Have you ever heard a question that often makes you wonder where it came from or what the answer could be? There are several reasons; asking such questions can either be for fun, leave people wondering, or perhaps, the person asking the question doesn’t know how better to put it into context.
Looking beyond formalities and focusing on the fun reasons, if you are hanging out with friends and are looking for things to do or games to play, these questions provide a fun way to kill time and workout your brain. As they say, “the more you use your brain, the more it gets sharp.” So, if you are looking for some confusing questions and how to answer them, well, your quest cannot be farfetched. Keep reading!
Are There Really Such Things As Confusing Questions?
Some questions are intentionally directed at someone to manipulate their mind, and these questions can be termed Confusing Questions. While asking such questions, it is pertinent to know that no one may actually know their answers; otherwise, you will get skewed results. However, people who think they are clever may attempt and sometimes provide clever answers to such questions.
Confusing questions can surface anywhere, and at any time, be it an interview or business meetings, or in any form of gathering. When you ask such questions to the wrong audience, it is good to remember that they will end up confused, and you might not get any answer from them because they will keep trying to understand the question before they can answer. While those who didn’t give it a deep thought might answer the questions wrongly, those who are clever might cleverly attempt the question. That being said, we have made a list of 60 really confusing questions you can ask to leave everyone wondering.
Most Confusing Questions That Make You Think
1. Would you call it a hostage situation when someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself?
2. If an ambulance runs someone over on its way to save someone else, should it stop to help them?
3. They say money doesn’t grow on trees, but why then do banks have branches?
4. Is it legal to travel down a road in reverse, as long as you follow the traffic direction?
5. Why do they call the little candy bars “fun sizes”. Wouldn’t it be more fun to eat a big one?
6. If the 7-11 stores are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why do they have locks on the door?
7. Do you think the textbook is good for high-school students and university students?
8. Why do people point to their wrist when they need to ask for the time but don’t point to their crotch when asking where the bathroom is?
9. Do you think the United States education system needs improvement?
10. Why is it that rain drops but snow falls?
11. Is it still illegal to park next to a fire hydrant, even if your car is on fire?
12. Do Siamese twins pay for one ticket or two tickets when they go to movies and concerts?
13. If a doctor suddenly had a heart attack while doing surgery, would the other doctors work on the doctor or the patient?
14. Do bald chefs have to wear a hairnet if they are working in a restaurant?
15. When Atheists go to court, do they have to swear on the bible?
16. Why is it that when someone tells you that there are over a billion stars in the universe, you believe them, but if they tell you there is wet paint somewhere, you have to touch it to make sure?
16. If vampires can’t see their reflections, why is their hair always so neat?
17. Is it possible to brush your teeth without wobbling your bottom?
18. If you turn your headlights on while driving at the speed of light, what happens?
19. Will the weather ever stop being partly cloudy and start being partly sunny?
20. Why don’t you ever see the headline Psychic Wins Lottery?
Confusing Questions That Make No Sense
21. If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?
22. Why are cigarettes sold at gas stations where smoking is prohibited?
23. Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?
24. If a mime is arrested, do they tell him he has a right to talk?
25. What is the use of the setting on toasters that always burns the toast to a horrible crisp no one would eat?
26. Why do you need a driver’s license to buy alcohol when you can’t drink and drive?
27. Why is it that when we “skate on thin ice”, we can “get in hot water”?
28. Do you use mobile devices to watch videos online?
29. If a baby’s leg pops out at 11:59 PM, but his head doesn’t come out until 12:01, which day was he born?
30. What hair color do they put on the driver’s license of a bald man?
Mind-Blowing Questions That Will Leave You Confused
31. How do you know you are not crazy and just hallucinating your whole life?
32. Why is it that when you transport something by car, it is called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship, it’s called cargo?
33. If ghosts can walk through walls and glide down stairs, why don’t they fall through the floor?
34. If you replace all of a ship’s parts until none of the original parts are intact anymore, is it the same ship or a completely different ship?
35. Can a short person “talk down” to a taller person?
36. If pro and con are opposites, wouldn’t the opposite of progress be congress?
37. How can something be “new” and “improved”? If it’s new, what was it improving on?
38. When you get to heaven, do you look as you do at the age that you die?
39. In the song, Yankee Doodle, is he calling the horse or the feather “macaroni”?
40. Why are some buildings called apartments when they are all stuck together?
41. If milk goes bad if not refrigerated, why does it not go bad inside the cow?
42. Why is vanilla ice cream white when vanilla extract is brown?
43. If man evolved from monkeys, how come we still have monkeys?
44. If a kid refuses to sleep during nap time, are they guilty of resisting a rest?
45. You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don’t they make the whole plane out of it?
46. If a firefighter fights fire while a crime fighter fights crime, what does a freedom fighter fight?
47. Why is it that anyone driving faster than you is considered an idiot, and anyone going slower than you is a moron?
48. Why is it called Alcoholics Anonymous when the first thing you do is stand up and say, ‘My name is Bob, and I am an alcoholic’?
49. If you throw a cat out of the car window, does it become kitty litter?
50. If you enjoy wasting time, is that time really wasted?
Confusing Questions To Ask Your Friends
51. Since bread is square, then why do they always make the sandwich meat round?
52. Why is it that when you’re driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio?
53. Do they have the word “dictionary” in the dictionary?
54. If anything is possible, is it possible for anything to be impossible?
55. Why is it that the third hand on a watch is called the second hand?
56. How do you handcuff a one-armed man?
57. Why does mineral water that ‘has trickled through mountains for centuries’ have a ‘use by’ date?
58. Why does grape flavor smell the way it is when actual grapes don’t taste or smell anything like it?
60. Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?
How Do You Avoid Asking Confusing Questions In Formal Settings?
If you ask questions or carry out a survey, an interview, or research, there are a set of factors that could lead your respondents to become biased. However, to avoid such a scenario, you must consider how you construct your questions because sometimes, you may know what you are expecting from a question. Still, if not well presented, it will lead the respondent to answer incorrectly or become confused.
A well-articulated question will always get the right answer and contribute a great deal to whoever asks the question. Be it a survey, interview, gathering, or other events, avoid putting your audience or respondents in an awkward position, thereby leaving them confused with misleading questions. That said, below are a few tips to keep in mind to avoid asking people different kinds of confusing questions.
1. Use Precise and Simple Language: when asking questions, using simple language is key such that even a child can understand the question. Avoid using jargon, obscure terms, and company acronyms because using them will lead to misleading answers and leave respondents confused. The bottom line is to avoid complex questions and try to speak your audience’s language, bearing in mind that respondents come from diverse backgrounds.
2. Don’t Ask Leading Questions: One of the costliest mistakes one can make will be to ask leading or hypothetical questions. Such questions always have a way of swaying the respondent to one side of the argument, and the best way to figure out such a question is if it includes non-neutral wording. For instance: How short was Thomas Edison? The word ‘short’ already makes the question biased. Instead, it can be written to sound more neutral: How would you describe Thomas Edison’s height.
3. Try to Break Down Difficult Concepts: When asking questions, avoid introducing difficult concepts without knowing the strength of respondents’ knowledge about the topic. If your question must include a difficult term, try as much as possible to break it down into multiple connected questions before dishing out the questions. For instance, when asking questions about a company with many acronyms, be careful to explain any acronym or jargon used for easy understanding.
4. Avoid Absolute Questions: Absolute questions are questions that usually require a ‘Yes/No” answer. Such answers arise when you ask questions with words such as “always,” “ever,” “never,” and “all.” By asking absolute questions, you indirectly force your respondent to give answers that don’t reflect their opinions. Instead, try asking questions with varieties of options, which would make respondents comfortable choosing from them.
5. Stay Away from Asking Double-Barreled Questions: Double-barreled questions are those questions that have more than one answer. For instance: Do you think notepads are good for computers and bad for laptops? In this case, the question has more than one answer, making the audience confused about answering the question. Such kind of questions, in some cases, will end up getting worthless answers. perhaps you could try breaking down the question to be like: What’s your opinion about having notepads in laptops and computers?
