Who Came Up with This?

I have a question. Actually, I have lots of questions. But one of them has gotten me into more trouble than all the others combined.

Who came up with this?

Not because I think it's a bad idea. Sometimes it's a terrible idea. Sometimes it's brilliant. And occasionally...I'm the person who came up with it. I just want to know what was going through someone's head. That question has followed me my entire life.

As a kid, I wondered why my teacher thought timing multiplication tests was a good idea. As a parent, I once made a chore chart so detailed it included instructions like:

"The dog must actually be walking."

Why? Because I raised two boys who inherited my talent for finding technicalities. That is my fault.

As an adult, I've redesigned warehouses, questioned truck part names, rewritten business processes, and spent an unhealthy amount of time wondering why perfectly intelligent people keep making things harder than they need to be.

Some people collect stamps. I collect reasons. This website is where I share the stories behind the questions. Sometimes they're funny. Sometimes they're ridiculous. Sometimes they accidentally turn into lessons about process improvement, parenting, or the strange ways our brains work.

But they all start the same way.

Who came up with this?

Because somebody thought it was a good idea.