No, it doesn't really annoy me. I think it is just kind of human nature to ask questions like that. People also do it to let the other person know that they are paying attention, or they notice a change in the person, or that they care. For example, when someone sees a girl that it is clearly skinnier than they were before, they ask "Did you lose weight?" The person knows that the girl lost weight, but they ask to show that they noticed.

My roommate asks obvious questions allmost every day so I'm used to it.

You mean something like this?


I see it similar to what tgags wrote. Most of the time people ask questions like that as some kind of politeness or kindness and to show that they care or noticed, so that type of questions doesn't really annoy me that much.

That example you made with the question "Were you sleeping?" however, would annoy me a lot, because this seems like a very pointless question. I don't see any need to show the woken person, that you noticed him or her sleeping. Wouldn't that mean that you woke the person up on purpose then? This question would feel a bit provoking although I knew that it wasn't supposed to sound like that.
I find something like "I'm sorry, I didn't see that you were sleeping." or "I didn't want to wake you up." more fitting there.

Actually, I asked one of these obvious questions myself today in college. I was about 10 minutes too late and the other students were still waiting for the teacher, so I asked "Is the teacher still not there?". Then I noticed that this question was pretty senseless and it annoyed me a little bit.

...I just remembered that I had this kind of topic in Communication one year ago. There's the so called Four-sides model, that explains that one question can have a meaning in four different levels, by the sender and receiver. The question (or statement) can either fall into the category Self-Revelation, Relationship, Factual Information or Appeal. So the "new-haircut-type" of questions isn't supposed to be understood as a question itself (which would be for Factual Information), but as an indirect message about Relationship and/or Self-Revelation. You can see the Four-sides model of communication by Friedemann Schulz von Thun here: http://wall-skills.com/2013/four-sides-of-a-message/

You have to be more open-minded and accepting of people.  They are asking because they don't know.  It's much nicer for a person to stop and say, 'Are you okay?" when you're screaming vs. them walking by because you're going to get irritated about them checking on you.

People ask because they don't know.  They might thinking you're just playing around or having fun or doing something and they're finding out whether or not you need help.

Just because it is obvious to you doesn't make it obvious to everyone.  We all see things differently and experience things differently.  I work in an area with a lot of children and I hear 2 year olds screaming all the time.  Mostly its fun and sometimes they're hurt.  I can tell the difference.  My friends don't so they ask, "Wow, did that kid get hurt?"  "No, he's just having fun."

I'm not irritated because I recognize no one has 100% awareness.  That's fine.  That's why they ask.

Try being more open-minded.

Not really, it is just a first reaction to ask something really dumb. Like if someone is looking for their dog and they come home with out it, the first thing you ask is "did you not find it?".

With other situations, something that is obvious to me might not be to someone else.

The only time I get annoyed/angry at a person for asking a question is if they are asking something stupid (and know it is a stupid question, they are just doing it to be funny), or if they are asking the question just to be rude or mean.

I get a few people who did that, and most of my friends look at him like the idiot he can be, really. I get a bit annoyed of it myself, and poke him about his questions whenever he says it.

You know, obvious questions didn't used to bother me. I'm certain I did (and still do) ask them without much thought on the matter, but the older I get, the more they DO bother me. I think it's honestly due to me being a teacher.  It's as though every time a person asks an obvious question, I'm reminded of how little the upcoming generations know, and how unwilling they are to think. I know that these questions are a result of habit and not lack of knowledge, but it still serves as a reminder that these kids are growing into adults... It's a scary thought.  The fact that I get annoyed by obvious questions though, is definitely a flaw as a teacher. Over the past year and a half, I've had to do a lot of checking myself, to ensure that I don't react negatively when such a question is presented to me. I used to get a little sarcastic because of my annoyance with it, but I've at least comes to terms with it enough so that I can keep a straight face and even tone of voice, as though the question was normal.

People ask me obvious questions very frequently. That does not bother me at all unless they are doing that to mess with me.