The 13 Weirdest Interview Questions You'll Hear in 2014

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Image: Mashable composite. iStock, CSA-Images

By Max Knoblauch2014-01-27 11:04:39 UTC

You stare across the desk at the hiring manager. You're poised, confident, ready for anything. You nailed the handshake, you're making great eye contact, nothing can stop you. You've earned this job. It's yours.

The interviewer leans in close and whispers, "Why is a tennis ball fuzzy?"

Wait — what?

See also: The Complete Guide to LinkedIn Etiquette

As ridiculous as it sounds, this scenario actually happens during job interviews across the country. In what must be the result of stir-crazy HR departments, the typical interview question is getting weirder — especially in the tech sector.

After collecting tens of thousands of interview questions from job applicants throughout the year, Glassdoor has released its annual list of the strangest questions from around the hiring world. Below, we've listed the 13 that we found to be, well, the strangest.

1. “Are you more of a hunter or a gatherer?” - Dell

2. “What is your least favorite thing about humanity?” - ZocDoc

3. “If you could throw a parade of any caliber through the Zappos office, what type of parade would it be?” - Zappos

4. “How many square feet of pizza are eaten in the U.S. each year?” - Goldman Sachs

5. “It’s Thursday; we’re staffing you on a telecommunications project in Calgary, Canada, on Monday. Your flight and hotel are booked; your visa is ready. What are the top five things you do before you leave?” - ThoughtWorks

6. “Have you ever been on a boat?” - Applied Systems

Image: Touchstone Pictures

7. “Describe to me the process and benefits of wearing a seatbelt.” - Active Network

8. “How does the Internet work?” - Akamai

9. “If you were a pizza delivery man, how would you benefit from scissors?” - Apple

10. “Why is a tennis ball fuzzy?” - Xerox

11. "Can you instruct someone how to make an origami 'cootie catcher' with just words?” - LivingSocial

Image: Chronic-genderbender

12. “How honest are you?” - Allied Telesis

Image: Imagine Entertainment

13. “If you were on an island and could only bring three things, what would you bring?” - Yahoo

For those looking to enter the workforce, Glassdoor has also compiled a slightly more normal list of the 50 most common interview questions.

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Topics: Business, hiring, interview questions, job interviews, Jobs, Small Business, Startups, Work & Play