These dumb trivia questions sound too easy to ask, and the obvious answer is always one of the four choices. Usually it is wrong: a starfish is no fish. In the last round the plain answer is right.
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Four rounds of catches
Animals and plants with the wrong name and Places and things with the wrong name ask what a thing really is. Dates and numbers that lie has a War of 1812 that ended in 1815 and a centipede without a hundred legs. Too easy to be true has no catch at all, so avoiding the obvious does not win.
A quiz of ten
The 40 questions run as one set, and a tap on a choice shows the answer and its reason. Scored round, under the first question, asks ten and marks them at the end. Its result card has Print question sheet, a quiz of 10, and More options, which holds Print answer key.
Tips
Each answer is a checked fact, not a play on words: no question hides its catch in the grammar.
Questions and answers
What are good dumb trivia questions?
Ones with a plain fact behind them that most people get wrong. For example: is dry cleaning dry (no, the clothes are soaked in a liquid solvent), and in which month of today's calendar did the October Revolution take place (November)?
Is a starfish a fish?
No. A starfish, also called a sea star, is an echinoderm, not a fish. The question is in Animals and plants with the wrong name, with the guinea pig, the silverfish and the crayfish, none of which is what its name says.
Are these trick questions?
No. A trick question hides its catch in the wording. Here every question has one checked answer, and the catch is only that the obvious choice is usually wrong. Word-play catches were left out.
A horned toad is which kind of animal?Answer: A lizard. Source: Wikipedia: Horned lizard
A silverfish is which kind of animal?Answer: An insect. Source: Wikipedia: Silverfish
Is a black-eyed pea a pea?Answer: No: it is a bean. Source: Wikipedia: Black-eyed pea
Is a mountain goat a true goat?Answer: No: it does not belong to the genus of true goats. Source: Wikipedia: Mountain goat
Is a starfish a fish?Answer: No: it is an echinoderm. Source: Wikipedia: Starfish
The slow worm of Europe is neither a worm nor a snake. What is it?Answer: A legless lizard. Source: Wikipedia: Common slow worm
What kind of animal is a crayfish?Answer: A crustacean. Source: Wikipedia: Crayfish
What kind of animal is a cuttlefish?Answer: A mollusc. Source: Wikipedia: Cuttlefish
What kind of animal is a guinea pig?Answer: A rodent. Source: Wikipedia: Guinea pig
Places and things with the wrong name 13
A tin can is mostly made of which metal?Answer: Steel. Source: Wikipedia: Steel and tin cans
A United States nickel is made mostly of which metal?Answer: Copper. Source: Wikipedia: Nickel (United States coin)
The Battle of Hastings was fought about how far from Hastings?Answer: About 7 miles away. Source: Wikipedia: Battle of Hastings
Head cheese is a dish with which amount of cheese in it?Answer: None: it is a meat jelly. Source: Wikipedia: Head cheese
The horn most used in professional orchestras is often called a French horn. It is a variety of which country's horn?Answer: The German horn. Source: Wikipedia: French horn
In which city are the Spanish Steps?Answer: Rome. Source: Wikipedia: Spanish Steps
Is dry cleaning dry?Answer: No: the clothes are soaked in a liquid solvent. Source: Wikipedia: Dry cleaning
Is most of Rhode Island on an island?Answer: No: most of its land is on the mainland. Source: Wikipedia: Rhode Island
Is the Isle of Dogs in London an island?Answer: No: it is a peninsula in a bend of the Thames. Source: Wikipedia: Isle of Dogs
Mohair comes from which animal?Answer: The Angora goat. Source: Wikipedia: Mohair
The name tin foil is often used for kitchen foil made of which metal?Answer: Aluminum. Source: Wikipedia: Tin foil
What meat is typically in a hamburger?Answer: Beef. Source: Wikipedia: Hamburger
Where is the Swiss roll believed to have come from?Answer: Elsewhere in Central Europe, possibly Austria. Source: Wikipedia: Swiss roll
Dates and numbers that lie 9
A centipede's name means hundred feet. How many kinds of centipede have exactly 100 legs?Answer: None. Source: Wikipedia: Centipede
A millipede's name means thousand feet. In which year was the first species with more than 1,000 legs discovered?Answer: 2020. Source: Wikipedia: Millipede
How long does an adult housefly normally live?Answer: Two to four weeks. Source: Wikipedia: Housefly
In which month of today's calendar did Russia's October Revolution of 1917 take place?Answer: November. Source: Wikipedia: October Revolution
The summer solstice falls on June 20, 21 or 22. On which dates was Midsummer traditionally kept in much of Europe?Answer: June 23 to 24. Source: Wikipedia: Midsummer
The War of 1812 did not end in 1812. In which year was its peace treaty ratified?Answer: 1815. Source: Wikipedia: War of 1812
Why is Russia's revolution of 1917 called the October Revolution, although its date falls in another month of today's calendar?Answer: Russia still used the Julian calendar. Source: Wikipedia: October Revolution
The word decimation comes from a punishment in the Roman army. What share of a unit did it fall on?Answer: One man in ten. Source: Wikipedia: Decimation (punishment)
The word noon comes from the Latin for the ninth hour. What time did that hour end, by a modern clock?Answer: About 3 p.m. Source: Wikipedia: Noon
Too easy to be true 9
Brussels sprouts take their name from which city?Answer: Brussels. Source: Wikipedia: Brussels sprout
Cashmere wool comes from which animal?Answer: A goat. Source: Wikipedia: Cashmere wool
The dessert pavlova is named after Anna Pavlova. What was she?Answer: A ballerina. Source: Wikipedia: Pavlova
How many years did the Seven Years' War last?Answer: Seven. Source: Wikipedia: Seven Years' War
How many years did the Thirty Years' War last?Answer: Thirty. Source: Wikipedia: Thirty Years' War
In which city is the Leaning Tower of Pisa?Answer: Pisa. Source: Wikipedia: Leaning Tower of Pisa
Is a seahorse a fish?Answer: Yes. Source: Wikipedia: Seahorse
The koala is native to which country?Answer: Australia. Source: Wikipedia: Koala
What color are the outside walls of the White House painted?Answer: White. Source: Wikipedia: White House
How this list was compiled
Written for this site; nothing was copied from another list. Every question, wrong choice and explanation is our own wording. Each answer agrees with a sentence in the English Wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org) named and linked beside the question, read on 2026-10-02; every extra claim in an explanation was read on the same page. Every question is a plain fact that sounds too easy to ask, and the obvious answer is always one of the four choices. In three rounds the obvious answer is usually wrong; in the round Too easy to be true it is right. A catch that rests on a play on words, or on a fact that sources dispute, was left out. Left out too: brands, living people, and catches the site's funny multiple choice, fact or fiction, food, science, kids' and tie-breaker pages already ask (the Panama hat, the Canary Islands, the color of a flight recorder, how long the Hundred Years' War lasted, whether the Great Wall can be seen from the Moon, the koala that is no bear, the peanut that is no nut, the firefly, pencil lead, the coffee bean, a goldfish's memory, George Washington's teeth). No question repeats one of theirs word for word as they stood on 2026-10-02. Levels are our estimate; each round is stored easiest first. Licence: own work