Another good one is the "does linked list have loop" question. If you don't know the answer, you have to figure it out from inspiration. Took over a decade for the first guy to do it.
but that one should be, in fact, well known. i've been out of school forever but surely it has to be taught now?
so, this question isn't testing if you can find a loop, it's testing whether you have enough experience to have heard of it. which is a fine enough thing to test for.
i understand your point, that questions are often designed poorly, but your example isn't necessarily a good one.
Similarly for many other tricks.
I have never used it in real-life development, though.