Here's Your Sign

[Freedomlover]

You wear a kilt. Do you play the banjo?

Yes I do. How did you know?

[Nighthawk]

I worked at the Conner Prairie living history museum from the age of ten to seventeen, and heard the "is that a real fire" question more times than I can count. Not kids all the time, either- often it was adults.

My personal all time favorite was the mother who scolded her child fiercely for swatting at the flies in one of the houses, telling him quite seriously that we paid a lot of money to make the flies look real.

People, man, I'm telling you.

Please tell me you're joking. People aren't really that stupid, are they?

[Galician]

One of my favorite examples of this was when a woman complimented me on my kilt, then proceeded to ask me, "Do you speak English?"

[macwilkin]

Please tell me you're joking. People aren't really that stupid, are they?

I think the word stupid is a bit harsh. The majority of folks who ask these kind of questions (at least in my experience) seemed to be intelligent enough, but perhaps out of their "comfort zone".

Living history & reenacting, especially when it is "first-person" (i.e. acting like you are someone from another time) catches a lot of folks off-guard, and can be off-putting if it isn't done correctly.

Do these questions make me chuckle? Yes, they do. But, when I was working at NPS, I was working for them.

Todd

[arrg-isle]

Being a repatriated Vermonter, and communicating with fellow Americans from all around the continent, here's some of the recognitions I've heard of my home state:

1) "What do you folks do for work when the ski resorts close in the spring?"
(We all take seasonal lodging in Rhode Island & live on food stamps.)
2) "Oh, yeah, Vermont! That's the biggest city in New Hampshire, right?"
(Riiiight!)
3) "I just love the fresh lobsters my folks always buy up there!" ( . . uh-oh!)
4) "Yeah, I got my master's in Vermont; cool place, but too many snotty little colleges everywhere ya go!" (Do tell . . ?)
5) "Right, Vermont, that's just east of Montreal . . or is it west of there?"
(Depends on the wind chill.)
6) This from a 'Frisco native: "We've had a cabin there for over 20 years, but you know, you guys should never have legalized civil unions!" (Hmmm . . )
7) "I'd love to visit sometime . . do I have to speak French while I'm there?"
(Mais oui, certainement!)
8) "Do you have your own moose in Vermont, or do you borrow Maine's?"
(We used to borrow Maine moose, but the toll charge through NH was just too much!)
9) From a Hoosier acquaintance: "Sure, we used to drive through Vermont all the time when I was a kid, when we'd visit my uncle in Idaho."
(Good thing gas was so cheap!)
10) "Do you hang out all those buckets before or after the leaves turn red?"
(It's up to the Pope.)
And my favorite:
11) From a Boston visitor: "Will I get charged for bringing maple syrup back across the state line?" (No, but if it's over a quart, the troopers might quarantine it for a week or so!)

[Howard Clark]

"Is that a real fire" ? Has been uttered many thousands of times at blacksmith demonstrations where the general public is invited to watch. Eventually it ceases to be funny. At least for me it did.

"Is that a real sword" ? is another one I have heard too often.

[sathor]

Yes I do. How did you know?

Reminds me of Carlos Mencia, on one of his shows, he talked about how a guy walked up to him in LA and asked if he could help him get into his car since he locked his keys inside. Mencia said something to the effect of "I wanted to be mad at being stereotyped in such a way, but I actually did know how to do it!"

[Ian.MacAllan]

Then there was the Boston Brahmin who assured me that, in Boston, "Iowa" was pronounced "Ohio".

But I think the prize belongs to the patron who loudly and vigorously berated a reference librarian for "refusing" to find a book which contained actual photos of dinosaurs---paintings or drawings would not do, actual photos were required.

.

[Nighthawk]

I think the word stupid is a bit harsh. The majority of folks who ask these kind of questions (at least in my experience) seemed to be intelligent enough, but perhaps out of their "comfort zone".

Living history & reenacting, especially when it is "first-person" (i.e. acting like you are someone from another time) catches a lot of folks off-guard, and can be off-putting if it isn't done correctly.

Do these questions make me chuckle? Yes, they do. But, when I was working at NPS, I was working for them.

Todd

Maybe... but "is that fire real?" C'mon- out of their comfort zone? I have a hard time buying that. If it were a kid, I could see it... but an adult asking who turns off the water fall?

[Carolina Kiltman]

I've had a wonderful time reading all these posts! But just remember, they not only reproduce, but they vote too!