> I don't think this leads you to anything. I think the questions are just meant to get you answering quickly and without thinking, getting you to say the first tool and color that actually come to mind, instead of thinking over it. Red and hammer are probably the two most generic members of those two sets, which is why a lot of people say them. Not that I actually believe the 98% statistic, but either way.

... And I'd also buy that it works better in a face-to-face verbal setting, where one can actually build up a semblance of "pressure," than it does on the internet. I knew a similar trick once - one which I have seen and tried and can vouch for the effectiveness of. Basically, it works like this: I tell you to start counting in a pattern of 5, 55, 555, 5555, and so on, and then, at some point (preferrably pretty high up, so there's some pressure already just to name all the fives in the right order) I blurt out "quick! Name a vegetable!" Most people will - and do, in my experience - say "carrot." But I don't think it would work the same on the internet, where there's no pressure and no reason for people not to sit and think about things and take their time answering.