History Main / ExcuseQuestion

** There is an ad featuring {{Naruto}} that asks "What cartoon character is this?" A: Naruto. B: [[FullmetalAlchemist Fullmetal Alchemist]]. C: [[TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Ninja Turtle]]. Bonus headache points for CowboyBebopAtHisComputer.

* Inverted in the UK show ''QI'' (QuiteInteresting), which would frequently have questions that ''looked'' temptingly easy only to have the real answer be something weird and complex ([[YourMileageMayVary and possibly subjective]]).

* ''[=~2000 AD~=]'' usually HangsALampshade on this, with a line like "To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is answer this brain-bustingly easy question."

* Fictional example: In [=~A. A. Milne~=]'s play ''The Ugly Duckling'', the law of the kingdom requires a suitor for the hand of the princess to answer a riddle. The current princess is very plain, and her parents, not wanting to give anyone an excuse to turn her down, use riddles like "What is it which has four legs and barks like a dog?" This is PlayedForLaughs in multiple ways. Early in the play, the king and queen recall one suitor who was so desperate not to marry the princess that he somehow completely failed to answer the riddle. Later, a none-too-bright prince [[spoiler:who's an impostor anyway]] is given the answer in advance, but the riddle is changed at the last minute and he gets it wrong. Another character ([[spoiler:the real prince]]) quickly covers for him.

* Subverted by the Japanese quiz show ''Time Shock'', which is fond of occasionally throwing in questions like "What question number is this?" and "Including this question, how many questions are left in this round?" To the audience, these may seem like pathetically easy questions, because they can just look at the scoreboard. However, the contestants can't - the show makes a point of seating them in such a fashion that they cannot see ''any'' information on the state of the game, not even the clock or their score. (In fact, more recent revivals seat contestants ''inside'' the scoreboard facing out.) Thus the only reliable way to get these questions right is to count the questions as you answer them.

-->Who was the first man to run the four-minute mile? Was it: A) the Battle of Crecy; B) ''{{Moonraker}}'', or C) the athlete and fast record-breaking fast miler Sir Roger "Four-Minute" Bannister, the famous runner?

* Of course, recently in the UK, several shows most prominently 'Richard & Judy' actually got given heavy fines after it was determined that their competition questions had become so insultingly easy that it was basically a lottery rather than a competition which broke gambling laws or something and shows were forced to make harder questions.

[-"That question's an utter joke! It's patently 'custard'"-]

** Questions like "How many moons does the Earth have?" Go, on, you know that! It's obvious! What kind of moron doesn't kno- did you say "one"? Oh ''dear''... [[spoiler:[[ScienceMarchesOn or not]]: (3753) Cruithne is a quasi-satellite.]]

** Questions like "How many moons does the Earth have?" Go, on, you know that! It's obvious! What kind of moron doesn't kno- did you say "one"? Oh ''dear''... [[supersecretspoiler:[[ScienceMarchesOn or not]]: (3753) Cruithne is a quasi-satellite.]]

* An number of interactive game shows on Australian TV did this, with questions such as "Who is the Prime Minister of Australia? A) Daffy Duck, B) Kermit the Frog or C) John Howard.
** Parodied by TheChasersWarOnEverything. When the above question was mentioned, Julian replied "Which I guess leads to the question, "Who are these shows aimed at? A) Bicycles, B) The Sydney Opera House, or C) Morons.

"Hey hey, reader! Welcome to the TVTropes Ultimate Competition line! Answer the following question to win an [[TVTropesDrinkingGame egregious]] prize: a five-week holiday on beautiful [[SugarBowl Sugar Bowl Beach]]!

** There is an ad featuring {{Naruto}} that asks "What cartoon character is this?" A: Naruto. B: [[FullmetalAlchemist Fullmetal]] [[IAmNotShazam Alchemist]]. C: [[TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Ninja Turtle]]. Bonus headache points for CowboyBebopAtHisComputer.

** There is an ad featuring {{Naruto}} that asks "What cartoon character is this?" A: Naruto. B: [[FullmetalAlchemist Fullmetal]] [[IAmNotShazam Alchemist]]. C: [[TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Ninja Turtle]]. Bonus WallBanger points for CowboyBebopAtHisComputer.

-->Who was the first man to run the four-minute mile? Was it: A) the Battle of Crécy; B) ''{{Moonraker}}'', or C) the athlete and fast record-breaking fast miler Sir Roger "Four-Minute" Bannister, the famous runner?

--> "Call in at £60 a minute and answer this question to win a fridge magnet! What is the capital of Britain - is it A, London, or B, 1948?" "[[TooDumbToLive Errrrm...I'm gonna phone in twice, make sure I get it!]]"

* PC game ''YouDontKnowJack'' had at least one question along these lines. It was titled "It's a Dog" and was something like "What looks like a dog, sounds like a dog, etc?" The answer? [[spoiler:A dog.]] Hilariously, this is labeled as an Impossible Question, and worth a crazy amount of money.

* The magazine ''Cube'' was a bit odd about this. On the one hand, an issue had a contest to win a ''Film/{{Spider-Man}}'' DVD, with the question "Who plays Mary-Jane in the movie? A: Kirsten Dunst. B: [[PottyEmergency Burstin For-Dump]]. C: Princess Peach". On the other hand, a contest to win a {{GameCube}}, some controllers, several games, a big-screen TV, and surround-sound speakers, the question was "What does RGB-SCART stand for?" This was in the days when {{Wikipedia}} only had a couple of thousand entries and tended not to even appear on {{Google}} searches, so in order to win, you needed access to some relatively obscure documentation.

* Fictional example: In A. A. Milne's play ''The Ugly Duckling'', the law of the kingdom requires a suitor for the hand of the princess to answer a riddle. The current princess is very plain, and her parents, not wanting to give anyone an excuse to turn her down, use riddles like "What is it which has four legs and barks like a dog?" This is PlayedForLaughs in multiple ways. Early in the play, the king and queen recall one suitor who was so desperate not to marry the princess that he somehow completely failed to answer the riddle. Later, a none-too-bright prince [[spoiler:who's an impostor anyway]] is given the answer in advance, but the riddle is changed at the last minute and he gets it wrong. Another character ([[spoiler:the real prince]]) quickly covers for him.