Copyright
1998-2007. All rights reserved.
Where Stupid
Question ™ came from…and where it went.
I began writing Stupid Question ™ in 1998 while on the staff
of an alternative newspaper in
The column turned out to be not only cheaper than “Dope,” but had the extra benefits of actually being correct and not written by a staff of Google-powered interns. It was extremely popular. I was quickly deluged with hundreds of questions.
When I left the paper in 2000, I took Stupid Question ™ with me, lock, stock and barrel. I continued to self-syndicate it back to the newspaper, and sought other outlets as well. But in a post-Bush and then post-Sept. 11 economy, even the newspapers that nibbled couldn’t afford to take a bite.
A couple of years later, the editor of my sole client told me that my (your, actually) questions were getting too stupid and my answers too smart. Instead of trying to puzzle out who was being insulted more—me or my readers—I simply informed the paper that Stupid Question ™ is not open to micromanagement, and so they dropped it.
Stupid Question ™ went on to life on the web; Ohio went on to vote Bush into office; and one of the world’s worst cartoonists got paid something or other for my old space in the paper. So two out of three of us lived happily ever after.
Stupid Question ™ has been a labor of love and one of the most intellectually enriching enterprises of my life; I’ve literally learned something new almost every week for seven years, which is more than I can say for any school I’ve ever attended. I’ve been menaced by Skull & Bones, chatted with the guy who invented lawn flamingoes and made a bootleg recording of “Saving Private Ryan” so I could get its German dialogue translated. I appreciated the privilege of going on the adventures for which your questions served as itinerary.
However, I also have to recognize that Stupid Question ™ was always an economically-oriented, commercially-formatted product, invented to save money and perpetuated to make money. After a few years of doing Stupid Question ™ for free, it just doesn’t make sense. Research is very expensive in terms of phone bills, travel, strange purchases and especially time.
If I’m going to have an unpaid hobby, it might as well be something more individual and free-ranging. That new project will unfold on the main www.stupidquestion.net hub over the coming months. I think you’ll find it has some similarities to Stupid Question ™, and I will continue to welcome your input, ideas and, yes, questions.
I’ve always been proud of my readers. You asked me bizarre stumpers. You asked me things I always wanted to know myself. Most of you knew the column’s title implied the saying, “There’s no such thing as a…” and fearlessly asked away.
It seemed like an act of faith to me, that you thought there had to be an answer. It was certainly an act of faith for me, when I realized I had seven days to come up with something. In a society that evilly discourages curiosity, I hope I rewarded yours.
I also hope that, while I will no longer officially be answering, you will never stop asking.
Yours,
JR