We all have our own personal bag of expressions that is filled up with things we heard as a kid, things we made up with our friends, things from the media we enjoy, and things from our local environment. The title of this entry is one of my favorite expressions and receives regular use. I believe I got it from my dad but don't know its origin beyond that.
On the surface, the expression is clearly a lie. All humans do things that are dumb and things that are stupid. I believe the difference between the two is some things we do although we know better and some things we do out of our ignorance regarding a situation. The point of the expression, or at least the way I'm used to using it, is that the speaker is not claiming to be the smartest person in the world but that they're not the dimmest brain either. I will honestly tell you that I do a lot of dumb things.
Some times those dumb things turn out to be not so dumb.
Years ago when the concept was relatively new, I saw one of those TV commercials for an ab exerciser, the sort of thing that claims to sculpt your muscles while you sit on the couch. The principle was sound enough: the belt supplied an electric charge that caused your muscles to flex. I bought one, not so much expecting to melt the belly, which was considerably smaller at the time, but more from the idea of 'taking the dare'. What the heck?
Feel free to chuckle at this point if you are not already. 'Steve bought something as seen on TV! Mock him!' Fair enough. Dumb idea as I knew better.
However, upon receiving the item, I saw that it had value. Not as exercise 'equipment' but the charge was enough to engage the muscles and flex them as advertised. It did wonders for loosening up stiff muscles. It had a therapeutic value. Maybe not so dumb.
I found the thing this afternoon while tidying up. My back's been stiff for the last month or so and I aimed it at the muscles that seemed to be causing the most discomfort. After a half-hour or so at varying intensities, I went to warm up a heating pad. While the microwave worked its magic, I walked a little and stretched. My back cracked about three times, just the sort of thing I'd been trying to make happen but the muscles had been too tight to allow it. I'm not magically all better but I do feel more relaxed already.
A dumb purchase? Perhaps. Stupid? Perhaps not.
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