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

1What is the capital city of France?

Answer:Paris(click to reveal)

2What is the largest continent by area?

Answer:Asia(click to reveal)

3What ocean lies between Africa and Australia?

Answer:Indian Ocean(click to reveal)

4What is the largest country in the world by area?

Answer:Russia(click to reveal)

5What is the capital of Canada?

Answer:Ottawa (not Toronto)(click to reveal)

6Which river flows through London?

Answer:The Thames(click to reveal)

7In which mountain range would you find Mount Everest?

Answer:The Himalayas(click to reveal)

8What is the capital of Mongolia?

Answer:Ulaanbaatar(click to reveal)

9What is the deepest lake in the world?

Answer:Lake Baikal (Russia)(click to reveal)

10What is the only sea with no coastline?

Answer:The Sargasso Sea (defined by ocean currents rather than land)(click to reveal)

History

11In which year did World War II end?

Answer:1945(click to reveal)

12Who was the first person to walk on the Moon?

Answer:Neil Armstrong(click to reveal)

13What ancient civilisation built the pyramids at Giza?

Answer:Ancient Egyptians(click to reveal)

14Which ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1912?

Answer:Titanic(click to reveal)

15In what year did the Berlin Wall fall?

Answer:1989(click to reveal)

16What was the name of Henry VIII's first wife?

Answer:Catherine of Aragon(click to reveal)

17What year did the American Civil War end?

Answer:1865(click to reveal)

18Who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic?

Answer:Amelia Earhart(click to reveal)

19In what year was the Magna Carta signed?

Answer:1215(click to reveal)

20What was the code name for the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944?

Answer:Operation Overlord(click to reveal)

Science and Nature

21What planet is known as the Red Planet?

Answer:Mars(click to reveal)

22What gas do plants absorb from the air?

Answer:Carbon dioxide(click to reveal)

23How many legs does a spider have?

Answer:Eight(click to reveal)

24What is the largest mammal in the world?

Answer:Blue whale(click to reveal)

25What is the chemical symbol for water?

Answer:H2O(click to reveal)

26What is the hardest natural substance on Earth?

Answer:Diamond(click to reveal)

27How many bones are in the adult human body?

Answer:206(click to reveal)

28What is the largest organ in the human body?

Answer:Skin(click to reveal)

29What gas makes up about 78% of Earth's atmosphere?

Answer:Nitrogen(click to reveal)

30What is the chemical symbol for gold?

Answer:Au (from the Latin "aurum")(click to reveal)

31What is the smallest bone in the human body?

Answer:The stapes (in the ear)(click to reveal)

32What temperature are Celsius and Fahrenheit equal?

Answer:-40 degrees(click to reveal)

33What is the most abundant element in the universe?

Answer:Hydrogen(click to reveal)

34What is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature?

Answer:Mercury(click to reveal)

35What does DNA stand for?

Answer:Deoxyribonucleic acid(click to reveal)

Entertainment

36Who wrote the Harry Potter series?

Answer:J.K. Rowling(click to reveal)

37What is the name of Mickey Mouse's girlfriend?

Answer:Minnie Mouse(click to reveal)

38In which decade was the first iPhone released?

Answer:2000s (2007 specifically)(click to reveal)

39What streaming service produces Stranger Things?

Answer:Netflix(click to reveal)

40Who painted the Mona Lisa?

Answer:Leonardo da Vinci(click to reveal)

41What was the first feature-length animated film?

Answer:Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)(click to reveal)

42What band was Freddie Mercury the lead singer of?

Answer:Queen(click to reveal)

43What is the best-selling video game of all time?

Answer:Minecraft(click to reveal)

44What year did The Simpsons first air?

Answer:1989(click to reveal)

45What was the name of the first James Bond film?

Answer:Dr. No (1962)(click to reveal)

46What novel begins with "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"?

Answer:A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens(click to reveal)

47What is the highest-grossing film franchise of all time?

Answer:Marvel Cinematic Universe(click to reveal)

48Who composed the Four Seasons?

Answer:Antonio Vivaldi(click to reveal)

49Who directed Citizen Kane?

Answer:Orson Welles(click to reveal)

50What was the first music video to air on MTV?

Answer:Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles(click to reveal)

Potpourri

A mix of everything else.

51What is the currency of Japan?

Answer:Yen(click to reveal)

52How many sides does a hexagon have?

Answer:Six(click to reveal)

53What colour do you get when you mix red and blue?

Answer:Purple(click to reveal)

54What sport uses a shuttlecock?

Answer:Badminton(click to reveal)

55What is the main ingredient in guacamole?

Answer:Avocado(click to reveal)

56What does the Richter scale measure?

Answer:Earthquake magnitude(click to reveal)

57What language has the most native speakers worldwide?

Answer:Mandarin Chinese(click to reveal)

58What is the only letter that doesn't appear in any US state name?

Answer:Q(click to reveal)

59What year was Wikipedia launched?

Answer:2001(click to reveal)

60What animal's fingerprints are virtually indistinguishable from human fingerprints?

Answer:Koala(click to reveal)

61How many time zones does Russia have?

Answer:11(click to reveal)

62What is the fear of spiders called?

Answer:Arachnophobia(click to reveal)

63What is the most common surname in the world?

Answer:Wang / Wong (depending on romanisation)(click to reveal)

64What year was the euro introduced as currency?

Answer:1999 (for non-cash transactions, 2002 for notes and coins)(click to reveal)

65What is the only Shakespeare play with an animal in its title?

Answer:The Taming of the Shrew(click to reveal)

66What is the national animal of Scotland?

Answer:The unicorn(click to reveal)

67How many keys does a standard piano have?

Answer:88(click to reveal)

Bonus Tiebreakers

These are good for settling close finishes.

68In what year was the first email sent?

Answer:1971(click to reveal)

69What is the longest word in the English language that uses each letter of the alphabet only once?

Answer:Subdermatoglyphic (the study of fingerprints)(click to reveal)

70What is the only country in the world that starts with the letter O?

Answer:Oman(click to reveal)

71How many dots are on a pair of standard dice?

Answer:42(click to reveal)

72What is the smallest prime number?

Answer:2(click to reveal)

73In what year did the first Harry Potter book come out?

Answer:1997(click to reveal)

74What is the capital of Iceland?

Answer:Reykjavik(click to reveal)

75How many hearts does an octopus have?

Answer:Three(click to reveal)

76What is the most spoken language in South America?

Answer:Portuguese (due to Brazil's population)(click to reveal)

77What planet has the most moons?

Answer:Saturn (as of recent discoveries, over 140)(click to reveal)

78What is the largest desert in the world?

Answer:Antarctica (cold deserts count)(click to reveal)

79In what year did Google launch?

Answer:1998(click to reveal)

80What is the rarest blood type?

Answer:AB negative(click to reveal)

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.