The wild goose chase comment intrigues me.

From searching the origin of the phrase:

The origin of the idiom wild-goose chase, meaning "a complicated or lengthy and usually fruitless pursuit or search," has nothing to do with the pursuit of the bird—although we can imagine that chasing after and catching one would have its difficulties. The original wild-goose chase was actually a game in which riders on horseback tried to follow and keep up with a lead rider on whatever course he set. The game's name derives from its resemblance to a flight of geese with a lead goose followed by others in formation.