Get your brain going
A brilliant bank holiday quiz that will have you scratching your head
MANY of us have been hosting weekly pub quizzes with friends over video apps like Zoom and House Party to catch up while lockdown stops us meeting in person.
But a good pub quiz takes time to put together.
You’ve got to get the mix of questions right and make the questions not too tough and not too easy.
Then there’s all the fact-checking — no one likes a quizmaster who’s not sure of their own answers.
So if the preparation is starting to wear you down, here are 100 general knowledge pub questions – as compiled by Lauren Brown – which will test even your most intelligent friends (you know, the annoying ones).
FILM, TV AND CELEBRITY QUESTIONS
1. Taylor Swift grew up on what type of farm?
2. What is Owen Wilson’s middle name?
3. American singer Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta is best known by which stagename?
4. Which singer was known amongst other things as “The King of Pop” and “The Gloved One”?
5. One of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, and was named FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year on six occasions?
6. In which film of 1956 did Elvis Presley make his debut?
7. Who was Bruce Forsyth’s first female assistant on the Generation Game?
8. Which actress, model and icon said “imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring”?
9. In which Irish city was Terry Wogan born in August 1938?
10. Ryan Reynolds starred alongside
Melissa George in this 2005 spine chiller?
11. Which island nation is pop star Rihanna from?
12. In which Italian city did George Clooney get married to Amal?
13. How many Hemsworth brothers are there?
14. How long did Pamela Anderson know Motely Crue drummer Tommy Lee before marrying him?
15. Which make-up mogul became the youngest billionaire in the world?
16. Who is Dolly Parton married to?
17. What is the name of the character Ed Westwick played in hit show Gossip Girl? 18. Which actor/writer presented the Crystal Maze and also wrote the Rocky Horror Picture Show?
19. Tom Cruise is an outspoken member of which religion?
20. What is Brad Pitt’s real full name?
21. Which American actor and film maker was born Mark Sinclair?
22. Who was the winner of the first ever UK series of ‘I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!’?
23. Which supermodel was born in Streatham in May 1970?
24. Which actor, famous for starring in Last of the Summer Wine, was also the voice of Wallace in the Wallace and Gromit films?
25. Who was the English crime writer famous for writing the Inspector Morse series, who died in March 2017?
26. What is the name of Kim Kardashian’s eldest child?
27. How many Oscars has Leonardo DiCaprio won?
28. Which footballer has the most Instagram followers in the world - as of 2020?
29. Which X-Factor judge and music tycoon has a son called Eric?
30. What is Cher’s last name?
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE QUIZ QUESTIONS
31. In which modern-day country was the physicist and chemist Marie Curie born? 32. How many wings does a mosquito have?
33. Which is the largest internal organ in the human body?
34. Arachnophobia is the fear of what?
35. What is the collective name for a group of crows?
36. What part of a human body is the mandible?
37. The rate at which the body produces energy from nutrients is controlled by which gland in the neck?
38. At what speed does light travel?
39. What is the largest moon of Saturn called?
40. Percy Spencer invented which time saving kitchen appliance?
41. Ascorbic acid is a form of which vitamin?
42. What is the name of the light sensitive panel of cells at the rear of the eye?
43. Humans and chimpanzees share roughly how much DNA?
44. What is the biggest planet in our
solar system?
45. What is a material that will not carry an electrical charge called?
46. How many hearts do octopuses have?
47. On the periodic table, what symbol stands for silver?
48. How many ribs do you have?
49. Which is the most sensitive of the senses?
50. What is the soft spot on a babies head known as?
HISTORY QUESTIONS
51. What did the Romans call Scotland?
52. Who was made Lord Mayor of London in 1397, 1398, 1406 And 1419?
53. Who was Henry VIII’s last wife?
54. Who was the youngest British Prime Minister?
55. In which year was Joan of Arc burned at the stake?
56. Which nationality was the polar explorer Roald Amundsen? 57. Who was the first female Prime Minister of Australia?
58. Which explorer was executed in 1618, 15 years after being found guilty of conspiracy against King James I of England and VI of Scotland?
59. Which city was once known as Duroliponte?
60. The first successful vaccine was introduced by Edward Jenner in 1796. Which disease did it guard against?
61. What was the name of the baker in whose bakery the Great Fire of London of 1666 apparently started?
62. The Spanish Civil War started in 1936 and ended in which year?
63. The horror of Guernica was portrayed in a painting by which artist?
64. Which US President had the middle name Milhous? 65. Which two students founded Google in 1998?
66. In 1870 the Third Republic is declared in France after which leader was deposed?
67. In 1958 the first artificial satellite launched in 1957 fell back to earth. What was its name?
68. In 1918 Finland declared its independence from which country?
69. Which iconic structure began its construction in California in January 1933?
70. Which long distance train had its first run in October 1883?
71. What colour were the pyramids at Giza originally?
72. The first televised address from the Oval Office was made in 1947 by which President?
73. In November 1921, the Japanese Prime Minister Hara Takashi was assassinated in which city?
74. Who found the entrance to Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Nov 1922?
75. On the November 4, 1956, Soviet troops entered which country in order to quell a rebellion?
76. Which Apache leader in 1886 after 29 years years of fighting finally surrendered in Arizona?
77. In 1904, the area now known as Times Square in Manhattan was given its name, but what was it called before that?
78. Who is the Roman god of agriculture?
79. Manchester United players and 15 other passengers were killed in February 1958 in an accident that became known as what?
MORE GENERAL KNOWLEDGE QUESTIONS
80. What was the name of the mythological monster that had nine heads?
81. What is the world’s largest land mammal? 82. The Godfather was released in 1972; which actor played the title role?
83. Who was Prime Minister when Britain joined the European Union?
84. Zn is the symbol of which chemical element?
85. The traditional Claret Jug is the trophy awarded to the winner of which annual sporting event?
86. What is the art of stuffing animals for preservation?
87. What does a Geiger Counter measure?
88. Which two main ingredients make up Banoffee Pie?
89. The UK sitcom ‘Gavin & Stacey’ was written by Ruth Jones and which other comedian?
90. The Boat Race takes place between crews from which two UK universities?
91. “Moonshine” was a slang term for which type of beverage?
92. “Ahh Bisto” is a phrase best associated with which type of British food sauce?
93. Heart of Darkness is an 1899 novel by which British author?
94. In the Stars Wars film franchise, which character famously declares ‘I am your father’?
95. True or false: the setting for the ITV drama Midsomer Murders is a fictional English county called Midsomer?
96. Eric Carle wrote a series of children’s books about A Very Hungry... what?
97. What type of clothing is a Glengarry?
98. In the phonetic alphabet what word is used to denote the letter K?
99. Which potter famous for his “jasperware” opened his first pottery business in Burslem in 1759
100. The wood of a cricket bat is traditionally made from which type of tree?