Have you ever made a comment that was simply ridiculous, but you didn't realize it until you saw the smiles on your friends faces? You may have been totally mortified afterwards, but the truth is everyone makes comments like that; even the smartest people in the world make dumb comments too. The best part is: the smarter they are, the harder you laugh.



My friend Jessie recently graduated from MIT and headed off to Princeton to get her PhD. A month after she moved in, she called me to ask if I thought she should call her super. Since she had moved in, she hadn't had a hot shower because her water was only lukewarm. After a few minutes of questioning her about the problem, I asked if she had turned up the heat on her water heater. Her response was, “You can change the temperature?” Maybe I should have had her call the super; he would have had a good laugh.

My college roommate, Melissa, recently moved off to the east coast to go to a top medical school. Before she left, a bunch of us took a road trip out to Colorado. On the way through Western Nebraska, Melissa sat staring quietly out the window. After a while, she suddenly turned around and asked, “Are tumbleweeds real? I thought they were something movie directors made up for westerns.” Just remember that story the next time you're at the doctor's office.

Nowadays, the smarter people are, they more they seem to rely on technology. My friend Jon is the epitome of this stereotype; he just loves computers and other gadgets. That's probably why he's off studying at MIT. A few years ago, Jon and a few of his friends were visiting an army base. Jon insisted on using his GPS system to guide them on their way. As they were coming up to an intersection, Jon told the driver to turn left. The driver said they couldn't do that. After a few moments of bickering back and forth about it, Jon started to get angry. He huffed “The GPS says we have to turn here!” The driver then said back “The big concrete barrier says we don't!” During the whole argument, he hadn't bothered to look up from his GPS screen.

So next time you're totally embarrassed about saying or doing something stupid, just remember that you're not alone.