Sorry, Wrong Answer

Where were Venetian blinds invented?
What color is the black box on a commercial airplane?
Where did India ink originate?*

Most of us know more than we think we know. We also think we know more than we actually do-because some of what we think we know simply “ain’t so.” We all harbor misconceptions that are accepted not only because they are popular but also because they make sense.

It makes sense to believe, for example, that German chocolate originated in Germany rather than the truth: that German chocolate is so named because it was created by Sam German. It seems logical to believe that Mercury is the hottest planet because of its proximity to the sun, or that buttermilk contains butter, that Danish pastry is from Denmark, and that the boat race America’s Cup was named after the United States of America.

In Sorry, Wrong Answer, Rod Evans takes readers on a tour of misleading trivia, debunking commonly held assumptions and sharing surprising “right” answers.

*Answers: Japan; Orange; China