Is there a name for this sort of question?

[dsrtao]

No, actually -- is there a name for the specific type of question which poses as a request for esoteric information, but would not have been asked if the obvious answer was correct, and is actually designed as a conversation piece?

E.g.: Which has more hotel rooms - NYC or all of India?

This question is unlikely to come up in casual conversation, and if someone leads with it, it is because the obvious answer -- India, because India has many big cities, NYC is just one of the largest -- is wrong.

It's a standard conversational gambit, and there ought to be a name for it.

Comments

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

I would call it a "conversational sally" but I don't know if there's a specific name for, er, factoid riddles.