100 general knowledge quiz questions (with answers)

Running a quiz and need questions fast? Here are 80 general knowledge questions covering every topic you'd expect, plus some you wouldn't. They're sorted by category and difficulty so you can pick the right level for your audience.

Geography

Q1: What is the capital city of France?

Ans: Paris

Q2: What is the largest continent by area?

Ans: Asia

Q3: What ocean lies between Africa and Australia?

Ans: Indian Ocean

Q4: What is the largest country in the world by area?

Ans: Russia

Q5: What is the capital of Canada?

Ans: Ottawa (not Toronto)

Q6: Which river flows through London?

Ans: The Thames

Q7: In which mountain range would you find Mount Everest?

Ans: The Himalayas

Q8: What is the capital of Mongolia?

Ans: Ulaanbaatar

Q9: What is the deepest lake in the world?

Ans: Lake Baikal (Russia)

Q10: What is the only sea with no coastline?

Ans: The Sargasso Sea (defined by ocean currents rather than land)

History

Q11: In which year did World War II end?

Ans: 1945

Q12: Who was the first person to walk on the Moon?

Ans: Neil Armstrong

Q13: What ancient civilisation built the pyramids at Giza?

Ans: Ancient Egyptians

Q14: Which ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1912?

Ans: Titanic

Q15: In what year did the Berlin Wall fall?

Ans: 1989

Q16: What was the name of Henry VIII's first wife?

Ans: Catherine of Aragon

Q17: What year did the American Civil War end?

Ans: 1865

Q18: Who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic?

Ans: Amelia Earhart

Q19: In what year was the Magna Carta signed?

Ans: 1215

Q20: What was the code name for the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944?

Ans: Operation Overlord

Science and Nature

Q21: What planet is known as the Red Planet?

Ans: Mars

Q22: What gas do plants absorb from the air?

Ans: Carbon dioxide

Q23: How many legs does a spider have?

Ans: Eight

Q24: What is the largest mammal in the world?

Ans: Blue whale

Q25: What is the chemical symbol for water?

Ans: H2O

Q26: What is the hardest natural substance on Earth?

Ans: Diamond

Q27: How many bones are in the adult human body?

Ans: 206

Q28: What is the largest organ in the human body?

Ans: Skin

Q29: What gas makes up about 78% of Earth's atmosphere?

Ans: Nitrogen

Q30: What is the chemical symbol for gold?

Ans: Au (from the Latin "aurum")

Q31: What is the smallest bone in the human body?

Ans: The stapes (in the ear)

Q32: What temperature are Celsius and Fahrenheit equal?

Ans: -40 degrees

Q33: What is the most abundant element in the universe?

Ans: Hydrogen

Q34: What is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature?

Ans: Mercury

Q35: What does DNA stand for?

Ans: Deoxyribonucleic acid

Entertainment

Q36: Who wrote the Harry Potter series?

Ans: J.K. Rowling

Q37: What is the name of Mickey Mouse's girlfriend?

Ans: Minnie Mouse

Q38: In which decade was the first iPhone released?

Ans: 2000s (2007 specifically)

Q39: What streaming service produces Stranger Things?

Ans: Netflix

Q40: Who painted the Mona Lisa?

Ans: Leonardo da Vinci

Q41: What was the first feature-length animated film?

Ans: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Q42: What band was Freddie Mercury the lead singer of?

Ans: Queen

Q43: What is the best-selling video game of all time?

Ans: Minecraft

Q44: What year did The Simpsons first air?

Ans: 1989

Q45: What was the name of the first James Bond film?

Ans: Dr. No (1962)

Q46: What novel begins with "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"?

Ans: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Q47: What is the highest-grossing film franchise of all time?

Ans: Marvel Cinematic Universe

Q48: Who composed the Four Seasons?

Ans: Antonio Vivaldi

Q49: Who directed Citizen Kane?

Ans: Orson Welles

Q50: What was the first music video to air on MTV?

Ans: Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles

Potpourri

A mix of everything else.

Q51: What is the currency of Japan?

Ans: Yen

Q52: How many sides does a hexagon have?

Ans: Six

Q53: What colour do you get when you mix red and blue?

Ans: Purple

Q54: What sport uses a shuttlecock?

Ans: Badminton

Q55: What is the main ingredient in guacamole?

Ans: Avocado

Q56: What does the Richter scale measure?

Ans: Earthquake magnitude

Q57: What language has the most native speakers worldwide?

Ans: Mandarin Chinese

Q58: What is the only letter that doesn't appear in any US state name?

Ans: Q

Q59: What year was Wikipedia launched?

Ans: 2001

Q60: What animal's fingerprints are virtually indistinguishable from human fingerprints?

Ans: Koala

Q61: How many time zones does Russia have?

Ans: 11

Q62: What is the fear of spiders called?

Ans: Arachnophobia

Q63: What is the most common surname in the world?

Ans: Wang / Wong (depending on romanisation)

Q64: What year was the euro introduced as currency?

Ans: 1999 (for non-cash transactions, 2002 for notes and coins)

Q65: What is the only Shakespeare play with an animal in its title?

Ans: The Taming of the Shrew

Q66: What is the national animal of Scotland?

Ans: The unicorn

Q67: How many keys does a standard piano have?

Ans: 88

Bonus Tiebreakers

These are good for settling close finishes.

Q68: In what year was the first email sent?

Ans: 1971

Q69: What is the longest word in the English language that uses each letter of the alphabet only once?

Ans: Subdermatoglyphic (the study of fingerprints)

Q70: What is the only country in the world that starts with the letter O?

Ans: Oman

Q71: How many dots are on a pair of standard dice?

Ans: 42

Q72: What is the smallest prime number?

Ans: 2

Q73: In what year did the first Harry Potter book come out?

Ans: 1997

Q74: What is the capital of Iceland?

Ans: Reykjavik

Q75: How many hearts does an octopus have?

Ans: Three

Q76: What is the most spoken language in South America?

Ans: Portuguese (due to Brazil's population)

Q77: What planet has the most moons?

Ans: Saturn (as of recent discoveries, over 140)

Q78: What is the largest desert in the world?

Ans: Antarctica (cold deserts count)

Q79: In what year did Google launch?

Ans: 1998

Q80: What is the rarest blood type?

Ans: AB negative

Using These Questions

A few thoughts on putting together your quiz from this list:

Mix the difficulties. Don't do all the easy questions in round one. Spread them out so every round has some gettable questions and some challenges.

Adapt to your audience. Running a quiz for colleagues? Add workplace-themed questions. Family quiz? Include some personal trivia.

Keep the energy up. The best quizzes aren't just accurate, they're fun. Add commentary between questions, celebrate good answers, and don't take it too seriously.