The Stinging Realization Of What You Just Did

(I’m outing myself as the stupid customer here. A new aquarium opens a few towns over from where I live, and being a nature enthusiast, I decide to give it a visit. Midway through, I come upon a touch tank with horseshoe crabs and sea urchins inside it. I bend down to touch them, but I hesitate and turn to the attendant.)

Me: “These urchins won’t sting, will they?”

Attendant: “No, they’re pencil urchins. They’re perfectly safe, but they can grab your finger if you stick it between their spines.”

(I did that and felt the urchin trying to hold on. Satisfied, I headed off to the next exhibit. Five minutes later, I realized that I had actually asked if the TOUCH TANK contained stinging urchins. I had to sit on a bench for a few minutes, contemplating what I had become.)