My grandpa's old approach to asking random questions actually made sense in the end

Growing up he'd always say there's no such thing as a dumb question, but I rolled my eyes for years thinking that was just some cheesy saying. Then last month at a hardware store in Des Moines I asked a clerk about a weird pipe fitting and he ended up saving me 40 bucks on a repair I was about to mess up. Has anyone else had a moment where a guess or a dumb sounding question turned out to be the smartest move you made?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathanking4d ago

Take that carpenter example - the guy probably saved himself a hundred bucks in materials by asking one simple question. It's like my grandpa used to say, the only truly dumb move is acting like you already know everything. That hardware store clerk in Des Moines probably sees ten people a week making the same pipe fitting mistake, and he's happy to help if you just ask.

reese5514d ago

Watched my buddy spend two hours redoing his deck because he asked "is it okay if I just nail this board here?" This old carpenter on the job site just shook his head and showed him how the board would warp by spring. Cost him nothing but some pride to ask that dumb question. Saved him tearing the whole thing out later when the weather hit. Hardware store clerks and old tradesmen are the last people on earth who still operate on that rule your grandpa had.