Why Not?

   Of all the phrases in the English language, “why not?” is my favorite for the day. It is a beautiful phrase that is totally, and inexorably misunderstood. For example, “Hey man do you want to go get a Popsicle?” - "Why not?" That poor guy actually thought you were saying “Why not.”(period), which is a statement not a question, and surrenders consent. This subtle punctuation difference changes the phrase which means that you can't think of any reason not to go, so you might as well just take the path of least resistance, rather than to just say "no" for no real reason. However, “Why not?” (question mark) in this particular case comes screaming "I am just too darn lazy to come up with a satisfactory excuse, so I am asking you to come up with one for me." Subtle, I know, but totally effective. The only issue with this is that nobody hears this silent appeal to laziness. And even if they did, they probably would respond with something lame like IDK (not even using correct wordage, which is a crime that should be punishable by death in 55 of the 50 states). Why should this be, I do not know, Why Not?