A good general knowledge round has a shape: it opens with questions almost everyone gets, and closes with two or three that decide the game. The 40 questions below are arranged that way, split across seven short topics so nobody gets bored of one subject.
Every question has its answer underneath. Read the question aloud, give both teams ten seconds, then reveal.
Easy — the warm-up round
Start here. These keep everyone in the game.
How many months are there in the Gregorian year?
Twelve
How many days does February have in a common year?
28
What is the largest island in the world?
Greenland
What is the closest star to Earth?
The Sun
How many hours does the Earth take to complete one rotation?
24
What is the largest animal on Earth?
The blue whale
Which animal has white fur and lives in the Arctic?
The polar bear
Which bird is a symbol of peace and once carried messages?
The dove
What is the capital of the United Kingdom?
London
What is the capital of Saudi Arabia?
Riyadh
Geography and flags
What is the capital of the United States?
Washington, D.C.
What is the capital of North Korea?
Pyongyang
What is the administrative capital of South Africa?
Pretoria
What is the largest city in Indonesia by population?
Jakarta
How many stars are on the flag of the United States?
50
Which country’s flag is entirely red with a white crescent and star?
Turkey
Which Scandinavian country has a yellow cross on a blue background?
Sweden
Which country’s flag shows a Kalashnikov rifle?
Mozambique
The human body
How many bones are in an adult human body?
206
Which hormone lowers the level of sugar in the blood?
Insulin
Which organ produces insulin?
The pancreas
Which red protein carries oxygen in the blood?
Haemoglobin
Which blood type is the universal donor?
O negative
What is the smallest bone in the human body, found in the ear?
The stapes
Which dome-shaped muscle separates the chest from the abdomen?
The diaphragm
Which part of the body receives no direct blood supply from vessels?
The cornea of the eye
Space and science
Which planet is called Earth’s twin because of its similar size?
Venus
What is the nearest large galaxy to our own?
Andromeda
What is the largest moon of Saturn?
Titan
What is the stream of charged particles flowing constantly from the Sun called?
The solar wind
What is the coloured light display seen in polar skies called?
The aurora
What was the name of the first artificial satellite launched into space?
Sputnik 1
What is the largest cold desert in the world?
Antarctica
Hard — the decider round
Save these for the end.
Which British mathematician broke the Enigma code and pioneered computing?
Alan Turing
Who discovered the elements radium and polonium?
Marie Curie
Who laid the foundations of quantum theory in 1900?
Max Planck
Who designed the Analytical Engine, the first concept of a programmable computer?
Charles Babbage
Who invented the safety elevator with brakes?
Elisha Otis
How many permanent members does the UN Security Council have?
Five
Which document did the thirteen American colonies adopt on 4 July 1776?
The Declaration of Independence
Frequently asked questions
What makes a good general knowledge question?
One that most of the room could plausibly answer but is not certain about. If everyone knows it, there is no tension; if nobody does, there is no fun. Mix both, and keep the genuinely hard ones for the final round.
How many questions do I need for a quiz night?
About 30 to 40 for a one-hour session with two teams, allowing time for arguing — which is most of the entertainment.
Should the questions get harder as the quiz goes on?
Yes. Open easy so nobody feels left out, and finish hard so the result is still open. Awarding more points for later rounds keeps a trailing team in contention.
Can I use these questions commercially?
These are free to read out at any gathering, classroom or office event.
Where can I get thousands more questions?
Jawabha is an Arabic quiz game with over 16,000 questions across 170 categories, played between two teams in the browser. Your first game is free.
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