# Trick Questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 21, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851 "2005-01-21T02:31:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/1 "2005-01-21T02:31:34Z")
This is a thread for those little pieces of trivia you run into which don’t quite conform to what you expect. If you know (or can find out) the right answer to a question, you get to pose the next one. The point, of course, is that the “obvious” answer is **wrong**. Two questions to start us off. Answer either correctly and pose the next question; that way we have two sequences going at once, in order to prevent “stalling” when nobody can come up with the answer to the one current question. 1. What animal were the Canary Islands named after? 2. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is located in a city whose name is part of the racetrack’s name. What city is it located in? ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/2 "2005-01-21T02:33:45Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > This is a thread for those little pieces of trivia you run into which don’t quite conform to what you expect. If you know (or can find out) the right answer to a question, you get to pose the next one. The point, of course, is that the “obvious” answer is **wrong**. > > Two questions to start us off. Answer either correctly and pose the next question; that way we have two sequences going at once, in order to prevent “stalling” when nobody can come up with the answer to the one current question. > > 1. What animal were the Canary Islands named after? > > 2. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is located in a city whose name is part of the racetrack’s name. What city is it located in? 1. Canary Tortoise? That’s just a guess. 2. Speedway, IN ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/3 "2005-01-21T02:35:29Z")
1. Dog, from “canares”, from which we also get canine. 2. No idea but I’ll guess Anapolis (or maybe Diana?). 3. From what is a camel hair coat made? 4. From what are Moleskin trousers made? ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/4 "2005-01-21T02:35:34Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. What animal were the Canary Islands named after? Dogs. What’s Michael J. Fox’s middle initial? ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/5 "2005-01-21T02:36:35Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Dogs. > > What’s Michael J. Fox’s middle initial? A, for Andrew. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/6 "2005-01-21T02:40:34Z")
:smack: I was supposed to come up with some questions, wasn’t I? Ummm. Crap. I’ll get back to you. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/7 "2005-01-21T02:43:01Z")
> [@askance](#): > > From what is a camel hair coat made? Many “camel hair coats” are made from real camel hair. Am I missing something with this question? My favorite “trick” question is: who won the French and Indian war? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/8 "2005-01-21T02:48:26Z")
The British, or at least the British colonials. How long was the Hundred Years’ War? How long was the Thirty Years’ War? ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/9 "2005-01-21T02:48:43Z")
> [@Zhao Daoli](#): > > Many “camel hair coats” are made from real camel hair. Am I missing something with this question? How did “coat” get in there? Of course I meant “camel hair brush” ! ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/10 "2005-01-21T02:49:09Z")
**Life on Wry** got #2; **Askance** and **Scarlett67** simulposted #1. (And **Life on Wry** got the Michael J. Fox one too; I happened to have run into the answer on that earlier today. Answers: 1. Rabbit fur? 2. Tightly woven brushed cotton 6\*. What was Buffalo, New York named after? - I’m attributing #5 to the Michael J. Fox question, which wasn’t numbered. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/11 "2005-01-21T02:49:53Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > T > > How long was the Hundred Years’ War? I think it was either 112 years or 118 years. Can’t remember though. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/12 "2005-01-21T02:51:13Z")
From memory, 115 years for the Hundred Years’ War? ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/13 "2005-01-21T02:54:26Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > How long was the Hundred Years’ War? How long was the Thirty Years’ War? 116 years. 30 years. Where did Panama hats come from originally? ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/14 "2005-01-21T02:56:14Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > From memory, 115 years for the Hundred Years’ War? From memory? You’re older than you look. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/15 "2005-01-21T04:45:58Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > From memory? You’re older than you look. He’s the bastard child of Paul Newman and Dick Clark. (No way am I doing an hour’s worth of research on Buffalo, NY) 7. What is the answer to the -gry riddle as it is originally posed? [Bonus points: what three -gry words does Cecil give?] ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/16 "2005-01-21T06:14:57Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Where did Panama hats come from originally? Ecuador? ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/17 "2005-01-21T07:43:43Z")
1. Squirrel hair. 2. (I think) With what words was MTV launched? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/18 "2005-01-21T07:54:40Z")
What colonies came together to form Canada in 1867? ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/19 "2005-01-21T08:05:09Z")
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada, the latter being divided into Ontario and Quebec. (My Grammie was from Sydney Mines) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/20 "2005-01-21T08:11:52Z")
Right. (Most people forget that Upper and Lower Canada had been fused into the Province of Canada some time beforehand.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851.md?page=2)