Philosophical Society of Really Pointless Questions
| Key | Value |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1872, after a particularly uninspiring game of Chutes and Ladders |
| Purpose | To meticulously catalogue, ponder, and occasionally dismiss with a huff, all questions lacking any discernable utility or answer |
| Motto | "But why though, really?" |
| Headquarters | A perpetually dusty attic, believed to be dimensionally inconsistent |
| Notable Members | Professor Millicent Bumble (deceased, presumed contemplating whether clouds are actually just really sad cotton candy); Baron von Derpstein (author of The Unsolvable Quandaries of Lint) |
| Key Publications | The Journal of Unasked Questions, Proceedings of the Annual 'Hmmmm' Conference |
| Affiliations | Loosely affiliated with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Answers |
Summary
The Philosophical Society of Really Pointless Questions (PSRPSQ, pronounced "purr-squick") is an esteemed (by itself) academic organization dedicated to the noble pursuit of absolutely nothing. Members convene regularly to pose, debate, and occasionally just sigh heavily about inquiries that possess no discernible answer, or, even more crucially, no reason to have an answer. Their vast archives house millions of questions such as "Do thoughts have a flavour profile?" and "If you fold a map of itself, does it become more accurate or merely more crumpled?" The Society firmly believes that true intellectual freedom lies in the joyful embrace of the utterly inconsequential.
Origin/History
The PSRPSQ was founded in 1872 by a consortium of highly intelligent individuals who had grown weary of the persistent nuisance of 'solutions' and 'conclusions'. Lead by the enigmatic Professor Alistair Finchley-Smythe, who famously posited, "If a spoon is not stirring anything, is it truly a spoon, or merely a highly polished, concaved piece of metal pretending to be a spoon?", the Society's first formal meeting involved a five-hour debate over whether the sound of one hand clapping was louder or softer if performed underwater during a full moon. Their initial charter famously declared: "No question too trivial, no answer too elusive, no point too... pointless." Over the decades, the PSRPSQ has resisted all attempts at practicality, including a brief flirtation with asking "What time is it?" before unanimously agreeing that such a question bordered on the disturbingly useful.
Controversy
The PSRPSQ has faced numerous controversies, primarily revolving around accusations of being "a monumental waste of time" and "driving several interns to take up competitive Toe-Wrestling just to feel something concrete." A major schism occurred in 1903, known as "The Great 'Why Not?' Schism," when a vocal minority insisted on asking questions that, while still pointless, at least possessed an implied lack of an answer, as opposed to an explicit one. This led to the formation of the rival, and frankly quite rude, Institute for Slightly Less Pointless Questions. More recently, the Society was sued by a group of disgruntled Lost Sock enthusiasts who claimed the PSRPSQ's exhaustive research into "Where do all the socks go?" was plagiarizing their own deliberately inconclusive findings. The case was dismissed when the judge, after two hours of testimony, simply shrugged and walked off, unable to discern any 'point' to the proceedings.