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Is the Answer to This Question "Yes"? (view source)

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{{trope}}
{{quote| ''"Does a bear poop in the woods?"''}}
 
This is when Bob [[Captain Obvious|asks an obvious question]], and Alice [[Deadpan Snarker|responds]] with a similar example meant to illustrate the obviousness of the answer to Bob's query. It's commonly [[Played for Laughs]] by having Alice respond with an example of something that isn't immediately obvious, or something that would be obvious to the character but not to the audience.
 
The standard form is "Is the sky blue?" Another commonly-parodied question is "Is the Pope Catholic?" There are several vulgar (but funny) versions. The kiddie version is "Does a bear poo in the woods?" (Adults use it too, but with stronger language, or mixing it up the previous for amusement) Bonus points if someone then points out a relevant exception to the obvious statement.
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{{examples}}
 
== [[Advertising]] ==
* A series of recent{{when}} Geico ads uses this.
{{quote| '''Spokesman:''' Could switching to Geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance?}}
** Does [[Looney Tunes|Elmer Fudd]] [[Elmuh Fudd Syndwome|have trouble]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pBM6qhMnsw with the letter R?]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F_G2zp-opg Did the little piggy cry "wee wee wee" all the way home?]
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== [[Comic Books]] ==
* In one ''[[Archie Comics]]'' story, Jughead asks Reggie if he likes money. Reggie replies, "Is there snow at the North Pole?"
* In the first [[Spider-Man]]-[[Superman]] [[Intercontinuity Crossover]], when Superman leaves the fight against Doctor Octopus to stop a tsunami, he asks Spiderman if he can handle things there. Spidey, snarky as ever, replies "Do [[Warner Bros.|Warner Brothers]] make films?"
 
== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[Ghostbusters]] 2'':
{{quote| '''Ray:''' You think there's a connection between this Vigo character and the... slime?<br />
'''Egon:''' Is the atomic weight of cobalt 58.9? }}
* ''[[Treasure Planet]]'':
{{quote| '''Mr. Arrow:''' We're about to get under way. Would you like to observe the launch, Doctor?<br />
'''Doctor Doppler:''' Would I? Does an active galactic nucleus have superluminal jets?<br />
''<nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Beat]]]''<br />
'''Doctor Doppler:''' ''[sheepishly]'' I'll follow you. }}
* In ''[[Free Willy]]'', the owner of the park asks Jesse if he can have Willy ready to perform? He replies, "Do dogs pee on brick walls?"
* In ''[[Cars]] 2'', Mater at one point asks "Is the Popemobile Catholic?" (We later see said Popemobile - riding in a Popemobile).
* Subverted in ''[[Guest House Paradiso]]'':
{{quote| '''Eddie:''' Is the Pope a catholic?<br />
'''Richie:''' Yes.<br />
'''Eddie:''' Is he? I never knew that. }}
* In ''[[The Flintstones (film)|The Flintstones]]'' film, Fred answers a question (affirmatively) with, "Is the world flat?"
** Yet the opening musical number has the drive-in film they're about to watch opening with a version of [[Universal Studio]]'s round earth.
* ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] 2: Secret of the Ooze'':
{{quote| '''Leo:''' You sure this will work?<br />
'''Mike:''' Is, like, Arnold Schwarzenegger hard to spell?<br />
''<nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Beat]]]''<br />
'''Mike:''' Yeah. }}
* ''From [[The Usual Suspects]]'':
{{quote| '''Agent Kujan:''' You know a dealer named Ruby Deamer?<br />
'''Verbal Kint:''' You know a religious guy named John Paul? }}
* In ''[[The Big Lebowski]]'', the two most common American versions of this are combined by The Dude to make [[Refuge in Audacity|"Does the Pope shit in the woods?"]]
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== [[Literature]] ==
* The ''[[Discworld]]'' [[Hold Your Hippogriffs]] versions are "Is the High Priest an Offlerian?" and "Does a swamp dragon explode in the woods?"
** Susan uses "Does a bear poo in the woods?" in ''[[Discworld/Thief of Time|Thief of Time]]'', with a footnote explaining that that's what teaching primary school does to you.
* The ''[[Foundation]]'' prequels used "Is the Emperor fat?"
* ''[[Nursery Crime|The Fourth Bear]]'' has "Do I shit in the woods?" (said by a bear, naturally).
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]''-''[[Sherlock Holmes]]'' crossover ''[[Virgin New Adventures|All-Consuming Fire]]'', Ace says, "Does the pope wear a funny hat?" Watson, who met the pope earlier in the story, replies, "Not the last time I saw him."
* In one of the ''[[Savannah Reid]]'' mysteries, Savannah asks her friend Dirk if he wants some ice cream. He begins with "[[Curse Cut Short|Do bears sh-]]" and Savannah cuts him off, explaining that there's a minor in the house.
 
== [[Live -Action TelevisionTV]] ==
* In one episode of ''[[Friends]]'', one of Ross' girlfriends (Cheryl) asks him whether he'd like to come in, and he replies, "Did ''Homo erectus'' hunt with wooden tools?"
** In another episode, Chandler is asked by a collegue whether he wants a cigarette. He responds: "Would [[Big Eater|Joey]] like two pizzas?" She doesn't get it, since she never met Joey.
* In ''[[Scrubs]]'', JD answers a question with this:
{{quote| '''JD:''' Do chickens wish they could fly?<br />
'''Kevin Casey:''' I don't know.<br />
'''JD:''' Oh, I like to think that they do. }}
* [[The Malaproper|Kelly]] in ''[[Married... with Children]]'' mixes up the two most frequent examples, saying: "Is a bear Catholic?"
* In the ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' episode ''Emohawk'', when Starbug is on fire and Lister spots a planet with an ocean:
{{quote| '''Lister:''' Can you get us there?<br />
'''Cat:''' Does mouse shit roll? }}
* In ''[[Will and Grace]]'': "Does a gay bear have anonymous sex in the woods?"
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* In ''[[The Suite Life of Zack and Cody]]'', in one episode, a teacher asks Cody if he's a bird watcher too. Cody responds with something like, "Do hummingbirds consume their own body weight in nectar every x number of hours?"
* ''[[The Vicar of Dibley]]'' has a scene where Jim reveals that he's written to the Pope and asked him to make Geraldine a saint.
{{quote| '''Geraldine''': The only problem is the Catholic issue.<br />
'''Jim''': [[Sincerity Mode|Is the Pope Catholic?]]<br />
'''Geraldine''': ...Yes, that's the problem. And I'm not.<br />
'''Jim''': ''You're not''?<br />
'''Geraldine''': No, Jim, none of us are!<br />
'''Hugo''': We're Church of England, Jim.<br />
'''Jim''': Since when?<br />
'''Geraldine''': Since 1534.<br />
'''Jim''': Well, you learn something new everyday. }}
* Played with in one episode of ''[[Welcome Back, Kotter]]'', when in response to a question Barbarino responds
{{quote|Is a bear Catholic? Does the Pope live in the woods?}}
* Similarly, one sit com broadcast shortly after John Paul II became Pope threw out this one?
{{quote|Is the Pope Polish?}}
:Because of its unexpectedness ''and'' relevance to then-current events, the audience ''exploded'' in laughter.
 
== [[Music]] ==
* ''Carter USM'', "Is Wrestling Fixed?"
{{quote| ''Am I un-H-A-P-P-Y? Does a newborn baby cry?<br />
Did Elvis really die? Did Little Red Riding wear a hood? Did the Three Bears shit in the wood?<br />
Is Humpty Dumpty fat? Does the Pope wear funny hats?<br />
Is wrestling fixed?'' }}
* A classic subversion: Thomas Dolby's song "Airhead" from the album ''Aliens Ate My Buick'' has this lyric:
{{quote| "You ask me if I love you/Does the pope live in the woods?"}}
* The Cole Porter song "Do I Love You?"
* The [[Rowan Atkinson]] - [[Kate Bush]] song "Do Bears...?" has a chorus that is made up entirely of these, although as the song progresses it starts to include questions like "Is the Bible fiction? Is 'true love' a contradiction?"
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* In ''[[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]]'', CJ has a tendancy to reply to Cesar Vialpando with, "Does the Pope shit in the woods?" whenever Cesar asks him if he was interested in making money by car racing. Confusion ensues.
{{quote| '''Cesar:''' Why you keep asking me that, holmes? I told you, I dunno. Where his Holiness does his business, ''is'' his business.}}
* The answer to "Is the Pope Catholic?" occasionally gets subverted in ''[[Europa Universalis]]''' [[After Action Report|After Action Reports]]s. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
 
== [[Web Animation]] ==
* In a rare example of "Is the answer to this question '''no'''?" comes this exchange from the ''[[Homestar Runner]]'' short "part-time job":
{{quote| '''Strong Bad:''' Uhh... say, Bubs. I'm gonna need now off. Is that cool?<br />
'''Bubs:''' Is [[Butt Monkey|Strong Sad]] cool? }}
 
== [[Web Original]] ==
* Episode 8 of the first volume of ''[[RWBY]]'' has this exchange when Weiss is holding Ruby -- the missile in an immense improvised slingshot aimed at a monstrous Grimm -- in place with one of her glyphs.
{{quote|'''Ruby:''' Think you can make the shot?
'''Weiss:''' (smiling smugly) Hmph. Can I!
'''Ruby:''' (turns to her, confused) Can y--
'''Weiss:''' (offended) Of course I can!}}
 
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Can't recall the details, but there was an episode of ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' where Professor Frink used an obscure one, and the entire family turned blankly to Lisa, who told them yes, it was.
** "Is Bismarck the capital of North Dakota?"
** Another example is from the episode "Husbands and Knives", in which Bart is so impressed that Springfield's new comic book store owner (voiced by [[Jack Black]]) actually cared about his opinion that he asked if the guy was serious; he answers, "Does [[Galactus]] eat planets?"
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** And Cartman's version: "Is the Pope Catholic? And making the world safe for child molesters?"
* In ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'':
{{quote| '''Candace:''' Rubber ducks? Are you serious?<br />
'''Captain Kidd:''' Does a penguin fly?<br />
'''Candace:''' No.<br />
''<nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Beat]]]''<br />
'''Captain Kidd:''' I'm tired of this conversation. }}
 
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Dialogue]]
[[Category:IsThis theIndex AnswerAsked toYou Thisa Question Yes]]
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