Overheard

On Friday I took Hannah for her back to school haircut. Truthfully, she didn’t come out looking all that different than when she went in, but she’s happy and in the life of a teenager that’s a very big deal. So while I sat and waited for her, I was knitting. And I overheard this conversation between one of the other hairdressers and her client.

Client: Look at my daughter’s black eye! The Harry Potter book fell of her bookshelf in the night and hit her in the face.
Hairdresser: Oh my goodness. Looks like Hermione is coming to get you, sweetie. (she hums the Twilight Zone theme at this point.) She wants to take you to Hogwarts with her, I bet.
Client: You know, one of my friends visited Hogwarts.
Hairdresser: It’s a real place?
Client: Oh yes! The name is different but it’s a castle just like in the books and they teach magic to young witches and wizards.
Hairdresser: I had no idea. Well, my brother actually has copies of all of the Harry Potter books from the 1960s when J.K. Rowling originally wrote them.
Client: Really?!?
Hairdresser: Oh yes! They aren’t in book form like we see them now, they are, what’s that word? Manuscripts! Yes, manuscripts. He has manuscripts of all seven books from the 60s.
Client: Wow. That’s really amazing.

Ummmm. You can imagine the difficulty I had keeping my mouth shut. Hogwarts is a real place? The hoopla over Bridges of Madison County being “real” was bad enough. Now people are claiming that Hogwarts is real? Oy. Copies of the books from the 60s? J.K. Rowling was born in 1965. Is she supposed to have written the books when she was a toddler?

How stupid can people be? Discuss.

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This Post Has 74 Comments

  5. LOL….I can’t even answer that question with a straight face. You would not believe the people I deal with on a regular basis in my job. I think I could write a book, but I don’t think anyone would believe it…LOL!

  9. Are you kidding?! How many other people were in there looking at each other sideways with a look of incredulity on their faces?

  11. Apparently, people can be incredibly stupid! I don’t know how you were able to sit there and keep your mouth shut; I sure wouldn’t have been able to.

  12. Someone has been smoking something they shouldn’t!

    As we say here in Texas, those gals are a few tacos short of a combination plate!

  16. Oh, trust me, Carole you do NOT want me discussing how stupid people can be. (And you know I wouldn’t have been able to keep my mouth shut.)

  17. My daughter used to work in a pet shop, where they had puppies in cages on display, with signs plastered all over the windows announcing sale prices for puppies. She got questions like “are the puppies for sale?” Nowhere is human stupidity more well displayed than my favorite awards program: The Darwin Awards: http://www.darwinawards.com/ .

  19. Thank you – after a very bad morning, I needed this laugh – oh and, I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn too 🙂

  26. Hahaha! How stupid can people be? I’m sure you have some idea based on seeing people look for books in your job, and what they want to find out.

    If one more person says, “it’s a little white pill, and I don’t know what the name is, and no, I don’t know why the doctor gave it to me” I’ll go off into the corner and quietly sob.

  27. Is it possible that the hairdresser was just goofing on the client and her stupidity about Hogwarts being real? I hope so. The alternative is scary to think about.

  30. how funny, the dumbing down of Ameican. Next comes a theme park don’t bother reading the book!

  32. Oh. My. Goodness. I’m not sure whether my first inclination would have been to laugh hysterically or insert myself into the conversation — but either way, I don’t know HOW you kept quiet!

    I’ve heard some weird things in the library, but nothing quite like that!

  34. I’d like to think someone’s tongue was firmly planted in her cheek during that comversation, but sadly, I bet it was not the case.

  40. I would really, really hope that the hairdresser was just playing along and had a good laugh at the expense of the customer later. But then, I sometimes tend to overestimate the ability of people to think on their feet! 🙂

  44. Hadn’t y’all heard? J.K. Rowling was abducted by aliens when she was in her bassinett, given all of the ideas for the books, given the talent to write when she was two, then all of the books were “lost” until she was on welfare, riding on the train, when suddenly, the aliens reappeared with the manuscripts, just in time to make her a kajillionaire. DUH! 😉

  46. OMG. You mean????
    There’s a REAL school in a REAL castle where they teach you to be REAL witches? To fly and everything???
    REALLY???? I’m on my way! Sign me up!
    lololololololol
    (and no, unfortunately, I’m not surprised by the stupidity – sigh)
    (((hugs)))

  47. Too dumb to live… That said, we did visit a few of the places they FILMED the movies. Real places dressed up like Hogwarts. Maybe she got confused…

  50. I am not qualified to say anything today: I’m re-reading the entire Amanda Quick series while lying here on the couch. If that’s not nuts, what is?

    What I wonder is whether there is a series that the woman is referring to — the Alexander books perhaps? (Taran Wanderer et al) She could easily be off by a decade, which opens the field a little.

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