How many legs does a Hottentot have, was a question on an assessment test I took in high school. Multiple choice, I had my pick of two, four, six or eight.
Sometime before I’d read a book about Trader Horn — Alfred Aloysius Smith, who changed Smith to Horn for commercial reasons, he being an ivory trader in Africa. It was probably in the book I learned Hottentot was the name of an African tribe, with members obviously having two legs.
I don’t remember how I fared overall on the test, but I never took one without giving my all; my competitive nature showing through, and also knowing results were important. “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right,” Dad, a child of the Depression, often said.