Allow me to ask a stupid question. Or, rather, there are no such things as stupid questions, though this one, gernerally is. More correctly, there is nothing intrinsic in the question itself to make it stupid, rather it is the inquisitor himself who is of less than average intelligence. To continue:

You know the whole 9-to-5 thing? whatta way to make a livin’ Here’s my confusion: the hours of 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. span 8 hours. The average work day is 8 hours. The average lunch hour is, err, an hour. 8-1=7. So, on the 9-to-5 schedule, you are actually only physically working 7 hours [EDITOR’S NOTE: this does not include subtractions for staring at the walls, standing by the water cooler, or other trivial, time-wasting pursuits… such as blogging]

So my question: is a company-allowed lunch period of one hour included in your 8 hours of work? Can I really just work 9-to-5, or do I have to stay until 6 to get 8 hours? (the fact, that I’ve been working 9 to 7:30 is not relevant at this point). This is something I’ve always wondered about, but been too embarrased too ask. All hail internet anonimity.