General knowledge quizzes are the backbone of any great quiz night. Whether you're hosting a school quiz, preparing for a pub quiz league, or just brushing up your trivia, these 100 general knowledge questions and answers cover the full range of topics you're likely to encounter.
We've included questions from science, history, geography, literature, sport, music, food and culture — organised into themed rounds of 10. All answers are clearly shown below each question.
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Round 1: Science & Technology
1. What does 'www' stand for in a web address?
✓ World Wide Web
💡 Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 at CERN. He made it freely available to everyone, refusing to patent it.
2. What is the chemical formula for water?
✓ H₂O
💡 Water consists of two hydrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen atom. It covers about 71% of Earth's surface.
3. What planet is closest to the Sun?
✓ Mercury
💡 Mercury is just 57.9 million km from the Sun on average. A year on Mercury lasts only 88 Earth days.
4. Who invented the telephone?
✓ Alexander Graham Bell
💡 Bell is credited with patenting the telephone in 1876. Elisha Gray filed a similar patent application the same day, leading to a famous dispute.
5. What does DNA stand for?
✓ Deoxyribonucleic acid
💡 DNA carries the genetic instructions for the development and functioning of all known organisms. It was first described by Watson and Crick in 1953.
6. What is the nearest star to Earth (after the Sun)?
✓ Proxima Centauri
💡 Proxima Centauri is 4.24 light years away. At current spacecraft speeds, it would take about 73,000 years to reach it.
7. What type of rock is formed from cooled lava?
✓ Igneous rock
💡 The word igneous comes from the Latin 'ignis' meaning fire. Examples include basalt and granite.
8. How many megabytes are in a gigabyte?
✓ 1,024 MB (or 1,000 MB in decimal)
💡 In binary, 1 GB = 1,024 MB. In the decimal system used by hard drive manufacturers, 1 GB = 1,000 MB — which is why drives appear smaller than advertised.
9. What is the largest organ in the human body?
✓ Skin
💡 The skin makes up about 16% of total body weight. In adults, it covers around 1.7–2.0 square metres.
10. Isaac Newton formulated which three laws?
✓ Laws of Motion
💡 Newton's three laws of motion (published 1687) describe inertia, force, and action-reaction. They underpinned all physics for 200 years until Einstein.
Round 2: History & Politics
11. Which country was formerly known as Persia?
✓ Iran
💡 Iran officially changed its name from Persia in 1935, at the request of the then-Shah who wanted a name reflecting the country's Aryan heritage.
12. Who was the first President of the United States?
✓ George Washington
💡 Washington served two terms from 1789–1797. He famously declined to serve a third term, establishing a precedent that lasted until FDR.
13. In which year did women first get the right to vote in the UK?
✓ 1918
💡 The Representation of the People Act 1918 gave women over 30 who met property requirements the right to vote. Full equal suffrage came in 1928.
14. Who led the Soviet Union during World War II?
✓ Joseph Stalin
💡 Stalin led the USSR from 1924 until his death in 1953. The Soviet Union suffered an estimated 27 million deaths in WWII.
15. The Magna Carta was signed in which year?
✓ 1215
💡 King John of England sealed Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215. It established that even the king was subject to the rule of law.
16. Which war was fought between the North and South of the United States?
✓ The American Civil War
💡 The Civil War (1861–1865) resulted in the abolition of slavery. Over 620,000 soldiers died — more Americans than in any other war.
17. In which city was Anne Frank's famous hiding place?
✓ Amsterdam
💡 Anne Frank hid with her family in a concealed apartment in Amsterdam from July 1942 to August 1944. The Anne Frank House is now a museum.
18. Who was the Emperor of France during the Napoleonic Wars?
✓ Napoleon Bonaparte
💡 Napoleon crowned himself Emperor in 1804. At his peak he controlled most of continental Europe before his defeat at Waterloo in 1815.
19. The Cold War was primarily between the USA and which other country?
✓ The Soviet Union (USSR)
💡 The Cold War lasted from 1947 to 1991, when the USSR dissolved. It was characterised by political tension, arms races and proxy wars rather than direct conflict.
20. Who wrote the Communist Manifesto?
✓ Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
💡 The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848. Its famous opening line is: 'A spectre is haunting Europe — the spectre of communism.'
Round 3: Geography
21. What is the capital of Japan?
✓ Tokyo
💡 Tokyo became Japan's capital in 1869 when the Emperor moved from Kyoto. Its metropolitan area is home to over 37 million people.
22. What is the longest river in the UK?
✓ The River Severn
💡 At 354 km, the Severn flows through Wales and England into the Bristol Channel. The River Thames (346 km) is the second longest.
23. Which continent is the largest by area?
✓ Asia
💡 Asia covers about 44.6 million km² — roughly 30% of Earth's total land area and home to about 60% of the world's population.
24. The Sahara Desert spans how many countries?
✓ 11
💡 The Sahara Desert stretches across Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara.
25. What is the currency of South Korea?
✓ South Korean Won
💡 The Won (₩) has been South Korea's currency since 1945. South Korea is the world's 13th largest economy.
26. Which US state is known as the 'Sunshine State'?
✓ Florida
💡 Florida receives an average of 237 sunny days per year. It's also home to more theme parks per square mile than anywhere else on Earth.
27. How many countries share a border with China?
✓ 14
💡 China borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and North Korea.
28. What is the deepest lake in the world?
✓ Lake Baikal
💡 Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia, is 1,642 metres deep and holds about 20% of the world's unfrozen freshwater.
29. In which country is Transylvania located?
✓ Romania
💡 Transylvania is a historical region in central Romania. Bram Stoker set Dracula there despite never visiting Romania himself.
30. What is the capital of New Zealand?
✓ Wellington
💡 Wellington is often confused with Auckland, which is New Zealand's largest city. Wellington has been the capital since 1865.
Round 4: Arts & Culture
31. How many symphonies did Beethoven compose?
✓ 9
💡 Beethoven's 9th Symphony was completed in 1824, after he had become completely deaf. Its final movement features the famous 'Ode to Joy'.
32. The Louvre museum is located in which city?
✓ Paris
💡 The Louvre is the world's most visited art museum with around 9 million visitors per year. It houses over 35,000 works of art.
33. Which artist painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling?
✓ Michelangelo
💡 Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512. He reportedly lay on scaffolding for much of the work, not on his back as often depicted.
34. How many colours are in a rainbow?
✓ 7
💡 The seven colours are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet — remembered by the mnemonic 'Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain'.
35. Which Shakespeare play features the character Ophelia?
✓ Hamlet
💡 Ophelia is Hamlet's love interest who descends into madness after her father's death. John Everett Millais painted her iconic drowning scene in 1851.
36. What nationality was Pablo Picasso?
✓ Spanish
💡 Picasso was born in Málaga, Spain in 1881. He spent much of his career in France and is considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
37. Ballet originated in which country?
✓ Italy (developed in France)
💡 Ballet began in 15th-century Italian Renaissance courts and was further developed in France, where Louis XIV was an enthusiastic practitioner.
38. Which famous clock tower is located at the Palace of Westminster?
✓ Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben)
💡 'Big Ben' is technically the name of the bell inside Elizabeth Tower, not the tower itself. The tower was renamed from St Stephen's Tower in 2012.
39. How many strings does a violin have?
✓ 4
💡 A violin's four strings are tuned to G, D, A and E. It's considered one of the most technically demanding instruments to master.
40. What is the name of the famous street in New York associated with the art world?
✓ SoHo / Chelsea
💡 Chelsea in Manhattan has the highest concentration of art galleries in the US, with over 200 galleries. SoHo was the hub before rents rose in the 1990s.
Round 5: Sport
41. How many players are on a netball team?
✓ 7
💡 Netball teams have 7 players: GS, GA, WA, C, WD, GD and GK. The game is primarily played by women and is especially popular in Commonwealth countries.
42. What sport is played at Wimbledon?
✓ Tennis
💡 Wimbledon is the oldest Grand Slam tournament, first held in 1877. It remains the only Grand Slam played on grass.
43. How many holes does a standard golf course have?
✓ 18
💡 The 18-hole standard was set by St Andrews in Scotland in 1858, and the rest of the world followed suit.
44. What is the maximum score in a single snooker frame (break)?
✓ 147
💡 A maximum 147 break requires potting all 15 reds each followed by a black (15×8=120), then all colours in order (27) = 147.
45. In which country did the martial art 'Judo' originate?
✓ Japan
💡 Judo was created by Jigoro Kano in 1882 as a martial art based on jujutsu. It became an Olympic sport in 1964 at the Tokyo Games.
46. How many Grand Slam tennis tournaments are there per year?
✓ 4
💡 The four Grand Slams are the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. Winning all four in a year is called a 'Calendar Grand Slam'.
47. What colour flag is waved in Formula 1 to signal the end of a race?
✓ Chequered (black and white)
💡 The chequered flag has been used in motorsport since at least 1906. Other F1 flags include yellow (hazard), red (stop) and blue (let faster car pass).
48. Which country has won the most Rugby World Cups?
✓ South Africa and New Zealand (4 each)
💡 South Africa won in 1995, 2007, 2019 and 2023. New Zealand won in 1987, 2011, 2015 and 2023. They are tied on 4 titles each.
49. In boxing, how many rounds are in a world championship bout?
✓ 12 rounds
💡 World championship fights are scheduled for 12 rounds of 3 minutes each. Before 1982, title fights were often 15 rounds.
50. In darts, what is the highest possible checkout (finish)?
✓ 170
💡 The 170 checkout is: treble 20 (60) + treble 20 (60) + bullseye (50) = 170. It's known as the 'Big Fish'.
Round 6: Food, Drink & Nature
51. What type of animal is a Komodo dragon?
✓ A lizard
💡 Komodo dragons are the world's largest lizards, growing up to 3 metres. They're native to a few Indonesian islands and have venomous bites.
52. What is the national dish of England?
✓ Chicken tikka masala (or fish and chips)
💡 Both are debated. Chicken tikka masala was declared the UK's national dish by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook in 2001. Fish and chips is also a strong contender.
53. How many legs does a spider have?
✓ 8
💡 All arachnids (spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites) have 8 legs. Insects have 6. This is the key difference between the two groups.
54. Which nut is used to make marzipan?
✓ Almonds
💡 Marzipan is made from ground almonds and sugar. Germany and Scandinavia are particularly associated with marzipan production.
55. What is the world's hottest chilli pepper (as of 2024)?
✓ Pepper X
💡 Pepper X was created by Ed Curlin and has a Scoville rating of 2.69 million SHU, surpassing the previous record holder, Carolina Reaper.
56. What type of tree produces acorns?
✓ Oak tree
💡 Oak trees can live for over 1,000 years. A single oak tree can produce 20,000 acorns per year but only one in 10,000 will become a new oak.
57. What is a baby kangaroo called?
✓ A joey
💡 Joeys are born after just 33 days gestation and immediately crawl to their mother's pouch, where they continue developing for several months.
58. What country is the world's largest producer of coffee?
✓ Brazil
💡 Brazil produces about one-third of the world's coffee supply. It has been the world's largest coffee producer for over 150 years.
59. What is the collective noun for a group of lions?
✓ A pride
💡 A pride of lions typically consists of 10–15 females, their cubs and 2–3 males. Female lions do most of the hunting.
60. How many calories are in a gram of fat?
✓ 9 calories
💡 Fat has more than twice the calories per gram compared to protein or carbohydrates (both 4 calories per gram).
Round 7: Language & Words
61. What is the most widely spoken language in the world (by number of speakers)?
✓ Mandarin Chinese
💡 Mandarin has around 1.1 billion speakers. English has around 1.5 billion total speakers when second-language speakers are included.
62. How many letters are in the Greek alphabet?
✓ 24
💡 The Greek alphabet runs from Alpha to Omega. Many Greek letters are used in science, maths and physics (e.g. π, Σ, λ).
63. What does 'et cetera' mean in Latin?
✓ And the rest / and other things
💡 Et cetera (abbreviated etc.) literally means 'and the rest'. It's one of the most commonly used Latin phrases in English.
64. 'Ology' means the study of what?
✓ Nothing specific — it means 'the study of' (a suffix)
💡 '-ology' comes from the Greek 'logos' meaning 'word' or 'reason'. Biology = study of life; psychology = study of the mind, etc.
65. What is a word that reads the same forwards and backwards called?
✓ A palindrome
💡 Examples: racecar, level, madam, civic, noon, kayak. The word 'palindrome' itself comes from Greek meaning 'running back again'.
66. What is the fear of heights called?
✓ Acrophobia
💡 Acrophobia affects an estimated 5% of the population. It's different from vertigo — vertigo is a sensation of spinning, acrophobia is a genuine fear of heights.
67. What does the prefix 'micro-' mean?
✓ Very small / one millionth
💡 As a measurement prefix, micro- means one millionth (10⁻⁶). In common usage it means 'extremely small', as in microscope or microchip.
68. Bibliophobia is the fear of what?
✓ Books
💡 Bibliophobia can range from fear of specific types of books to a general fear of books or reading. It's the opposite of being a bibliophile.
69. What is the term for a word that means the opposite of another word?
✓ Antonym
💡 Hot and cold are antonyms. Words with similar meanings are synonyms. Words that sound the same but mean different things are homophones.
70. 'Merci', 'Gracias', 'Danke' and 'Arigato' all mean what?
✓ Thank you
💡 These are 'thank you' in French, Spanish, German and Japanese respectively.
Round 8: Numbers & Mathematics
71. What is the square root of 144?
✓ 12
💡 12 × 12 = 144. Square roots are used extensively in geometry, physics and computing.
72. How many degrees are in a full rotation?
✓ 360°
💡 The 360° system for measuring angles dates back to ancient Babylonian mathematics, which used a base-60 (sexagesimal) number system.
73. What is π (pi) approximately equal to?
✓ 3.14159
💡 Pi is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. It's an irrational number — its decimal representation never ends or repeats.
74. If you have a dozen eggs, how many do you have?
✓ 12
💡 A 'dozen' means 12. A 'baker's dozen' is 13 — from medieval times when bakers added an extra item to avoid fines for short-changing customers.
75. What is 15% of 200?
✓ 30
💡 15% of 200 = 0.15 × 200 = 30. Quick mental maths tip: 10% of 200 = 20, 5% = 10, so 15% = 30.
76. In Roman numerals, what does 'L' represent?
✓ 50
💡 Roman numerals: I=1, V=5, X=10, L=50, C=100, D=500, M=1000. The year 2026 in Roman numerals is MMXXVI.
77. What is the name for a number that can only be divided by 1 and itself?
✓ A prime number
💡 The first few prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23. The number 2 is the only even prime number.
78. What is the highest number on a standard die?
✓ 6
💡 On a standard die, opposite faces always add up to 7: 1 opposite 6, 2 opposite 5, 3 opposite 4.
79. How many sides does a pentagon have?
✓ 5
💡 Pentagon comes from the Greek 'pente' (five) and 'gonia' (angle). The US Department of Defense headquarters in Virginia is called The Pentagon due to its shape.
80. What is 8 factorial (8!) equal to?
✓ 40,320
💡 8! = 8×7×6×5×4×3×2×1 = 40,320. Factorials grow astonishingly fast: 20! = 2,432,902,008,176,640,000.
Round 9: Famous Firsts & Records
81. Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize?
✓ Marie Curie
💡 Curie won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 (with her husband Pierre) and then won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 — the only person to win Nobels in two sciences.
82. What was the first animal to be sent to space?
✓ A dog (Laika)
💡 Laika, a Soviet dog, was launched aboard Sputnik 2 on 3 November 1957. Sadly she died in orbit as there was no return mission planned.
83. Which country sent the first person to space?
✓ Soviet Union (USSR)
💡 Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space on 12 April 1961, completing one orbit of Earth in 108 minutes.
84. Who was the first person to run a four-minute mile?
✓ Roger Bannister
💡 Roger Bannister ran a mile in 3:59.4 on 6 May 1954 at Oxford. His record was broken just 46 days later.
85. What was the first country to give women the right to vote nationally?
✓ New Zealand (1893)
💡 New Zealand became the first self-governing country to grant women the right to vote in national elections on 19 September 1893.
86. Who was the first person to reach the South Pole?
✓ Roald Amundsen
💡 Norwegian explorer Amundsen reached the South Pole on 14 December 1911, beating British explorer Robert Falcon Scott by 34 days.
87. What was the world's first commercial jet airliner?
✓ The de Havilland Comet
💡 The Comet entered service in 1952 with BOAC (now British Airways). It was plagued by structural failures, allowing Boeing's 707 to dominate commercial aviation.
88. Which country first used paper money?
✓ China
💡 Paper money was used in China during the Tang Dynasty (7th century AD). It appeared in Europe only in the 17th century.
89. Who invented the printing press?
✓ Johannes Gutenberg
💡 Gutenberg invented movable-type printing in Germany around 1440. His Bible, printed in the 1450s, was the first major book printed with this technology.
90. What was the name of the first nuclear-powered submarine?
✓ USS Nautilus
💡 USS Nautilus was commissioned in 1954 and became the first vessel to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole in 1958.
Round 10: Mixed Bag
91. What is the only mammal capable of true flight?
✓ Bat
💡 Bats are the only mammals with wings evolved for powered flight. There are over 1,400 species of bats, making up about 20% of all mammal species.
92. How many time zones does Russia span?
✓ 11
💡 Russia spans 11 time zones from UTC+2 (Kaliningrad) to UTC+12 (Kamchatka). It's the only country to span more than 10 time zones.
93. What is the national animal of Scotland?
✓ The unicorn
💡 The unicorn has been Scotland's national animal since the 12th century. In Celtic mythology, it symbolised purity, power and independence.
94. How many teeth does an adult human have (including wisdom teeth)?
✓ 32
💡 32 teeth includes 8 incisors, 4 canines, 8 premolars, 8 molars and 4 wisdom teeth. Many people have their wisdom teeth removed.
95. Which gas makes up approximately 21% of Earth's atmosphere?
✓ Oxygen
💡 Oxygen (O₂) makes up about 21% of our atmosphere. Without it, a fire cannot burn and animals cannot breathe.
96. What is the most common blood type in the UK?
✓ O positive
💡 O positive is the most common blood type in the UK, found in about 35% of the population. O negative is the 'universal donor' type.
97. A group of crows is called what?
✓ A murder
💡 The origin of 'a murder of crows' is unclear but dates back to the 15th century. Other unusual collective nouns include 'a parliament of owls' and 'a conspiracy of lemurs'.
98. What is the smallest prime number?
✓ 2
💡 2 is the only even prime number. Every other even number is divisible by 2, so cannot be prime.
99. In which country are the ruins of Troy located?
✓ Turkey
💡 The ancient city of Troy is located in modern-day Hisarlik, Turkey. Heinrich Schliemann excavated the site in the 1870s and found multiple layers of ancient cities.
100. What is the collective name for the countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
✓ The United Kingdom
💡 The full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain refers only to England, Scotland and Wales.
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