“Shrill” writer Lindy West was wrong about Canada geese

Every week on “Make Me Smart,” we ask an expert, celebrity, author or other prominent figure: “What’s something you thought you knew but later found out you were wrong about?” It’s called the Make Me Smart question.

Seattle writer and comedian Lindy West, known for her memoir, “Shrill,” which was adapted into a Hulu series, knows a lot of animal facts. But there was one she was wrong about.

For years, as an adult, I believed that Canada geese, which we have many of here in Washington, were not called that because they’re from Canada, but because they were discovered by a guy named, like, Mr. Canada. Someone told me that. Clearly it was a joke, and I thought it was true. Only a couple of years ago, someone was like, “There’s no way that’s true. That can’t be correct.” So I went and looked it up. And it was, in fact, not correct. I don’t remember where it came from or who tricked me, but it was humiliating.

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