Trick Questions
What does a yellow stone thrown into a blue pond become? Do they have a 4th of July in England? How can a doctor go 30 days without sleep? Whatever you think the answers to these trick questions are, you’re probably wrong. The 54 questions in this program have been specifically crafted so that their answers are simple, obvious, and misleading. Finding the true answer will require some cleverness.
Copying the code from this book will spoil the fun, since you’ll see the answers, so you might want to download and play this game from https://inventwithpython.com/trickquestions.py before looking at the source code.
The Program in Action
When you run trickquestions.py, the output will look like this:
Trick Questions, by Al Sweigart [email protected]
Can you figure out the answers to these trick questions?
(Enter QUIT to quit at any time.)
Press Enter to begin...
--snip--
Question: 1
Score: 0 / 54
QUESTION: A 39 year old person was born on the 22nd of February. What year is their birthday?
ANSWER: 1981
Incorrect! The answer is: Their birthday is on February 22nd of every year.
Press Enter for the next question...
--snip--
Question: 2
Score: 0 / 54
QUESTION: If there are ten apples and you take away two, how many do you have?
ANSWER: Eight
Incorrect! The answer is: Two.
Press Enter for the next question...
--snip--How It Works
The QUESTIONS variable holds a list of dictionaries. Each dictionary represents a single trick question and has the keys 'question', 'answer', and 'accept'. The values for 'question' and 'answer' are strings the program displays when it poses the question to the player and reveals the answer, respectively. The value for the 'accept' key is a list of strings. If the player enters a response that contains any of these strings, it’s accepted as correct. This allows the player to enter free-form text as their reply. The program is reasonably accurate in detecting when they’ve provided the correct answer.
1. """Trick Questions, by Al Sweigart [email protected]
2. A quiz of several trick questions.
3. View this code at https://nostarch.com/big-book-small-python-projects
4. Tags: large, humor"""
5.
6. import random, sys
7.
8. # QUESTIONS is a list of dictionaries, each dictionary represents a
9. # trick question and its answer. The dictionary has the keys 'question'
10. # (which holds the text of the question), 'answer' (which holds the text
11. # of the answer), and 'accept' (which holds a list of strings that, if
12. # the player's answer contains any of, they've answered correctly).
13. # (!) Try coming up with your own trick questions to add here:
14. QUESTIONS = [
15. {'question': "How many times can you take 2 apples from a pile of 10 apples?",
16. 'answer': "Once. Then you have a pile of 8 apples.",
17. 'accept': ['once', 'one', '1']},
18. {'question': 'What begins with "e" and ends with "e" but only has one letter in it?',
19. 'answer': "An envelope.",
20. 'accept': ['envelope']},
21. {'question': "Is it possible to draw a square with three sides?",
22. 'answer': "Yes. All squares have three sides. They also have a fourth side.",
23. 'accept': ['yes']},
24. {'question': "How many times can a piece of paper be folded in half by hand without
unfolding?",
25. 'answer': "Once. Then you are folding it in quarters.",
26. 'accept': ['one', '1', 'once']},
27. {'question': "What does a towel get as it dries?",
28. 'answer': "Wet.",
29. 'accept': ['wet']},
30. {'question': "What does a towel get as it dries?",
31. 'answer': "Drier.",
32. 'accept': ['drier', 'dry']},
33. {'question': "Imagine you are in a haunted house full of evil ghosts. What do you
have to do to stay safe?",
34. 'answer': "Nothing. You're only imagining it.",
35. 'accept': ['nothing', 'stop']},
36. {'question': "A taxi driver is going the wrong way down a one-way street. She passes
ten cops but doesn't get a ticket. Why not?",
37. 'answer': "She was walking.",
38. 'accept': ['walk']},
39. {'question': "What does a yellow stone thrown into a blue pond become?",
40. 'answer': "Wet.",
41. 'accept': ['wet']},
42. {'question': "How many miles does must a cyclist bike to get to training?",
43. 'answer': "None. They're training as soon as they get on the bike.",
44. 'accept': ['none', 'zero', '0']},
45. {'question': "What building do people want to leave as soon as they enter?",
46. 'answer': "An airport.",
47. 'accept': ['airport', 'bus', 'port', 'train', 'station', 'stop']},
48. {'question': "If you're in the middle of a square house facing the west side with
the south side to your left and the north side to your right, which side of the
house are you next to?",
49. 'answer': "None. You're in the middle.",
50. 'accept': ['none', 'middle', 'not', 'any']},
51. {'question': "How much dirt is in a hole 3 meters wide, 3 meters long, and 3 meters
deep?",
52. 'answer': "There is no dirt in a hole.",
53. 'accept': ['no', 'none', 'zero']},
54. {'question': "A girl mails a letter from America to Japan. How many miles did the
stamp move?",
55. 'answer': "Zero. The stamp was in the same place on the envelope the whole time.",
56. 'accept': ['zero', '0', 'none', 'no']},
57. {'question': "What was the highest mountain on Earth the day before Mount Everest
was discovered?",
58. 'answer': "Mount Everest was still the highest mountain of Earth the day before it
was discovered.",
59. 'accept': ['everest']},
60. {'question': "How many fingers do most people have on their two hands?",
61. 'answer': "Eight. They also have two thumbs.",
62. 'accept': ['eight', '8']},
63. {'question': "The 4th of July is a holiday in America. Do they have a 4th of July in
England?",
64. 'answer': "Yes. All countries have a 4th of July on their calendar.",
65. 'accept': ['yes']},
66. {'question': "Which letter of the alphabet makes honey?",
67. 'answer': "None. A bee is an insect, not a letter.",
68. 'accept': ['no', 'none', 'not']},
69. {'question': "How can a doctor go 30 days without sleep?",
70. 'answer': "By sleeping at night.",
71. 'accept': ['night', 'evening']},
72. {'question': "How many months have 28 days?",
73. 'answer': "12. All months have 28 days. Some have more days as well.",
74. 'accept': ['12', 'twelve', 'all']},
75. {'question': "How many two cent stamps are in a dozen?",
76. 'answer': "A dozen.",
77. 'accept': ['12', 'twelve', 'dozen']},
78. {'question': "Why is it illegal for a person living in North Dakota to be buried in
South Dakota?",
79. 'answer': "Because it is illegal to bury someone alive.",
80. 'accept': ['alive', 'living', 'live']},
81. {'question': "How many heads does a two-headed coin have?",
82. 'answer': "Zero. Coins are just circular pieces of metal. They don't have heads.",
83. 'accept': ['zero', 'none', 'no', '0']},
84. {'question': "What kind of vehicle has four wheels and flies?",
85. 'answer': "A garbage truck.",
86. 'accept': ['garbage', 'dump', 'trash']},
87. {'question': "What kind of vehicle has four wheels and flies?",
88. 'answer': "An airplane.",
89. 'accept': ['airplane', 'plane']},
90. {'question': "What five-letter word becomes shorter by adding two letters?",
91. 'answer': "Short.",
92. 'accept': ['short']},
93. {'question': "Gwen's mother has five daughters. Four are named Haha, Hehe, Hihi,
and Hoho. What's the fifth daughter's name?",
94. 'answer': "Gwen.",
95. 'accept': ['gwen']},
96. {'question': "How long is a fence if there are three fence posts each one meter apart?",
97. 'answer': "Two meters long.",
98. 'accept': ['2', 'two']},
99. {'question': "How many legs does a dog have if you count its tail as a leg?",
100. 'answer': "Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it one.",
101. 'accept': ['four', '4']},
102. {'question': "How much more are 1976 pennies worth compared to 1975 pennies?",
103. 'answer': "One cent.",
104. 'accept': ['1', 'one']},
105. {'question': "What two things can you never eat for breakfast?",
106. 'answer': "Lunch and dinner.",
107. 'accept': ['lunch', 'dinner', 'supper']},
108. {'question': "How many birthdays does the average person have?",
109. 'answer': "One. You're only born once.",
110. 'accept': ['one', '1', 'once' 'born']},
111. {'question': "Where was the United States Declaration of Independence signed?",
112. 'answer': "It was signed at the bottom.",
113. 'accept': ['bottom']},
114. {'question': "A person puts two walnuts in their pocket but only has one thing in
their pocket five minutes later. What is it?",
115. 'answer': "A hole.",
116. 'accept': ['hole']},
117. {'question': "What did the sculptor make that no one could see?",
118. 'answer': "Noise.",
119. 'accept': ['noise']},
120. {'question': "If you drop a raw egg on a concrete floor, will it crack?",
121. 'answer': "No. Concrete is very hard to crack.",
122. 'accept': ['no']},
123. {'question': "If it takes ten people ten hours to build a fence, how many hours does
it take five people to build it?",
124. 'answer': "Zero. It's already built.",
125. 'accept': ['zero', 'no', '0', 'already', 'built']},
126. {'question': "Which is heavier, 100 pounds of rocks or 100 pounds of feathers?",
127. 'answer': "Neither. They weigh the same.",
128. 'accept': ['neither', 'none', 'no', 'same', 'even', 'balance']},
129. {'question': "What do you have to do to survive being bitten by a poisonous snake?",
130. 'answer': "Nothing. Only venomous snakes are deadly.",
131. 'accept': ['nothing', 'anything']},
132. {'question': "What three consecutive days don't include Sunday, Wednesday, or
Friday?",
133. 'answer': "Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.",
134. 'accept': ['yesterday', 'today', 'tomorrow']},
135. {'question': "If there are ten apples and you take away two, how many do you have?",
136. 'answer': "Two.",
137. 'accept': ['2', 'two']},
138. {'question': "A 39 year old person was born on the 22nd of February. What year is
their birthday?",
139. 'answer': "Their birthday is on February 22nd of every year.",
140. 'accept': ['every', 'each']},
141. {'question': "How far can you walk in the woods?",
142. 'answer': "Halfway. Then you are walking out of the woods.",
143. 'accept': ['half', '1/2']},
144. {'question': "Can a man marry his widow's sister?",
145. 'answer': "No, because he's dead.",
146. 'accept': ['no']},
147. {'question': "What do you get if you divide one hundred by half?",
148. 'answer': "One hundred divided by half is two hundred. One hundred divided by two
is fifty.",
149. 'accept': ['two', '200']},
150. {'question': "What do you call someone who always knows where their spouse is?",
151. 'answer': "A widow or widower.",
152. 'accept': ['widow', 'widower']},
153. {'question': "How can someone take a photo but not be a photographer?",
154. 'answer': "They can be a thief.",
155. 'accept': ['thief', 'steal', 'take', 'literal']},
156. {'question': "An electric train leaves the windy city of Chicago at 4pm on a Monday
heading south at 100 kilometers per hour. Which way does the smoke blow from the
smokestack?",
157. 'answer': "Electric trains don't have smokestacks.",
158. 'accept': ["don't", "doesn't", 'not', 'no', 'none']},
159. {'question': 'What is the only word that rhymes with "orange"?',
160. 'answer': "Orange.",
161. 'accept': ['orange']},
162. {'question': "Who is the U.S. President if the U.S. Vice President dies?",
163. 'answer': "The current U.S. President.",
164. 'accept': ['president', 'current', 'already']},
165. {'question': "A doctor gives you three pills with instructions to take one every
half-hour. How long will the pills last?",
166. 'answer': "One hour.",
167. 'accept': ['1', 'one']},
168. {'question': "Where is there an ocean with no water?",
169. 'answer': "On a map.",
170. 'accept': ['map']},
171. {'question': "What is the size of a rhino but weighs nothing?",
172. 'answer': "A rhino's shadow.",
173. 'accept': ['shadow']},
174. {'question': "The clerk at a butcher shop is exactly 177 centimeters tall.
What do they weigh?",
175. 'answer': "The clerk weighs meat.",
176. 'accept': ['meat']}]
177.
178. CORRECT_TEXT = ['Correct!', 'That is right.', "You're right.",
179. 'You got it.', 'Righto!']
180. INCORRECT_TEXT = ['Incorrect!', "Nope, that isn't it.", 'Nope.',
181. 'Not quite.', 'You missed it.']
182.
183. print('''Trick Questions, by Al Sweigart [email protected]
184.
185. Can you figure out the answers to these trick questions?
186. (Enter QUIT to quit at any time.)
187. ''')
188.
189. input('Press Enter to begin...')
190.
191. random.shuffle(QUESTIONS)
192. score = 0
193.
194. for questionNumber, qa in enumerate(QUESTIONS): # Main program loop.
195. print('\n' * 40) # "Clear" the screen.
196. print('Question:', questionNumber + 1)
197. print('Score:', score, '/', len(QUESTIONS))
198. print('QUESTION:', qa['question'])
199. response = input(' ANSWER: ').lower()
200.
201. if response == 'quit':
202. print('Thanks for playing!')
203. sys.exit()
204.
205. correct = False
206. for acceptanceWord in qa['accept']:
207. if acceptanceWord in response:
208. correct = True
209.
210. if correct:
211. text = random.choice(CORRECT_TEXT)
212. print(text, qa['answer'])
213. score += 1
214. else:
215. text = random.choice(INCORRECT_TEXT)
216. print(text, 'The answer is:', qa['answer'])
217. response = input('Press Enter for the next question...').lower()
218.
219. if response == 'quit':
220. print('Thanks for playing!')
221. sys.exit()
222.
223. print("That's all the questions. Thanks for playing!")After entering the source code and running it a few times, try making experimental changes to it. The comments marked with (!) have suggestions for small changes you can make.
Exploring the Program
This is a base program, so there aren’t many options to customize it. Instead, consider other uses for a question-and-answer program format.