# 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:** 15
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/281 "2005-01-31T01:35:39Z")
Nine departments is correct indeed. I thought it was ten, but i remembered that Litoral, a region found on my wall hanging that names the regions, was lost to Chile in the Pacific war. Good job, mkl. also, sorry about excluding other reptiles and amphibians. when i was in elementary, a guy with a bunch of snakes came, and called himself a herpetologist, so that kinda stuck in my head. ---
**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 31, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/282 "2005-01-31T03:28:21Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > Krakatoa is actually \*\*west \*\* of Java. So I suppose the distance east is however many thousands of kilometres it takes to go all the way around the world at that parallel of latitude from Java to Krakatoa. Perfectly correct. What are the singular forms of the words _kudos_, _nachos_, and _caries_? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/283 "2005-01-31T04:16:24Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > What are the singular forms of the words _kudos_, _nachos_, and _caries_? I thought \*kudos \* was from the Greek and was already singular. I think \*caries \* (if it’s from the Latin) would be correct as either a singular or a plural form. I don’t know about _nachos_. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/284 "2005-01-31T04:46:11Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I thought \*kudos \* was from the Greek and was already singular. I think \*caries \* (if it’s from the Latin) would be correct as either a singular or a plural form. I don’t know about _nachos_. Riding in on Cunctator’s shirt-tails, I’d say they are all singular already. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/285 "2005-01-31T04:59:52Z")
> [@Kaitlyn](#): > > No. Sherlock Holmes is tops in English language movies, though. Think Hong Kong. Think Suen Ng Hung (Cantonese), think Sun Wu Kong (Mandarin), think Son Goku (Japanese), think Ton Ngo Khong (Vietnamese)… Think the King of Heaven… Think [The Monkey King](http://www.geocities.com/misteryang/monkey/mkwho.html)! ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/286 "2005-01-31T07:03:07Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > Think Suen Ng Hung (Cantonese), think Sun Wu Kong (Mandarin), think Son Goku (Japanese), think Ton Ngo Khong (Vietnamese)… > > Think the King of Heaven… > > Think [The Monkey King](http://www.geocities.com/misteryang/monkey/mkwho.html)! Hmm. I wasn’t thinking of shorts, but you’re correct if you include those. Including shorts, more than 500 theatrical films starting the Monkey King have been made in Eastern cinema. If you consider only feature length films, the answer would still be Eastern–Wong Fei Hung. * * * And of course, 38 feet is the correct answer to Bob walking around the world. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/287 "2005-01-31T07:27:34Z")
> [@Kaitlyn](#): > > If you consider only feature length films, the answer would still be Eastern–Wong Fei Hung. That’s stretching the definition of “fictional character” a bit, as Wong [was born not so far from here, in fact near my father-in-law’s ancestral village.](http://www.kungfucinema.com/articles/2001-04-08-01.htm) If by “fictional character” one means legends grew up around him and fiction was written about him, then maybe so. But, in that case, then I’d imagine Jesus Christ would be in with a shout. Think _Life of Brian_, think Biblical epics. It also depends how strictly one defines “subject”. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/288 "2005-01-31T07:49:04Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > That’s stretching the definition of “fictional character” a bit, as Wong [was born not so far from here, in fact near my father-in-law’s ancestral village.](http://www.kungfucinema.com/articles/2001-04-08-01.htm) > > If by “fictional character” one means legends grew up around him and fiction was written about him, then maybe so. But, in that case, then I’d imagine Jesus Christ would be in with a shout. Think _Life of Brian_, think Biblical epics. It also depends how strictly one defines “subject”. Well, I seriously doubt Drunken Master 2 has anything to do with the real Wong Fei Hung. The movies about him are certainly fiction films that at best, draw on his legend, and at worst, just borrow his name. But that’s just quibbling. You’re right. So I’ll amend that to the character who is featurued in the most feature length films. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/289 "2005-01-31T08:17:58Z")
Right, after all that nitpicking, I better keep the ball rolling! Who was the first Korean player to play in the top flight of English football, and which club did he play for? ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/290 "2005-01-31T08:57:00Z")
Dammit, if Mrs. Six were here, I could ask her. She actually cares about stuff like sports and follows Korean football leagues. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/291 "2005-01-31T15:01:11Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > As in, “Romeo, why the heck did you have to be _Romeo_?” i.e., why did things work out that I, a Capulet, fell for you, a Montague, when our families are doing a Hatfield-McCoy routine? As [The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [abridged]](http://www.reducedshakespeare.com/shakespeare.html) correctly points out, Romeo later in the scene offers a solution to Juliet, an alternative name by which she may know him: [[http://www.clicknotes.com/romeo/T22.html](http://www.clicknotes.com/romeo/T22.html)]Call me butt-love!, he pleads. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/292 "2005-01-31T15:03:23Z")
Oy vey. [Call me butt-love!](http://www.clicknotes.com/romeo/T22.html) Daniel ---
**Author:** ![LucyInDisguise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucyindisguise/32/18064_2.png) [@LucyInDisguise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LucyInDisguise)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/293 "2005-01-31T17:38:59Z")
> [@Kaitlyn](#): > > Zero or two, depending upon how you count. > > The only states the Pony Express operated in were Missouri and California ended, in between were territories, not states. Since they didn’t cross MO or CA, the answer is technically zero. Though nearly every trivia site on the net gives the answer as ‘two’, I’ve long held the answer to be ‘zero’ for just the reason you sited. I like the way you think. 😃 ::applauds quietly in awe:: ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/294 "2005-01-31T18:32:28Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > To what does the name of the city of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan refer? The conversational habits of some of my kin. > [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > Why is the Lincoln Memorial so named? Because the Lincoln-Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company bought naming rights. Aside to **Left Hand of Dorkness** : Hiya, buttlove! Yes, I’m feeling snarky today. What’s it to ya?? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/295 "2005-01-31T18:52:09Z")
> [@BJMoose](#): > > Aside to **Left Hand of Dorkness** : Hiya, buttlove! > > Yes, I’m feeling snarky today. What’s it to ya?? Hee. I hear The Reduced Shakespeare Company is looking for an actor to play the part of Juliet; sounds like you got it down! Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/296 "2005-02-01T02:40:34Z")
What unusual distinction did Hester Grenville (1720-1803) have in relation to the British Prime Ministership in the late 18th and early 19th centuries? ---
**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:** [February 1, 2005, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/297 "2005-02-01T07:48:53Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > Riding in on Cunctator’s shirt-tails, I’d say they are all singular already. Yes, precisely, although to be strictly correct \*caries \*is also the plural of _caries_. It just bothers me to see them used in the plural all the time: _Hey, who ordered these nachos?_ Ugh. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2005, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/298 "2005-02-01T07:55:54Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > What unusual distinction did Hester Grenville (1720-1803) have in relation to the British Prime Ministership in the late 18th and early 19th centuries? Well she was related to most of them: she was William Grenville’s aunt, Pitt the Elder’s wife, and so Pitt the Younger’s sister-in-law. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mycroft\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_H)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/299 "2005-02-01T17:00:03Z")
Good answer **Loopus**. Here’s another one in the spirit of the OP. The Battle of Hastings took place in England in 1066. What is the town or village that is closest to the battle site? (Hint - the location is part of the name.) The village of Battle. It grew up near an abbey that was constructed on the site of the battlefield. The battle was actually named for the district of Haestingas. What is now the port of Hastings was a minor fishing village at the time, about 5 miles away. Any answers for the women’s right to vote and Lincoln Memorial questions? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851/300 "2005-02-01T17:34:31Z")
What is wrong with this proof? a = b a × a = a × b a² = ab a² – b² = ab – b² (a + b)(a – b) = b(a – b) a + b = b a + a = a 2a = a 2 = 1 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trick-questions/285851.md?page=16)