# Website that shows how wrong guessing race is. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2007, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-that-shows-how-wrong-guessing-race-is/396287 "2007-03-17T01:06:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-that-shows-how-wrong-guessing-race-is/396287/41 "2007-03-17T12:31:26Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] What is the airspeed velocity of an unlaiden swallow? [/QUOTE] Do you mean a European or an African swallow? ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-that-shows-how-wrong-guessing-race-is/396287/42 "2007-03-17T12:40:51Z")
I got 31%. Meh. I also felt that a lot of the categories the test writer included were a bit artificial: Including both Native Americans and Native Hawaiians in the same category, while excluding them from the generic Asian category seems a bit odd. I can’t claim expertise in the genetics of migrations, but I am guessing that it’s likely that most Native Americans are as closely related to Asians as they are to Native Hawaiians. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-that-shows-how-wrong-guessing-race-is/396287/43 "2007-03-17T14:22:53Z")
Thanks. First to **Q.E.D.** for the link, and to everyone else for the entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-that-shows-how-wrong-guessing-race-is/396287/44 "2007-03-17T14:38:41Z")
[QUOTE=Rucksinator] I only got 25% right. In my defense: 1.) Latino isn’t a race 2.) There’s no way that #7 doesn’t have any non-African in her. [/quote] In regards to number 1, it’s true but people still treat it as one. It’s become another way of saying “Native American who speaks Spanish”. In regards to number 2, when I first saw her I thought she looked like she might be of East African extraction, like from Ethiopia or Somalia. So in that case she wouldn’t have to be “mixed” with anything…even though the use of “African American” to describe her would be suspect. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-that-shows-how-wrong-guessing-race-is/396287/45 "2007-03-17T15:03:11Z")
[QUOTE=Chief Pedant] Easily the dumbest “test” I’ve seen in a while. Appears to have been put together by a nitwit trying to teach a lesson that it’s hard to tell “races” apart. [/QUOTE] Hear, hear. And the “related articles” are as pompous and content-free as they come. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-that-shows-how-wrong-guessing-race-is/396287/46 "2007-03-17T17:20:16Z")
I got 10 out of 16, but I think I only got that high a score by carefully considering the possible answers. For example, in one case “Jewish” was an possible answer and it wasn’t in most other questions; therefore, “Jewish” was likely to be the correct answer or included in the correct answer. Same with another question where a possible answer was “Pakistani.” I thought the test was interesting and a great opportunity to look at some hotties, but really pretty pointless. If the point is that it’s difficult to assign mixed-race people to a particular racial group, that seems sort of obvious to me. It’s hard to tell what single “race” they are, because they’re several races. I don’t see how that tells us much about prejudice or the perniciousness of racism. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-that-shows-how-wrong-guessing-race-is/396287/47 "2007-03-17T17:46:15Z")
[QUOTE=Autolycus] Oh, and **G.E.D** , I didn’t forget about your prize. Jussoyouno! [/QUOTE] Thanks. And jussoyouno, the Q key is over this way \<—. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-that-shows-how-wrong-guessing-race-is/396287/48 "2007-03-17T18:24:34Z")
oops, wrong login… ---
**Author:** ![sugar\_and\_spice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@sugar\_and\_spice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugar_and_spice)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-that-shows-how-wrong-guessing-race-is/396287/49 "2007-03-17T18:26:21Z")
… fixed, sorry guys. [QUOTE=monstro] In regards to number 1, it’s true but people still treat it as one. It’s become another way of saying “Native American who speaks Spanish”. [/QUOTE] They do use it that way, but doing so does overlook the fact that many Latinos are of African or European decent (or some mix of all three races). Really, a website about race and identity should be more care than to ask if someone is Black or Latino. Its obviously something that’s just for fun. ---
**Author:** ![Thirty-Nine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@Thirty-Nine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thirty-Nine)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-that-shows-how-wrong-guessing-race-is/396287/50 "2007-03-17T18:45:43Z")
9/16 - 56% I don’t see how this helps prove their point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-that-shows-how-wrong-guessing-race-is/396287.md?page=2)