Test your smarts with these tricky trivia questions—then challenge your family and friends to see how they fare
1
/
11
Geography trivia questions
- What is the only U.S. state that borders just one other?
Maine. - What’s the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world?
Jericho. - What is the only U.S. state with a Spanish motto?
Montana, where the motto is “Oro y plata” (which translates to “Gold and silver”). Bonus points: Montana’s state nickname is the Treasure State. - What is the only U.S. state with a name that ends in three consecutive vowels?
Hawaii. - In 2015, which country started thanking people via text message when their donated blood was used?
Sweden. - What color are the arches at the McDonald’s in Sedona, Arizona?
Turquoise. - What is the most common street name in the United States?
Second Street. - Which country makes up more than half the western coastline of South America?
Chile. - What is the driest place on Earth?
McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica. - What is the only U.S. state that does not have a rectangular flag?
Ohio.
2
/
11
Science trivia questions
- What are the three states of matter?
Solid, liquid and gas. - Which planet is closest to the sun?
Mercury. - What is the largest organ of the human body?
The skin. - How many teeth do adult humans have?
32. - What is the rarest blood type?
AB-. - What is the boiling point of water?
100 degrees Celsius. - How many elements are in the periodic table?
118. - What is the compound H2O?
Water. - What side of the brain deals with language?
Left. - Biology is the study of what?
Life.
3
/
11
Pop culture trivia questions
- What was the original name of the band Led Zeppelin?
The New Yardbirds. - Which comic book character did Michael Jackson want to play so much that he considered buying Marvel Comics in the 1990s?
Spider-Man. - Which original Winnie the Pooh voice actor attempted to create an artificial heart?
Tigger’s Paul Winchell. - The son of which famous author successfully wrote stories for 10 years before revealing who his father was to the public?
Stephen King, whose son Joe Hill is a bestselling author. - What comic strip’s joke name for the row of spikes on a stegosaurus’s tail, the “thagomizer,” ended up becoming the official name?
The Far Side. - Which African country was the setting for Tatooine in Star Wars?
Tunisia. - Who was the first Bachelor?
Alex Michel. - How many seasons of Game of Thrones aired?
Eight. - Where did Prince William and Kate Middleton first meet?
The University of St. Andrews. - Who wrote the Twilight books?
Stephenie Meyer.
4
/
11
Movie trivia questions
- In which movie did the song “White Christmas” make its debut?
Holiday Inn. - How many different characters does Tom Hanks play in the 2004 Christmas movie The Polar Express?
Five. - Netflix founder Reed Hastings claimed (possibly falsely) that he thought of the idea for his company after receiving a $40 late fee from Blockbuster. What was the movie he said he failed to return?
Apollo 13. - What is the highest-grossing movie of all time?
Avatar. - Who performs at the wedding in Bridesmaids?
Wilson Phillips. - What is the name of the famous dance in The Rocky Horror Picture Show?
“The Time Warp.” - What was the first movie made in color?
Visit to the Seaside. - In Risky Business, what song did Tom Cruise lip-sync to in his underwear?
“Old Time Rock and Roll.” - Who was the first actor to play Batman?
Lewis Wilson. - Which movie was incorrectly announced as the winner of the Best Picture Oscar at the 2017 Academy Awards?
La La Land.
5
/
11
Disney trivia questions
- What year did Walt Disney World open?
1971. - What are the names of Cinderella’s stepsisters?
Anastasia and Drizella. - What does “Hakuna matata” mean?
No worries. - What are the names of the seven dwarfs in Snow White?
Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Sneezy, Happy, Grumpy and Sleepy. - How many years was Genie stuck in the lamp before Aladdin found him?
10,000 years. - Who is the fashion designer in The Incredibles?
Edna Mode. - How many Disney parks are there?
12 parks in six resorts. - What is Goofy’s son’s name?
Max. - What was the first Pixar movie?
Toy Story. - How many puppies did Pongo and Perdita have in 101 Dalmatians?
15.
6
/
11
History trivia questions
- How many legitimate children did King George III have?
15. - How many people stood in the line of succession between King George IV and Queen Victoria?
Six. - Who was the first woman in history to die in an aviation-related incident?
Sophie Blanchard (a balloonist who died in 1812). - How many people survived the 1959 incident at Dyatlov Pass?
One. - Which fruit did many people in the Western world think was poisonous until 1820?
Tomatoes. - What did the Raines Law, enacted in 1896 in New York, do?
Made it illegal to sell alcohol on Sundays. - Which unusual substance was the primary ingredient in the laxatives Lewis and Clark brought on their expedition?
Mercury. - In the 1830s, which scientifically gifted woman led to the coining of the term scientist because man of science didn’t apply?
Mary Somerville. - Where did Albert Einstein live before moving to the United States?
Germany. - Who invented the cotton gin?
Eli Whitney.
7
/
11
American history trivia questions
- The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States … but in this context, bald doesn’t mean hairless. The bald part of the bird’s name comes from an Old English word meaning what?
White. - Which U.S. president fathered a child at age 70?
John Tyler, the 10th president. - Who performed the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean?
Charles Lindbergh. - Who won the very first Emmy for Most Outstanding Television Personality in 1949?
Shirley Dinsdale. - Which U.S. state’s constitution did Congress forget to ratify when it was granted statehood, an omission that wasn’t fixed until 150 years later?
Ohio. - Which U.S. president pardoned all Vietnam War draft dodgers on his second day in office?
Jimmy Carter. - Which U.S. president considered funding an expedition to the center of the Earth?
John Quincy Adams. - What is the oldest European-founded city in the United States?
St. Augustine, Florida. - What was the date of the Boston Tea Party?
Dec. 16, 1773. - Who was the shortest-serving U.S. president?
William Henry Harrison, who died on his 32nd day in office.
8
/
11
Animal trivia questions
- How many scent receptors do dogs have in their noses?
300 million. - How many words can dogs understand?
More than 150. - Sea urchins got their name from what nonaquatic animal, which was known as an “urchin” until the 15th century?
The hedgehog. - What is the gestation period for an elephant?
22 months. - What color is a giraffe’s tongue?
Black, blue or purple. - What color is a polar bear’s skin?
Black. - What is the fastest land animal?
The cheetah. - Which animal supposedly has nine lives?
The cat. - How many layers of skin does a chameleon have?
Four. - What is the largest type of frog?
The Goliath frog.
9
/
11
Holiday trivia questions
- What does Cinco de Mayo celebrate?
Mexico’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. - How many days of Kwanzaa are there?
Seven. - Who was the first U.S. president to recognize Hanukkah in the White House?
Jimmy Carter. - What is the highest-grossing Christmas movie?
Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch. - Where did Christmas originate?
Rome. - When was the first New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York City?
1907. - What was candy corn originally called?
Chicken feed. - How long was the first Thanksgiving celebration?
Three days. - In what country did the tradition of the Easter bunny originate?
Germany. - Which first lady was the first to decorate the White House for Halloween?
Mamie Eisenhower.
10
/
11
TV show trivia questions
- What are the names of the four Golden Girls?
Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia - What is the Munsters’s address?
1313 Mockingbird Lane. - What was Lucy trying to sell during her famous commercial on I Love Lucy?
Vitameatavegemin. - What is the longest-running prime-time live-action scripted show?
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. - Where did the students hang out in Saved by the Bell?
The Max. - Where did the friends hang out in Friends?
Central Perk. - What was the name of the annoying kid next door in Sister, Sister?
Roger. - What is the name of the team Ted Lasso coaches on Ted Lasso?
AFC Richmond. - Family Matters was a spinoff of which other show?
Perfect Strangers. - In The Big Bang Theory, Penny is a waitress at which restaurant?
The Cheesecake Factory.
11
/
11
Music trivia questions
- What year was the first Grammy Awards held?
1959. - Who won the first season of American Idol?
Kelly Clarkson. - Who founded Motown Records?
Berry Gordy. - Who was the first woman ever inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?
Aretha Franklin. - What was Taylor Swift’s first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 song?
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” - Who is the only member of One Direction to win a Grammy?
Harry Styles. - Which classical composer was deaf?
Ludwig van Beethoven. - Which singer was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou?
George Michael. - What was the first music video ever to air on MTV?
“Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles. - What does the “J” in Mary J. Blige stand for?
Jane.
These trivia questions aren’t just fun to read; they’re your secret weapon for trivia nights, pub quizzes or even a friendly face-off at home. But if you want to include all ages, give these kid-friendly trivia questions a go. Then show off your smarts and enjoy the bragging rights—you’ve earned them!
Additional reporting by Meghan Jones and Lauren Cahn.
Why trust us
Reader’s Digest is known for our humor and brain games, including quizzes, puzzles, riddles, word games, trivia, math, pattern and logic puzzles, guessing games, crosswords, rebus, hidden objects and spot-the-difference challenges. We’ve earned prestigious ASME awards for our entertainment content and have produced dozens of brainteaser books, including Word Searches, Word Power, Use Your Words, Fun Puzzles and Brain Ticklers, Mind Stretchers, Ultimate Christmas Puzzles and more. Our 10 published volumes of Mind Stretchers were edited by Allen D. Bragdon, founder of The Brainwaves Center and editor of Games magazine. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
