Sometimes, there's a moment -- right between when you ask a question and when you realize the answer -- where you understand that the question itself was completely idiotic.
It's usually the result of simply thinking out loud. Perhaps just hearing it outside your own head is what triggers the logic to kick in.
For instance, I once audibly wondered where the 1972 Summer Olympics were held . . . while watching the movie "Munich."
It's a DUH! moment, but one that's difficult to take back when you're surrounded by people.
I recently thought about a trip I took to western SD years ago. My friends and I were cruising along the highway enjoying the scenery, and at one point we remarked on a small group of deer by the road.
After driving another ten minutes through the rolling hills, we saw more deer. And one of my friends pondered from the back seat, "Do you think they're the same ones?"
I remember the rest of us doing a very slow turn toward her.
"Uhhhhh . . . not unless they've been running alongside us at 65 miles an hour."
She'd already realized her mistake, but the image of those supersonic whitetails gave us the giggles the whole way home.