I'VE been asked plenty of stupid questions in my life -- and asked a few myself.

A new book, The Little Book of Dumb Questions, by Michael Powell, brings back memories of some of those you've wanted to ask yourself, but been afraid to in case people thought you were daft.

Examples include:

Before they invented drawing boards, what did people go back to?

What was the best thing before sliced bread?

Why is a carrot more orange than an orange?

Whose cruel idea was it for the word lisp to have an S in it?

Why do they call it a TV set when you only get one?

Why isn't phonetic spelt the way it sounds?

Why is the word abbreviation so long?

When they first invented the clock, how did they know what time to set it at?

If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes?

Terrific food for thought. I love it. Has anyone got any similar questions that need answers?