universe]] instances of this type of exchange, this is certainly a staple of [[MS Ting]] by pointing out where people are being oblivious to their dialogue (or [[Parrot Exposition|being repetitive in them]]). For example: [[The Mummy Trilogy|"This is a map to Hammunaptra."]] "''The'' Hammunaptra?" "No, the one in Jersey."

 

 

Of course, if you decide to avert the inevitable sarcastic retort by ''not'' seeking explicit confirmation that your friend with the house full of boxes is actually moving, nine times out of ten it will turn out (after a generous helping of [[Poor Communication Kills]]) that he is just having the house fumigated.

 

An attempt to maneuver someone into asking a stupid question for the purpose of delivering a snappy answer is [[Henway|What's a Henway?]] When the stupid answer is, in fact, correct, it's [[Don't Be Ridiculous]].

 

== Comedy ==

* While the overall premise of [[Bill Engvall]]'s recurring "Here's Your Sign" routine is that stupid people should wear signs advertising the fact, his experiences in encountering people who qualify often take this form.

* ''[[Dragon Ball Abridged]]'' episode 14: Freeza and his thugs are attacking the Namekian village holding one of the planet's Dragon Balls.

{{quote|'''Namekian:''' What do you want from us? Why are you slaughtering our people?

'''Freezza:''' ''([[Beat]])'' Zarbon, [kill] two or three more. }}

 

'''Mr. Tweedy:''' Ooh, what kind of pies?

'''Mrs. Tweedy:''' Apple.

'''Mrs. Tweedy:''' ''Chicken'' pies, you great lummox! }}

 

::: Although in fairness to Green Lantern, [[Depending on the Writer|sometimes]] Superman will just shrug that off like it's nothing.

** A variant when Batman and GL are chasing a villain through a time tunnel:

'''Batman:''' [[Deadpan Snarker|Write him a ticket!]] }}

* In the ''Elefun and Friends'' short "A Tangled Tale", Elefun follows a kite string all the way to China, where he and his friends see a panda trying to launch herself across a river [[Tree Buchet|using a piece of bamboo]]. The bamboo gets stuck halfway, leaving her dangling and leading to this conversation:

{{quote|'''Elefun:''' Whatcha doing?

'''Pandarama:''' Who asked you? }}

* ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'', Beezy on Heloise's new machine:

* A [[Running Gag]] in ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' would be one of the characters falling, being attacked, thrown or mauled. Cue someone else asking uselessly:

{{quote|"Are you okay?"

"Sorry, standard question." }}

{{quote|'''Rainbow Dash:''' Pinkie Pie, you asleep yet?

'''Pinkie Pie:''' No. Are you asleep yet?

'''Rainbow Dash:''' When we get to Appleloosa, you think we'll have to carry that heavy tree all the way from the train to the orchard?

'''Pinkie Pie:''' What tree? You mean Bloomberg?

'''Pinkie Pie:''' [[Sarcasm Blind|Fluttershy's not a tree, silly]]. }}

* ''[[Animaniacs]]'', episode "Temporary Insanity". The Warners are fighting to answer the phone first, causing Mr. Plotz's office (and Mr. Plotz himself) to be wrapped in a telephone cord.