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On December 8th, 2023, I began a pocket journal for questions. The idea was that I'd ask at least three questions a day until the journal filled up. I wasn't very consistent at filling it in daily, but I did keep coming back to it. Eventually I finished the journal on April 25th, 2025.
These are questions more for asking, not strictly for answering. Feel free to answer them anyways.
I thought about organizing them by subject, but settled on chronological. Some are straightforward curiosities that can be answered with a search engine. Others are jumping off points for inspiration. Quite a few are philosophical in nature. I found that often I was writing about my own feelings, insecurities, or moralities in the form of questions. And a lot of them are just stupid.
the questions
the questions
How to write a cursive Q?
How would you improve upon the cursive Q?
What colors are opposite each other - not on the color wheel, but in vibes?
Example: The opposite of yellow is grey.
Example: The opposite of pink is dark blue.
Example: The opposite of brown is white.
What if penguins worked like eagles and eagles worked like penguins?
If our pets were animals (besides their current species) what would they be?
Which is worse for you, beer or soda?
If bamboo grows faster, why doesn't it die faster?
If society collapsed tomorrow, do you think our neighbors would talk to us more?
Are there any colorful big animals?
Do horses count?
Are horses big?
What's the mediumest animal?
Are there purple roses? (Yes.)
Would you rather be a werewolf or a vampire?
Which muscle of yours is your favorite?
What's your favorite floral scent?
What's a color you wish you saw more of?
If you could make up a color, what would it look like?
What makes you happy most often? Not the happiest - or consistently happy - but the most common happy?
Fruits I'd like to be seedless.
How come nobody acts like cocktail is a funny word?
Am I obscene?
Am I lovable? (Obviously.)
What if instead of fixing your sleep schedule, you just moved to a different time zone?
If someone is, say, a night owl in one time zone, but then they moved to a time zone where they're an early bird, do they stay an early bird, or does their body change back to night owl?Â
Like, how much is it hormonal and how much is sunlight?
Did that make sense?
Who cares?
If you die drunk, does death feel different?
If people could change sex at will would there still be transgender/cisgender people?
How many people would consider hermaphroditism the "default"?
What kind of hermaphrodite?
Would people argue over who gets/has to be the pregnant one if they want kids genetically?
Or would it be common for them both to get pregnant together, or swap between kids?
Maybe sexual preference of the individual and/or of the act would be a pain point (as opposed to what you prefer in other people.)
Is this offensive? To whom and how?
If we were shaped like slugs or snails how would cars be different? Bikes? Skateboards?
Can animals be evil?
Can animals be good?
Can humans?
What's the difference?
Is it because we're humans?
Do you think, for example, cats have a sense of morality just for other cats?
If we live in a simulation, does that change anything?
What if we live in a simulation but, like, it's malfunctioning?
What if each of us as individuals are different simulations?
What if you're alone and everything else is fake?
Would it matter?
Would you wanna know?
What's something we don't normally put on a hot dog that might taste good?
If you had to build a nest what would it be made out of and where would you put it?
If you were a bird or any other animal that couldn't talk or write, how would you try to tell people you were actually a human?
Do you think we should cure death?
If you knew you were dying, where would you want to die?
At what time of day?
Why isn't wood green?
How would you make water into a musical instrument?
If you built your own AI and only trained it off of stuff you wrote and then told it what to do with that information is it AI generated or "you" generated?
What two unrelated characters combine to make a third unrelated character?
Example: Spock and Hatsune Miku make Bumble, the transformer.
Combine two OCs to make a third new OC.
Something that isn't thought to be a fetish but really could be.
If you could design a sticky note set, what would it look like?
Combine two animals to make a third one (all existing already.)
Example: Mouse + Elephant = Capybara.
Example: Toad + Hippo = Pug.
Combine two animals (existing) to make a third (new) one.
Example: Cat + Betta fish = Maine Coon with betta coloring, its long fur on its tail resembling a floating fin, it's built kinda like an otter, except it's a cat. Owners must provide a kiddie pool for its health and happiness. Territorial.
Same as above but with three, four, or five animals.
Just fucking make up an animal whole-cloth.
How much of creativity relies on previous creativity/ideas?
Why is it so much easier to bounce off of something than it is to think up "random" ideas?
Is that a skill we can learn - the "unprompted" thinking?
What if spiders made web out of yarn?
Could you do things faster with more arms or would it just further divide your attention?
What a cat sees you in the mirror, do they think it's your reflection, another you, an image of you, an image of a human, or do they maybe just think of nothing at all?
Is a shadow like a reflection?
When you're nonbinary is it possible to be straight?
Why is sexuality defined by gender in relation to your own?
Why not just by what you like?
Why is sexuality defined by gender at all?
Do people put artichokes in floral arrangements?
Is there restless arm syndrome?
Do animals care about color, aesthetically?
If so, then why aren't we making dog things in colors they like?
Can dogs see color? (Kind of.)
How do janitors clean their mops?
Why is tinnitus high pitched?
Do people think blue-collar uniforms are sexy?
Who came up with mayonnaise?
Opposite people's names.
Example: Mark Twain -> Unmarred Twixt.
If you lost electricity what would you miss the most? (After survival stuff.)
Why aren't there drugs that make you smarter?
Has anyone made elephant hide?
Are sharks soft like sting rays?
Are animals creative?
What if neanderthals were still around?
Should we make neanderthals real again once it's possible, like mammoths?
Is cloning wrong?
When's the worst time to laugh?
Why are word games fun?
Why do horses have hair?
Besides us (and horses) what else has hair???
Is a lion's mane a hairdo?
If humanity ceased to exist what animal would become the dominant species next?
Are dogs smarter than wolves?
Do some people have senses other people don't have and don't know it?
If pooping didn't feel good would people put off doing it and die?
What if we had to build our own houses?
How worried should we be about quantum entanglement?
Why do rabbits have long ears but not long tails?
Is balance the only benefit to having a tail? (No.)
Why aren't fake tails a normal fashion accessory?
How can you tell if someone is being genuine?
If you think "what's a loving thing to do?" and then do it because you want someone to feel loved and not for any other ulterior motive, is that love?
What's a loving thing to do?
If you never met another living being, would you still know for certain what's real and what's imaginary?
Is reality a social construct?
What if we had no president?
Can you make toilet paper without the tube?
Why isn't there a sour fanaticism like there is for spiciness?
Is the crust the earth's skin?
Are volcanos the earth's pimples?
Some airs are heavier than others and sink in our atmosphere. Are there any lakes or rivers of air?
What's the largest infinity?
Do any other animals like coffee?
Why do people believe in God?
How come rainbows are special?
What are some unconventional/rare color schemes?
How would you make them look good?
Do doctors treat themselves?
Should they?
How do they get music to go to the left or right on headphones?
How is that decision made by artists?
What's your theme song?
What else can be used as chalk besides chalk?
If someone's shoes were tied weird, would you notice?
Why do cats meow differently from one another?
Is there a cat meow researcher out there?
How long does it take a pimple to grow?
What's it like to be monosexual?
How do people determine it?
Edible pencil erasers and pen caps flavors (office and education themed).
How do we know clouds are far away?
How many pants pockets is too many?
Why isn't there more butter flavored candy?
Why aren't there more music notes?
How prepared is over-prepared?
How often should you change your sheets?
Can you charge yourself with a charger?
Who thought bullfighting was a good idea?
Why are hippos so aggressive?
What's the fastest way to piss off a hippo?
How do they catch hippos for research?
Are there any hippos in zoos? Is it safe?
How smart do dolphins have to be before we should be worried?
Does what you're thinking about as you fall asleep affect your dreams?
How do you want to be remembered?
If you could come back to life after dying, would you want to?
Do vegans eat pussy?
What are we going to do with all this microplastic? Will we ever forgive ourselves for inventing glitter? (Not all glitter is microplastic.)
What's okay now, morally, that might not be okay in 100 years?
Will I be cancelled in 200 years because sweatshops make my clothes and stuff?
Am I doing enough to help the people of this world?
How much is expected of me?
How do you interrupt people less while still staying what you need to say?
Is conversation a science?
Why don't they teach conversation in schools?
Why don't podcasts feel like eavesdropping?
Why do soft-shelled turtles have a shell at all?
What are two sandwiches that would be good combined?
Why do pens "burp" ink?
Why is there less variety in popular boy's names?
If you knew you only had bad days left, would you want to live?
Are leeches carnivores?
How awkward do things have to get before you say something about it?
What's the color of a cell?
What is my cat's favorite color?
When is a story done?
How do you know?
Do stories only ever conclude once you stop working on them?
Is journaling like writing a story that ends when you die?
Do cats tell stories?
Can you teach a cat to solve a jigsaw puzzle?
When's the right time to leave a party?
Are pimples wounds?
What if magic is real and we just already understand it?
How do you know if someone is politely avoiding you?
How to tell if someone is anxious or if they dislike you?
How to cry?
How not to cry?
Why are we modest?
What benefit is there to modesty?
Will there ever be too many Pokémon?
Why do new Pokémon make people angry?
Can we evolve past food?
What makes something seem "aesthetic" versus normal?
How do you know if you're prepared for something or not?
When should you listen to your feelings, and when should you disregard them?
What's the difference between collecting and hoarding?
Is the average person safe?
How can you tell if you're sick or if it's allergies?
Should animals have rights?
What if animals could vote?
How does confidence affect anxiety?
Do you have to be afraid to be brave?
How do you know who you are?
Can you make friends on Reddit?
Will writing things down help me learn them?
If you melt a popsicle in a cup, is that pop?
Is that why it's called a popsicle?
Is there more or less sugar in a pop or a popsicle?
Are jigsaw puzzles a good use of my time?
Could I be an entomologist?
Why does carbonation taste good?
How will I be remembered when I'm gone?
Why do I still like skinny jeans?
Can you make pansy tea?
What about other edible flowers?
Nasturtium?
Is tomato soup a matcha style tea?
What's your favorite way a song ends?
Is flat fizzy water still tasty? (La Croix etc.)
What makes a podcast worth listening to?
Do my friends think of me when I'm away?
What's the least popular color? Mint? Tan?
What will today be remembered for?
Is true connection and understanding possible between two people?
What makes life worth living?
Does life get better with age? (I think so.)
How many birds are in Minneapolis?
Do rats like sugar in moderation like in those cocaine experiments or whatever?
What makes a poem a poem?
Why do we pair dill with pickles?
Are there any fruits/veggies you shouldn't pickle? Why?
How can I motivate myself to do my chores when I'm tired?
Is it wrong to live in luxury?
If so, at what point does it become immoral?
How do you know if you're doing well?
What's it like to be unconscious?
What are some good ideas for stamps?
Is my cat trying to use human language and I just can't tell?
What makes a good dance move?
If you have a lot of passions and hobbies how do you know which to prioritize?
How do we know this isn't all a shared dream?
Or a singular lonely one?
Does it matter?
Can a hangover last a long time?
What's the best way to serve coffee?
How much does presentation affect how food tastes?
Why do we call them "goose" bumps?
Why that bird specifically?
Can you polish plastic?
Why aren't there more pink bugs?
Is there a normal baseline level for hallucinating?
Like, regular pareidolia?
How much do we all have to work to for us all to live?
In comfort?
What happens to a bruise after it heals? Where dos the blood go?
Why can't some people separate fantasy from reality?
Is it okay to like scary stuff?
Cat bed shaped like a bread pan so that when they loaf... Y'know?
How do I make that?
How do they shell nuts for food in a factory?
When is it better to use robots over human labor?
Is swearing bad for you?
How much pineapple would it take to kill someone?
Why are jigsaw puzzles enjoyable?
How many things in a collection until it becomes a hoard?
Am I okay?
What else can you put in a ballpoint pen besides ink?
Would a ballpoint work or be useful on a much larger scale?
What's the line when you base a character off someone you know? Like, before it gets weird?
Why are there more words than an average person could reasonably learn?
Should I study the dictionary?
What does carbonation taste like?
Would you lie to someone on your deathbed?
Can you donate a brain, or would that just be donating a body?
Would you care if you were taxidermied?
Why do muscles twitch?
Can you practice social skills alone?
Who owns those Dairy Queens that are only open in the summer?
What do they do the rest of the time?
Are they tax accountants? Teachers? Ski rental owners/managers? Florida-bound snowbirds?
Are they making enough money to just coast the rest of the year?
If so, why do other Dairy Queens even bother?
Do they hire students?
How smart is a child?
Why are children wise, and old people too, but not adults?
What is wisdom?
How do I get myself to exercise more?
Is it okay to be myself?
Can you be a little self-obsessed and still well-meaning and good? (Yes!)
Can a slug turn into a snail?
Can a snail turn into a slug?
Is there edible glue?
Does it taste good?
Difference between lollipop and hard candy?
If you remove the stick does a lollipop become a hard candy?
Why do some people like pain?
What are the different kinds of pain?
Is poetry fiction?
How do you know how to be mindful?
How do you know if you're in mindfulness?
What if I like thinking?
What is the feeling of thinking?
Is journaling mindfulness?
Am I annoying?
Do I talk too much?
Is that so wrong, to talk too much?
What personality would my different pens have if they were characters?
My journals?
What would different books be like if they were characters?
How much can you poop in one day?
Where do walnuts get their fat?
Are all plants opportunistic carnivores?
What if a plant grew so fast it grabbed you?
Why don't I pay someone to clean my house for me if I hate it so much?
How much would that cost?
How long can you hold your poop?
Can we predict the future?
Can we change the future?
What makes ink dry faster or slower?
What's the difference between apple juice and apple cider?
Are there other fruit ciders?
How many flies are there?
Biggest cloud in the world?
What if angels were real?
What is free will?
Do we have it?
Is it exclusive to people? Animals? Plants? Etc?
What are the different flavors of each color?
Can you get better at improv?
Can you learn to be more creative?
Do you learn faster if you learn with other people, or does that confuse things?
What makes a story interesting?
What makes a story worth telling?
Am I a good storyteller?
How do I become a better storyteller?
Can animals attribute malice to the actions of others?
Are my stomach microbes sentient?
If you stopped pooping, would it eventually uncontrollably explode out of you, or could you just kill yourself that way?
Is there a way to collect dead skin cells and reuse them?
Does hair growing make a noise?
Can you break your brain by thinking too hard?
Does a chicken know if a recording of a chicken is not really there?
Do they make boozy cola, or just rum and coke?
How do you know if a goal is realistic?
Why does lemon taste good with light beers but not darker ones?
Can depression give you a back injury?
Does depression hurt physically?
Is it worth it to make a to-do list?
What's the difference between playing and daydreaming?
Am I getting enough sunlight?
Can you supplement sunlight?
What if we all had cloacas?
What's it like to live somewhere the sun doesn't set during the summer or rise in the winter?
How did people cope before artificial lighting?
How did the indigenous people of these areas live?
What's the five most popular dinosaurs?
Why don't more people like ants?
Are ant colonies sentient? It freaks me out.
Are we colonies of bacteria, sentient only through the collective consciousness of our cells and microorganisms?
Is the universe sentient?
Is a city sentient?
Can anything be music?
How do you make hot chocolate less sweet without watering it down?
What should we do, as a society, with violent people?
If you could do anything, would you?
Will reading bad things make you a bad person?
Would you face your worst fear if you knew it'd be okay after?
Can you carve ceramic?
What if instead of people looking like their dogs, dogs looked like their people?
If you saw a dog with a human face would you be afraid? Would you be disturbed?
How can we get young people to like pine nuts more?
What's the best music for you?
How often should I exercise?
Can I learn every country?
Can I hear every word?
Am I smart or stupid?
Why do I care?
What if I'm imaginary?
What's the optimal onion size? Like, for flavor? Why not make it a paste?
Is it okay if my chapstick expires?
What if there were no bugs suddenly?
How long would it take you to notice?
What if we worshipped bugs?
If I ran away to a new city, starting over from scratch, could I make it? Or would I get addicted to drugs and die?
Would you kill to save your life?
How do I know if I have eyelash worms?
When you get goopy eyes from conjunctivitis does it drown your eyelash worms or is it like a feast for them?
Are "lazy" people actually afraid?
How do I do things I don't want to do?
Does my cat know what it is to be alive?
Do I?
How do you know you're alive?
Why is it weird to sing in public?
When is it okay to sing in public?
Does the outside of our teeth have feeling?
How long will an eraser last?
What is fun?
How do I have more fun?
How much fun is too much?
Why is it fun to draw?
Is there a roomba-like machine for mopping?
Does my house smell bad?
Will a walk outside make a cold/flu worse?
How old is old?
Why do I feel ASMR in my scalp?
Why does anxiety make my shoulder hurt?
Would my friends mind if I called them out of the blue?
Would my neighbors mind a visit and a chat?
How much socializing is the healthy amount?
Are we socializing enough, as a society?
How many words are in a pen?
Will we cure the common cold?
Can you plant bulbs in the spring?
Radish tea?
How afraid am I? Could I be not that afraid and just intolerant of fear?
Is there a coloring book for fountain pens?
How do I beat my social media addictions?
Is boredom good for you?
How often should you try new things?
Is identity play harmful? (Character immersion)
Why or why not?
Can you tell how big a kitten will grow from looking at it?
Does jail stop thieves from stealing?
How can I change my environment to make myself more creative?
How much of my personality is determined by my daily environment?
Would I be meaner if I had to work?
Should I start an asparagus patch?
What would it take to make me kill someone? (Woah.)
Can you fire clay soil from the ground?
Why does my cat like to be held?
Would I like to be held if I were a cat?
If I could only use one sex position for the rest of my life would would I choose?
How do I want my last sexual encounter ever to go?
Is that different from what I usually desire?
What do I want my last meal ever to be?
Is that different from what I usually desire?
Is it bad advice, then, to live each day like it's your last?
How quickly can you learn morse code?
Is a feeling a thought?
Is a thought a feeling?
Can you drink fountain pen ink?
Why do I like to be chased?
Is racing a chase?
What will my cats look like when they're older?
Is it bad for you to think too much?
Is it bad for you to think?
Why are humans so smart?
If it's evolutionarily advantageous, then why isn't everything smart?
Do inanimate objects have a consciousness we can't comprehend?
What can you do with orange peels besides composting?
What's the most popular bird?
Is there anything better for you than just plain water?
Are there enough doctors in the world to treat all the people?
Can cats feel regret?
What if underwear never wore out?
Why isn't it made more durable?
What's the difference between an idea and a thought?
How often do people regret tattoos or any other changes to their bodies?
Can you sleep too much?
How friendly is too friendly?
Should I plant my dahlias in pots or in the ground?
Can you make windows that unlock and open automatically in the morning?
How rich is too rich?
How do you know if something is worth your time to do?
Will I outlive my husband?
Why does my cat bite during play?
Is it okay to be stupid?
Can I learn all the birds? Should I?
Do my cats like each other?
Can I make a journal cover out of wood?
Why do companies use plastic so much?
recurring themes
recurring themes
I noticed there were lot of questions about conscience, thought, reality, creativity, morality, and society. Also, gender and sexuality.
There were many cat-related questions.
Characters, animals, colors, and pens/ink also came up somewhat frequently.
There were four different questions about holding in poop. Astonishing. And yet, not one single question having to do with pee whatsoever. Don't psychoanalyze this.
repeat questions
repeat questions
I did my best to write unique questions each time, but four questions came up twice. It's very interesting to me which ones. In the list provided, I did omit the repeated questions.
Are sharks soft to touch?
Is this all a dream?
Can you make nasturtium tea?
One of these was "Nasturtium?" after a tea question.
the other was simply "Nasturtium tea?"
Can you tell how big a kitten will grow from looking at it?
- (SAME WORD FOR WORD)
conclusions drawn
conclusions drawn
The purpose of this exercise was to build creativity. I don't think it worked. I was doing a lot of self-censoring this journal, trying to come up with halfway interesting questions. I learned this sort of criticism is not conducive to building a creative skillset.
Another thing that I noticed is that at some point, I switched from more often using "you/we" in these questions to mostly using "I/me". In retrospect, I felt I had a much harder time coming up with them from an individual perspective rather than in a group/conversational one. Very interesting.
This worked better as a barometer for assessing how creative I felt at a particular day or time rather than a tool for building creativity itself, and I noticed that it was easier to be creative some times over others while using this journal. The times where I was regularly challenging myself with a variety of new information and puzzles were when it was easiest to produce interesting questions. Exercise helped as well.
My next endeavor is an ideas journal with the opening concept that there are no bad ideas within its pages. I definitely won't share that once it's full; it will have all sorts of bad ideas in it.
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