The Knowlege Test for People Who Want a Challenge!
By: Ryan Choate
4 min
Image: Donald Iain Smith / Photodisc / Getty Images
About This Quiz
Trivia can be just fun when you are having a board game night with your friends or for the serious knowledge hounds, it is a way to test your skills at retaining information. Trivia remains highly popular in our culture that includes one of the longest-running television game shows in history, "Jeopardy!" We like to have a small reward with the right answer on trivia questions, even though the question we answer probably has no relevance to anything truly important.Â
The concept of pub quiz or trivia night at the bar has brought trivia back into the mainstream with millennials and hipsters alike. Bars saw it as a way to get people into their establishments on slow nights but trivia night at the bar has become a staple at nearly every drinking establishment across the country. You can now find a "trivia league" in New York City. High school students are encouraged to memorize information by creating games and trivia contests that promote learning. Trivia is here to stay and its popularity is soaring.
Some people like to really stretch out the brain noodle and try for the most difficult trivia they can find. If you are a walking library of knowledge, then take this knowledge test for people who want a challenge!
We live in a diverse world, with animals of all shapes and sizes. Do you know what the largest living land animal is?
African elephant
The African elephant is the largest living animal on Earth. There are two sub-species of African elephant: the Savanna elephant and the Forest elephant. Savanna elephants are the larger of the two and make up two-thirds of the African elephant population.
The 2020 Summer Olympics are fast approaching. Which country will be hosting these games?
Japan
Tokyo will be hosting the Summer Olympics for the second time. They first hosted the Olympic Games in 1964. Tokyo was chosen over Istanbul and Madrid in two rounds of voting in the 125th IOC session in Brazil.
Tennis is a competitive sport played by athletes worldwide. Which tennis player has won the most Grand Slam titles?
Roger Federer
Roger Federer has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles. He has won eight Wimbledon titles (a men's record), six Australian Open titles, five U.S. Open titles (another record), and one French Open title.
Whether you believe it's real or not, it's officially in the history books. In what year did the first moon landing take place?
1969
On the evening of July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. It was a little more than eight years after President Kennedy's challenge to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. Astronaut Michael Collins, who was also on the Apollo 11 crew, stayed on the Command Module orbiting the moon while Armstrong and Aldrin explored the lunar surface.
All animals have a blood type, which can vary from species to species. But do you know which human blood type is the rarest in the United States?
AB-negative
A human red blood cell contains antigens on the surface of each cell. These antigens determine what blood type a person has. The eight basic types are determined by the combinations of A, B, and Rh antigens. The least common combination leads to the AB- blood type. Only 0.6 percent of the population has this type. The most common (37.4 percent of the population) is O-positive.
Dinosaurs were some pretty big creatures, but there's an even bigger organism out there today. What is the largest known living organism?
A Fungus
The world's largest living thing is Armillaria ostoyae, or, as it's nicknamed, the Humongous Fungus. It covers 2,385 acres of the Malheur National Forest in Oregon. The fungus has a huge network of roots that spread underground.
Earth isn't the only planet with a moon. Which planet in our solar system has the most moons?
Jupiter
Jupiter has a total of 64 confirmed moons. These moons include four large spherical moons, four small spherical moons, and 55 irregular satellites. Saturn has the second-highest number of moons, with 61.
Orchestras were once the biggest form of entertainment. Which classical composer was deaf?
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Beethoven was a pianist and composer during the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. His personal life was marked by a struggle with deafness, but that didn't stop him from composing. His most important works were written in the last 10 years of his life when he was almost completely deaf.
Octopuses are strange creatures with strange biology. How many hearts does an octopus have?
Three
An octopus has three hearts. One heart is used to circulate blood throughout its body. It has an additional two hearts to pump blood to the gills. An octopus also has nine brains and blue blood.
College is almost mandatory for today's presidents, but it wasn't always that way. Which of these U.S. presidents did not earn a four-year college degree?
Harry S. Truman
The U.S. Constitution does not set forth any educational requirements for the president. As time has gone on though, presidents have become increasingly more educated. Not only do modern presidents have college degrees, but they've earned degrees from Ivy league schools. Harry S. Truman was the last president who did not have a degree.
Aviation spans many aircraft as well as many generations. Who was the first woman to die in an aviation accident?
Sophie Blanchard
Sophie Blanchard began piloting balloons in 1783. She experienced many mishaps on multiple flights, but she always found a way out. However, in 1819, she took off in a balloon and found that it was leaking. The balloon caught fire, and fell rapidly to the ground. She was the first female aviation casualty.
Every continent contains a desert. Where does the world's largest exist?
Antarctica
A desert is classified by a number of characteristics, the most important being the amount of precipitation received. By this definition, Antarctica, as a whole, is the largest desert in the world. The continent receives less than 200 mm of precipitation every year. The next three largest deserts are the Arctic, the Saharan, and the Arabian.
The southern most U.S. state is Hawaii, at 18 degrees and 55 minutes north. Florida comes in second, marked by a buoy in Key West, at 24 degrees and 32 minutes north.
Astronauts also enjoy sweet beverages. What was the first soft drink in space?
Coca-Cola
In 1985, astronauts tested the "Coca-Cola Space Can" on board the space shuttle Challenger. More than years later, in 1996, a fountain dispenser -- serving Coke, diet Coke and sports drink Powerade -- was launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavour.
How many grapes does it take to make one bottle of wine?
Between 600 and 800
It takes between 600 and 800 grapes to make a single bottle of wine. Depending on the variety of grape, this is equivalent to anywhere between three and 10 clusters.
Printing money isn't free. How much does it cost to make a $1 bill?
5.5 cents
According to the Federal Reserve, it costs the U.S. Government about 5.5 cents to make a single $1 bill. Each bill lasts about six years. The most expensive bill to make is the $100 bill since there are additional counterfeit protections required.
What is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world?
Damascus, Syria
There is evidence of habitation in Damascus dating back at least 11,000 years. Its location has kept it in the spotlight throughout many civilizations. It is currently home to 2.5 million people.
The whaling life is a hard one. What real-life shipwreck inspired Herman Melville's Moby Dick?
The Essex
The Essex was a whaling ship that set off from Nantucket in 1819. It was captained by George Pollard Jr. The Essex had been plagued by mini-disasters leading up to its famous bout with a sperm whale, which sunk the ship off the western coast of South America.
Which of the following video games was cited as a major factor in more than 200 divorce cases?
Fortnite
With more than 125 million registered Fortnite players worldwide, it's no wonder it's the cause of some marital strife. At least 200 couples in the United Kingdom alone have cited Fortnite as one of the reasons for their divorce. The World Health Organization notet an "increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences."
There are more than 6,500 spoken languages. What is the most commonly spoken native language in the world?
Mandarin Chinese
The number of native Mandarin speakers is roughly 1.2 billion. That means that one in six people speak Chinese. But once you include everyone who speaks the language, not just the native speakers, then English narrowly edges out Chinese for the top spot.
Science is responsible for some pretty fascinating things. What was the first successfully cloned mammal?
Ferret
Sheep
Dolly, the sheep, was the first successfully cloned mammal. Originally code-named 6LL3, the sheep was eventually renamed after the famous singer, Dolly Parton. Dolly was born in 1997. Over the course of her life, she even gave birth to four lambs.
Great Britain contains some of the greatest architectural wonders. What is the official name of the tower more commonly known as "Big Ben"?
The Elizabeth Tower
Big Ben is actually the nickname for the bell inside the clock tower, not the entire tower. It's a fitting name, since the bell stands at over 7 feet tall and weighs 13.5 tons. However, the tower's official name is the Elizabeth Tower.
Which country has the oldest flag, currently unchanged since 1219?
Denmark
The flag of Denmark holds the Guinness world record of the oldest continuously used national flag. Also known as the Dannebrog, it features a red background with a white Scandinavian Cross.
The world is filled with natural beauty, including incredible waterfalls. What is the name of the world's tallest waterfall?
Angel Falls
Angel Falls, known as Salto Angel in Venezuela, is the highest waterfall in the world. It The falls are 3,230 feet in height. They are located on a tributary of the Rio Caroni.
What is the highest-grossing movie of all time, adjusting for inflation?
"Gone with the Wind"
"Gone with the Wind" took in $393.4 million in its 1939 release. However, once adjusted for inflation, the film's gross totals to $3.44 billion. It was a movie that made Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh household names for generations to come.
There are two planets in our Solar System that rotate clockwise. Which of the following is one of them?
Venus
All of the planets in our solar system, with the exception of Venus and possibly Uranus, rotate counter-clockwise. Uranus is tilted on its side about 90 degrees, so even its rotation is ambiguous.
Which soccer player (football, in the rest of the world) has scored the highest number of total goals in the FIFA world cup?
Miroslav Klose
Miroslav Klose was born in Poland but is now a German citizen. He last played for the Italian club, Lazio, as well as for the German national team. He has scored 16 goals across four FIFA World Cups. Cristiano Ronaldo is a close second, with a total of 15 goals.
Being the president can be a risky job. How many U.S. presidents have been assassinated?
One
Two
Three
Four
Four U.S. presidents have been assassinated while in office. They are Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. All four were killed by gunshots.
A group of horses is known as a team, but do you know what the collective term for a group of unicorns is?
Blessing
While it may seem like a useless word, "blessing" is the official term for a group of mythical unicorns. Unicorns have become increasingly popular in modern culture, so it only seems fitting to also coin a group name for the creatures.
We write zip codes on our envelopes to help out the post office. What does ZIP stand for in reference to zip codes?
Zone Improvement Plan
ZIP is an acronym for "Zone Improvement Plan." The U.S. Postal Service intentionally chose an acronym that implied mail would travel faster when a package included the zip code. The system was first implemented in 1963.
There are 206 bones in a human adult skeleton. How many bones are babies born with?
300
A baby is born with 300 bones. This new skeleton contains many bones made almost entirely of cartilage. These cartilaginous bones eventually fuse together, leaving an adult with 206 bones.
Rivers are the lifeblood of civilizations. Which is the longest river in the world?
Amazon
Measured from its mouth to the most distant area, the Amazon River measures 4,345 miles. It runs from the Peruvian Andies, through Brazil, and into the Atlantic Ocean. There is some controversy surrounding this number and it was only granted the title of "Longest River" in 2007.