LOL.. not stupid at all. I've got machines that thread left to right, right to left and front to back and I often have to drop the needle a bit to check which side is flat so I thread them right. Usually, I check after I've done it wrong at least twice and rethreaded a few times. And I've even got a few machines that use industrial needles with no flat side at all... and I can't tell you how many times I put those in wrong.