People Are Sharing The Dumbest Things They've Seen Smart People Do, And I Can't Stop Laughing

"He made a potato salad with raw potatoes because he thought, since it's a salad, you're not supposed to cook it."

We've all been there. No matter how intelligent or educated you are, everyone has moments where you do something silly and common sense flies out the window.

Bravo

Well, Reddit user u/lord-stryker117 recently posed the question, "Think of the smartest person you know. What is the dumbest thing they've ever done?"

CBC

And there were so many funny responses! Here are some of the ones that made me laugh:

1. "While applying for a job, he thought 'sick pay' meant that the job paid really well."

–u/sizzlingmaniac69

2. "My friend has a master's degree in mechanical engineering and robotics. He once made a potato salad with raw potatoes because he thought, since it's a salad, you're not supposed to cook it."

–u/massi95

3. "My brother was in uni in the UK and needed a toaster. He ordered one off of Amazon for £3 and was surprised to find one so cheap. Turns out it was a kids toy. It came with plastic pieces of bread as well."

–u/Comprehensive_Crab79

VH1

4. "Guy with a PhD in chemistry had a problem with his electric furnace; it kept switching off the circuit breakers. So he was told by someone to stick a wooden splinter in it to keep the switch up, but it was too weak, and the gap in the breaker too narrow. So he took some strip of metal instead..."

"Well, he still lives, but he said he almost shat himself."

–u/Ziriath

5. "My wonderful sister. So intelligent and educated…but dang. They had their house inspected, and the inspector found an issue with their gas heat. Called in a repairman, and it turns out they were having lower levels of carbon monoxide leaking into their home."

"When my mom asked her why she didn’t have several working detectors, my sister answered, 'Well I did, but one just wouldn’t quit beeping.'"

–u/momx3f

6. "Brother-in-law is a pretty clever guy. Ran a bath for his kid and couldn't get the tap to turn off. Mad panic. Rang a plumber friend asking him to come round quick or the house is gonna flood. Friend was like, 'You could just pull the plug?'"

–u/whydidyadothat

NBC

7. "Dad's an actuary (basically a cross between a mathematician and an economist). I came home many years ago to hear a video game blaring. That was odd. I wandered downstairs to find him playing the game, with headphones on...but unplugged."

"He had the sound turned up on the speakers because he couldn't hear it over the headphones. To top it off, he had the headphones on backwards."

–u/dasUberSoldat

8. "They used their bare hand to check if the stove was still hot by pressing it directly on the burner. They had two doctorates."

–u/PeppermintFart

9. "My aunt. College professor. PhD in mathematics. Was blown away when watching my father cook rice without a rice cooker."

–u/t-h-e-d-u-d-e

E!

10. "My brother's friend was high school valedictorian. In college, he gathered up deer turds to play a practical joke on his roommate by putting said deer turds into a box of Cocoa Puffs cereal."

 "Two days later, he forgot about it and went to pour himself a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. Instead of nice sugary cereal, he got a spoonful of deer turds."

–u/bartz824

11. "My husband. He’s a mathematician for the Feds, but he has repeatedly gotten us to the wrong airport in cities that have more than one. Like, at least three times. He’s brilliant, but a moron."

–u/Azryhael

12. "I was picking up my date (future wife) when her valedictorian roommate turned away from the TV and said in all seriousness, 'Don’t look! They’re welding! It will damage your eyes.' She got more serious as I continued to look back and forth at the TV. She actually yelled, 'It’s going to blind you!'"

"I said, 'So when your TV is showing an image of the sun...' That’s as far as I got. You could see the wave of embarrassment wash over her face."

–u/El_Dentistador

HBO

13. "My friend in college graduated Summa Cum Laude with a double major in Biology and Chemistry. One day, she put a fork in the microwave when heating up a bowl of green beans, and I had to explain to her why the microwave sounded like it was full of firecrackers."

–u/Bonnie_Blew

14. "Told me that they believed sex scenes in movies were real and didn’t understand how the actors' significant others handled it. This person is a doctor."

–u/Jburyy

15. "My colleague was tasked to put mail into the mailbox. She asked me where it is and what it looks like. I said, 'Around the corner, and it's a red box.' Turns out, there is another red box marked GENERAL WASTE. About two meters away is the red box that spells out AUSTRALIA POST. She's been throwing away mail."

–u/little_asian_man_89

Hulu

16. "My brother has PhDs in bioengineering. We were on a call one day, and he was saying, 'I can't find my phone. Probably my kids took it.' Didn't realize until I told him that he was using his phone to talk to me."

–u/needsomevitaminstbh

17. And finally, "My best friend has several degrees. When we were freshmen in college, she called me saying her clothes stink, and she had washed them several times without wearing them. I said that it’s probably from the washing machines. She agreed and said, 'Maybe I should use detergent more often.'"

"I said, 'You have to use laundry detergent EVERY SINGLE TIME you wash clothes, and that’s why they stink.' I asked her what she thought detergent was for, and she thought it was to keep the washing machine clean."

–u/lord_of_lighters

TV Land

Have you every seen someone smart do something dumb? Tell me the story in the comments below!

Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.