Whats the toughest question you have been asked or asked someone in a job interview?

When interviewing at Intel the HR direction as me what the correct accounting treatment is for obsolete inventory. He then asked me to go through the calculation and explain how this would impact Cost of Goods Sold. Right out of college, so you think you know everything. Guess I was wrong!!

The best/worst question: "Tell me about your worst day in your previous job -- what were you doing and why was it so bad?"

What is certified payroll. The owner of a software company asked me what I knew about payroll and I answered everything. Then he asked what certified payroll was and I couldn't think of the answer, I had even done one once but didn't know what it was called. It is embarrassing having to brag about your knowledge to start with but I didn't think there was anything I didn't know. I had done private and public accounting and worked in support for payroll software and in software development and tested payroll software. I got hired anyhow even without answering the question and ended up being the payroll expert for that software company too.

What's your favorite animal? Sounds really weird but some manager must have read a book or article that said that you could learn a lot about people by what animal they picked. I was really tempted to say "Jackass" but instead chose the mighty lion. I never got the job and always wondered if it was due to my animal choice.