Entertainment

We Have Some Questions For The Duggar Family

by Casey Rackham

Although much of the focus of this season of 19 Kids & Counting has been on the Duggar family's rules of courtship (as it should be), this week's episode is taking a break from the do's and don'ts of romance and instead looking at Josiah's high school graduation celebration. Of course, the big news about this is that the Duggar's are inviting hundreds of people over to their home for the event. That's right, hundreds of people. The fact that the family can comfortably cope with 21 people in their home is already astonishing, but adding hundreds more is a completely different story. It begs the important question: How big is their freakin' house?

Well, according to a blog dedicated to the family, their home is 7,000 square feet. To give you a comparison, the average size of a home in the United States is 2,480 square feet. Their "Great Room" alone, which is basically their living room, dining room, and kitchen all rolled into one, is 2,000 square feet. Yeah, it's a pretty big house.

So with one question off my chest, it made me realize that I have approximately a bajillion more questions for the Duggar family. Here are a few of the most pressing ones:

1. How much do they spend on groceries?

The Duggars spend a whopping $3,000 per month on groceries. In just one day they might buy 3 dozen eggs, 5 lbs of turkey bacon, 20 biscuits, 10 oranges, 4 lbs of grapes, 3 loaves of whole wheat bread, 4 lbs of sloppy joe meat, 3 lbs of green beans, 3 lbs of potatoes, 2 watermelons, 2 family size bags of lettuce, 4 lbs of spaghetti noodles, 3 loaves of French bread, 2 pans of brownies, and 1 gallon of vanilla ice cream. Holy shit, I'm so overwhelmed by their pantry.

2. How much toilet paper do they go through?

The Huffington Post estimates that the Duggars probably use 1,200 rolls of toilet paper per year. Wow.

3. Why do all of their kids' names start with the letter "J"?

While their first three children were given names that started with a "J" for no particular reason except that they liked the names, they continued to use "J" names so as not to make anyone feel left out.

4. What does the filming crew think of the family?

According to the production crew, after six years of filming, they feel like they're part of the family: "We are constantly interacting with them, mostly in a humorous manner. We have way too much fun on this show."

5. Did Michelle give birth to all of them?

Yes, Michelle has birthed all 19 of her children. To make your jaw drop even more, she has been pregnant 144 months of her life — that's definitely 12 years.

6. Does Michelle hold the record for the most children birthed by one woman?

Unfortunately, no, she doesn't hold the record. According to the Guinness World Records, the record for most children birthed by the same woman is 69. Don't even get me started on that one.

7. Do they have "the talk"?

Considering the idea of kissing your significant other before your wedding day is frowned upon, I've got a feeling that they don't make a habit of talking about the birds and bees. Plus, who needs a one-on-one talk when you've got the books Before the Wedding Night and Staying in Love for a Lifetime , both by Dr. Ed Wheat, to teach you everything you need to know about sex?

8. Do they own actual plates?

I swear, every scene I see them eating, they're using paper or plastic plates. Not one time have I seen them use actual plates. I guess it makes sense — there's no way I'd want to wash the dishes for that family.

9. How do they safely cross the street?

No, really. I need to know. When I was younger, I always had to hold my mom's hand when I was crossing the street. When the Duggar children were younger, how did they manage to cross the street together? Was it a ducks in a row sort of situation, or did they all hold hands in some sort of line? I need to know and no one will tell me.

10. Do they have chores?

You better believe they have chores. It's like their very own cleaning service and family in one. However, what's shocking about this is that they're only paid 3 cents per chore completed. I don't even know how to handle that information.

11. Do they celebrate birthdays all of the time?

They do, but they don't get to have parties (apparently that's just reserved for Josiah's graduation). Well, they used to have parties, but now that the family's so big and birthday months overlap — Jana, John-David, Jinger, Joseph, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jordyn, and Josie are all in December and January — each child is allowed to pick a restaurant and spend a meal with their parents. Oh, and if they're all in town, they'll have an ice cream social together.

Images: TLC; DCL (2); Scott Enlow/TLC; DCL (2); DuggarFamily.com