Sunday, October 18, 2026

The tidbits, trivia answers and word pairs from Facts & Games on Sunday, October 18, 2026. Play today’s games · All past days · All past tidbits

Six tidbits

Commonly confused words

aural vs. oral

aural: Relating to the ear or hearing. oral: Spoken, or relating to the mouth. Aural, like audio.

explicit vs. implicit

explicit: Stated clearly and directly. implicit: Suggested without being stated. Explicit is spelled out; implicit is implied.

venerable vs. vulnerable

venerable: Respected because of age or wisdom. vulnerable: Open to harm or attack. Venerable means revered.

adverse vs. averse

adverse: Harmful or unfavorable. averse: Strongly disliking or opposed to. Conditions are adverse; a person is averse to them.

respectfully vs. respectively

respectfully: With politeness and regard. respectively: In the order already mentioned. Respectively matches items in a list, one by one.

Beatles trivia

1. What was the name of John Lennon’s skiffle group before the Beatles?Answer: The Quarrymen. Lennon formed the Quarrymen in 1956. Paul joined in 1957 and George soon after.
2. Which song was the band’s first No. 1 in the United States?Answer: I Want to Hold Your Hand. I Want to Hold Your Hand topped the US chart in February 1964.
3. Which Indian instrument does George Harrison play on “Norwegian Wood”?Answer: Sitar. The 1965 track was one of the first Western pop records to feature sitar.
4. What was the band’s first UK album?Answer: Please Please Me. Please Please Me came out in 1963 and was mostly recorded in a single day.
5. Which early bassist left the band in 1961 to stay in Hamburg and study art?Answer: Stuart Sutcliffe. Stuart Sutcliffe, a gifted painter, left the band and died in Hamburg in 1962.
6. In which animated film do the Blue Meanies appear?Answer: Yellow Submarine. Yellow Submarine (1968) pits Pepperland against the music-hating Blue Meanies.
7. In what year did the band stop touring?Answer: 1966. After the August 1966 US tour they became a studio-only band.
8. Which Beatle wrote “Octopus’s Garden”?Answer: Ringo Starr. Ringo wrote it, inspired by a story he heard about octopuses on a boat trip in Sardinia.
9. Which EMI label released the band’s UK records until Apple?Answer: Parlophone. Parlophone, run by George Martin. Capitol was their US label; Decca turned them down.
10. Where in India did the band study meditation in 1968?Answer: Rishikesh. They stayed at the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram in Rishikesh and wrote many songs there.
11. Which album includes “Eleanor Rigby”?Answer: Revolver. Revolver (1966). The song was also released as a double A-side with Yellow Submarine.
12. Which 1967 TV film followed the band on a coach trip?Answer: Magical Mystery Tour. Magical Mystery Tour aired on the BBC on Boxing Day 1967.
13. Who was the oldest Beatle?Answer: Ringo Starr. Ringo was born in July 1940, three months before John.
14. Which song did the band debut on the global TV broadcast “Our World” in June 1967?Answer: All You Need Is Love. All You Need Is Love was performed live for one of the first worldwide satellite broadcasts.
15. Which December 1965 album includes “Michelle” and “In My Life”?Answer: Rubber Soul. Rubber Soul, often seen as the start of their more studio-focused era.
16. Which royal honour did each Beatle receive in 1965?Answer: MBE. They were made Members of the Order of the British Empire. John returned his in 1969.
17. Which song closes the Abbey Road medley, before the short hidden track?Answer: The End. The End wraps the medley; the brief Her Majesty follows after a gap.
18. What was the name of Paul’s Old English Sheepdog, who inspired a song title?Answer: Martha. Martha, as in “Martha My Dear” on the White Album.
19. What was John Lennon’s middle name at birth?Answer: Winston. John Winston Lennon, born in 1940. He later took Ono as a middle name.
20. Which violin-shaped bass guitar is Paul McCartney best known for playing?Answer: Höfner 500/1. The Höfner 500/1, which he chose partly because its symmetric body suited a left-hander.

Taylor Swift trivia

1. In what year was Taylor Swift born?Answer: 1989. She was born on December 13, 1989, the year that later gave her fifth album its name.
2. Which singer was Taylor Swift named after?Answer: James Taylor. Her parents named her after singer-songwriter James Taylor.
3. What was Taylor Swift's debut single?Answer: Tim McGraw. "Tim McGraw" went to country radio on June 19, 2006.
4. Which Shakespeare play inspired "Love Story"?Answer: Romeo and Juliet. Swift gave the tragedy a happy ending in which the couple gets engaged.
5. Which album won Swift her first Grammy for Album of the Year?Answer: Fearless. Fearless won Album of the Year at the Grammys on January 31, 2010.
6. Which of these albums did Swift write entirely by herself?Answer: Speak Now. She wrote all 14 songs on the standard edition of Speak Now (2010) alone.
7. Which song was Swift's first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100?Answer: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. The Red lead single jumped to No. 1 in 2012.
8. Which album opens with "Welcome to New York"?Answer: 1989. It is the first track on 1989 (2014), written after her move to New York City.
9. Brendon Urie, who sings on "Me!", fronted which band?Answer: Panic! at the Disco. Urie of Panic! at the Disco co-wrote and sang on the 2019 single.
10. Who sings with Swift on folklore's "Exile"?Answer: Bon Iver. Justin Vernon of Bon Iver duets with her on the song.
11. Which album did Swift announce at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards?Answer: Midnights. She announced Midnights while accepting Video of the Year on August 28, 2022.
12. In which US state did the Eras Tour begin?Answer: Arizona. The first show was at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on March 17, 2023.
13. Which magazine named Swift its 2023 Person of the Year?Answer: Time. Time announced it on December 6, 2023, making her the first entertainer chosen.
14. In August 2025, Swift announced her engagement to which NFL player?Answer: Travis Kelce. She and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce shared the news on Instagram on August 26, 2025.
15. What was the lead single from The Life of a Showgirl?Answer: The Fate of Ophelia. "The Fate of Ophelia" opens the 2025 album and topped the Hot 100.
16. Which singer is featured on the title track of The Life of a Showgirl?Answer: Sabrina Carpenter. Carpenter, an Eras Tour opening act, joins her on the album's closing track.
17. Swift's 2006 debut album came out on which record label?Answer: Big Machine Records. Big Machine was the new Nashville label founded by Scott Borchetta.
18. Which of these acts was NOT an Eras Tour opening act?Answer: Adele. Haim, Phoebe Bridgers and Sabrina Carpenter all opened shows; Adele did not.
19. To which state did Swift's family move when she was 14?Answer: Tennessee. They moved to Hendersonville, near Nashville, so she could pursue country music.
20. How many shows did the Eras Tour play?Answer: 149. It ran 149 shows from March 2023 to December 2024 and became the highest-grossing tour ever.

Football trivia

1. Which team won Super Bowl I?Answer: Green Bay Packers. The Packers beat the Chiefs 35–10 on January 15, 1967.
2. In which city is the Pro Football Hall of Fame?Answer: Canton, Ohio. Canton hosted the 1920 meeting that founded the league that became the NFL.
3. What was Walter Payton’s nickname?Answer: Sweetness. The Bears’ Hall of Fame running back was known as “Sweetness.”
4. Which team finished the NFL’s only perfect season that included a Super Bowl win?Answer: 1972 Miami Dolphins. The 1972 Dolphins went 17–0, capped by a Super Bowl VII win over Washington.
5. How many points is a safety worth?Answer: 2. Tackling a ball carrier in his own end zone gives the defense 2 points and the ball.
6. Which quarterback has won the most Super Bowls?Answer: Tom Brady. Tom Brady won seven: six with the Patriots and one with the Buccaneers.
7. Which Hall of Fame running back retired at age 30 to focus on acting?Answer: Jim Brown. Jim Brown left the Browns in 1966 while filming the movie The Dirty Dozen.
8. Who holds the NFL record for career rushing yards?Answer: Emmitt Smith. Emmitt Smith ran for 18,355 yards with the Cowboys and Cardinals.
9. How many yards apart are the two goal lines on an NFL field?Answer: 100. The field is 100 yards between goal lines, plus a 10-yard end zone at each end.
10. Which team’s 1970s defense was nicknamed the “Steel Curtain”?Answer: Pittsburgh Steelers. Led by “Mean” Joe Greene, the Steel Curtain powered four Steelers Super Bowl wins in six seasons.
11. Who was NFL commissioner from 1960 to 1989?Answer: Pete Rozelle. Pete Rozelle oversaw the AFL merger and the birth of the Super Bowl.
12. Which team won Super Bowl LX in February 2026?Answer: Seattle Seahawks. Seattle beat New England 29–13 at Levi’s Stadium for its second Super Bowl title.
13. Lambeau Field is named after Curly Lambeau. Who was he?Answer: The Packers’ co-founder and longtime coach. Curly Lambeau helped found the Packers in 1919 and coached them for 31 seasons.
14. Which franchise, founded in Chicago in 1898, is the oldest continuously run pro football team in the U.S.?Answer: Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals began as Chicago’s Morgan Athletic Club and later moved to St. Louis and then Arizona.
15. The Super Bowl trophy is named after which coach?Answer: Vince Lombardi. Lombardi’s Packers won the first two Super Bowls.
16. Which head coach has the most career wins in NFL history?Answer: Don Shula. Don Shula won 347 games, playoffs included, with the Colts and Dolphins.
17. What nickname is given to the last player picked in the NFL Draft?Answer: Mr. Irrelevant. “Mr. Irrelevant” gets a week of celebrations in Newport Beach, California.
18. Which quarterback famously guaranteed a win before Super Bowl III?Answer: Joe Namath. Namath’s Jets then upset the Baltimore Colts 16–7.
19. How many teams make the NFL playoffs each season under the format used since 2020?Answer: 14. Seven teams from each conference qualify, and only the top seeds get a bye.
20. Which Detroit Lions running back rushed for 2,053 yards in 1997?Answer: Barry Sanders. Barry Sanders became the third player to top 2,000 yards in a season.

Basketball trivia

1. Which country is Dirk Nowitzki from?Answer: Germany. Nowitzki, born in Würzburg, spent all 21 of his NBA seasons with Dallas.
2. Which franchise has won the most NBA championships?Answer: Boston Celtics. Boston’s 2024 title was its 18th, one more than the Lakers.
3. Who was the only college player on the 1992 U.S. Olympic “Dream Team”?Answer: Christian Laettner. Duke’s Christian Laettner filled the one college spot on the team that won gold in Barcelona.
4. In which city did James Naismith invent basketball in 1891?Answer: Springfield, Massachusetts. Naismith created the game at a YMCA training school in Springfield, now home of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
5. Which player was nicknamed “The Answer”?Answer: Allen Iverson. Iverson was the No. 1 pick in 1996 and won the 2001 MVP award with Philadelphia.
6. Who was the first player to be voted NBA MVP unanimously?Answer: Stephen Curry. Curry received all 131 first-place votes for the 2015–16 award.
7. Which college did Michael Jordan play for?Answer: North Carolina. As a freshman, Jordan hit the winning shot for North Carolina in the 1982 NCAA title game.
8. The Seattle SuperSonics moved and became which team?Answer: Oklahoma City Thunder. The SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City in 2008 and became the Thunder.
9. Who is widely believed to be the player outlined in the NBA logo?Answer: Jerry West. Designer Alan Siegel based the 1969 logo on a photo of West, though the league has never officially said so.
10. How many seconds does the NBA shot clock give a team to shoot?Answer: 24. The 24-second clock arrived in 1954, the idea of Syracuse Nationals owner Danny Biasone.
11. Which Hall of Famer was nicknamed “The Big O”?Answer: Oscar Robertson. Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double for the entire 1961–62 season.
12. Which player won a record 11 NBA championships?Answer: Bill Russell. Russell won 11 titles in 13 seasons with Boston, the last two as player-coach.
13. What is the Larry O’Brien Trophy awarded for?Answer: Winning the NBA championship. It is named for Larry O’Brien, NBA commissioner from 1975 to 1984.
14. Which NBA team plays its home games in Canada?Answer: Toronto Raptors. Toronto has been the only Canadian team since the Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis in 2001.
15. Which team drafted Kobe Bryant in 1996 before trading him to the Lakers?Answer: Charlotte Hornets. Charlotte took Kobe 13th and traded him to Los Angeles for center Vlade Divac.
16. Before basketball, Tim Duncan competed seriously in which sport?Answer: Swimming. Duncan was a swimmer on St. Croix until Hurricane Hugo wrecked the island’s only Olympic-size pool in 1989.
17. What name did Kareem Abdul-Jabbar use when he entered the NBA?Answer: Lew Alcindor. He played as Lew Alcindor until 1971, when he began using the name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
18. Who was NBA commissioner from 1984 to 2014?Answer: David Stern. Stern served 30 years and was succeeded by Adam Silver in 2014.
19. John Stockton and Karl Malone starred together for which team?Answer: Utah Jazz. The pair played 18 seasons together in Utah and reached the Finals in 1997 and 1998.
20. Who was picked second in the 1984 draft, between Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan?Answer: Sam Bowie. Houston took Olajuwon first, Portland took Sam Bowie second, and Chicago got Jordan at No. 3.

Baseball trivia

1. Which uniform number is retired by every MLB team in honor of Jackie Robinson?Answer: 42. MLB retired No. 42 across the league in 1997, 50 years after Robinson broke the color barrier.
2. Who holds MLB’s record for most career home runs?Answer: Barry Bonds. Barry Bonds hit 762 home runs from 1986 to 2007.
3. Which ballpark is famous for a tall left-field wall called the Green Monster?Answer: Fenway Park. Fenway Park’s left-field wall in Boston stands about 37 feet high.
4. Which Hall of Famer was nicknamed “The Say Hey Kid”?Answer: Willie Mays. Willie Mays, the Giants’ center fielder, earned the nickname early in his career.
5. How far apart are the bases on a major league infield?Answer: 90 feet. The bases form a 90-foot square, a distance set in the 1800s.
6. Which pitcher holds the record for most career wins, with 511?Answer: Cy Young. Cy Young won 511 games, and the award for each league’s best pitcher is named after him.
7. Who set the single-season record for hits, with 262 in 2004?Answer: Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro broke George Sisler’s mark of 257 hits, which had stood since 1920.
8. Which team’s famous championship drought ended with the 2016 World Series?Answer: Chicago Cubs. The Cubs beat Cleveland in seven games for their first title since 1908.
9. What is it called when a batter gets a single, double, triple and home run in one game?Answer: Hitting for the cycle. The hits can come in any order; getting them in order from single to homer is called a natural cycle.
10. Which pitcher threw a record seven no-hitters?Answer: Nolan Ryan. Nolan Ryan threw his first no-hitter in 1973 and his seventh in 1991, at age 44.
11. How far is it from the front of the pitching rubber to the back point of home plate?Answer: 60 feet 6 inches. The distance of 60 feet 6 inches has been used since 1893.
12. In which New York village is the National Baseball Hall of Fame?Answer: Cooperstown. The Hall of Fame and Museum sits in Cooperstown, in central New York.
13. How many games did Joe DiMaggio’s record 1941 hitting streak last?Answer: 56. DiMaggio hit safely in 56 straight games, a record that still stands.
14. Which team did Babe Ruth play for before he joined the Yankees?Answer: Boston Red Sox. Ruth began as a star pitcher for the Red Sox, who sold him to New York before the 1920 season.
15. What does the pitching stat ERA stand for?Answer: Earned run average. ERA is the number of earned runs a pitcher allows per nine innings.
16. Which Hall of Famer was nicknamed “The Georgia Peach”?Answer: Ty Cobb. Ty Cobb, born in Georgia, starred for the Detroit Tigers from 1905 to 1926.
17. What is a home run with the bases loaded called?Answer: A grand slam. A grand slam scores four runs, the most possible on one swing.
18. How many teams are in Major League Baseball?Answer: 30. MLB has had 30 teams, 15 in each league, since 1998.
19. Which country won the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009 and 2023?Answer: Japan. Japan won the first two tournaments and beat the United States in the 2023 final.
20. Which pitch is thrown with almost no spin so that it flutters unpredictably?Answer: Knuckleball. A knuckleball barely spins, so air currents push it around on its way to the plate.

U.S. History trivia

1. Who was the first President of the United States?Answer: George Washington. Washington took office in 1789 and served two terms.
2. Which founding document begins with the words “We the People”?Answer: The Constitution. The Constitution’s preamble opens “We the People of the United States.”
3. In which city was the Declaration of Independence adopted?Answer: Philadelphia. The Continental Congress adopted it in the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall.
4. From which country did the U.S. buy the Louisiana Territory?Answer: France. Napoleon’s France sold it to the U.S. in 1803.
5. Who wrote the antislavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin?Answer: Harriet Beecher Stowe. Stowe’s novel came out in book form in 1852 and became a bestseller.
6. Which general commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia from 1862?Answer: Robert E. Lee. Lee led it until he surrendered at Appomattox in April 1865.
7. What was the name of the ship that carried the Pilgrims to America in 1620?Answer: Mayflower. The Mayflower carried 102 passengers to Plymouth.
8. Which president launched the New Deal?Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR began the New Deal programs in 1933 to fight the Great Depression.
9. Which amendment to the Constitution guaranteed women the right to vote?Answer: 19th. The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920.
10. Who was the first person to walk on the Moon?Answer: Neil Armstrong. Armstrong stepped onto the Moon on July 20, 1969, during Apollo 11.
11. Which treaty ended the Revolutionary War?Answer: Treaty of Paris. Signed in 1783, it had Britain recognize American independence.
12. What did the Homestead Act of 1862 offer settlers?Answer: 160 acres of public land. Settlers who lived on and farmed the land for five years could claim 160 acres.
13. Who received the patent for the telephone in 1876?Answer: Alexander Graham Bell. Bell was granted his telephone patent in March 1876.
14. Who was president during the War of 1812?Answer: James Madison. Madison asked Congress to declare war on Britain in June 1812.
15. The Battle of the Little Bighorn is often known by what name?Answer: Custer’s Last Stand. George Custer and his men were killed there by Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors in 1876.
16. Which was the last state to join the Union?Answer: Hawaii. Hawaii became the 50th state on August 21, 1959, months after Alaska.
17. Which Supreme Court case ruled school segregation unconstitutional?Answer: Brown v. Board of Education. The Court decided Brown unanimously in 1954.
18. Who is the only president elected more than twice?Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR won four elections: 1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944.
19. Who was the first Chief Justice of the United States?Answer: John Jay. George Washington appointed John Jay in 1789.
20. In which city was George Washington first inaugurated?Answer: New York City. He took the oath at Federal Hall in New York on April 30, 1789.

U.S. Presidents trivia

1. Who was the first president of the United States?Answer: George Washington. Washington took the oath of office on April 30, 1789.
2. Which president appears on the U.S. penny?Answer: Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln has been on the one-cent coin since 1909, the centennial of his birth.
3. Who was the first president to live in the White House?Answer: John Adams. Adams moved into the still-unfinished house in November 1800.
4. Before Donald Trump, who was the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms?Answer: Grover Cleveland. Cleveland served from 1885 to 1889 and again from 1893 to 1897.
5. How many years long is a presidential term?Answer: Four. The Constitution sets the president’s term at four years.
6. Which constitutional amendment limits a president to two elected terms?Answer: 22nd Amendment. The 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951.
7. Who was president during the War of 1812?Answer: James Madison. Madison asked Congress to declare war on Britain in June 1812.
8. Who was the first first lady of the United States?Answer: Martha Washington. Martha Washington was the wife of the first president, George Washington.
9. Which president had been a Hollywood actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild?Answer: Ronald Reagan. Reagan led the Screen Actors Guild before entering politics.
10. Who was the youngest person ever to become president?Answer: Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt was 42 when he succeeded William McKinley in 1901.
11. Which president had the shortest time in office?Answer: William Henry Harrison. Harrison died on April 4, 1841, just 31 days after his inauguration.
12. Who was Abraham Lincoln’s first vice president?Answer: Hannibal Hamlin. Hamlin served as vice president during Lincoln’s first term, 1861–1865.
13. What is the name of the president’s country retreat in Maryland?Answer: Camp David. Camp David sits in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland.
14. Under which president did the United States make the Louisiana Purchase?Answer: Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson’s envoys agreed to buy the territory from France in 1803.
15. Which president is the only one to have resigned from office?Answer: Richard Nixon. Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, during the Watergate scandal.
16. Which state has been the birthplace of the most presidents?Answer: Virginia. Eight presidents were born in Virginia, one more than Ohio’s seven.
17. Who was the first president born in a hospital?Answer: Jimmy Carter. Carter was born in 1924 at a hospital in Plains, Georgia.
18. What is the minimum age to serve as president?Answer: 35. Article II of the Constitution requires a president to be at least 35 years old.
19. Who is the only person to serve as both president and Chief Justice of the United States?Answer: William Howard Taft. Taft became Chief Justice in 1921, eight years after leaving the White House.
20. Theodore Roosevelt’s refusal to shoot a captured bear inspired which toy?Answer: The teddy bear. A 1902 cartoon of the hunting trip led toymakers to sell “Teddy’s bear.”

Geography trivia

1. What is the capital of Australia?Answer: Canberra. Canberra was purpose-built as the capital, a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne.
2. What is the longest river in South America?Answer: Amazon. The Amazon runs about 6,400 km from the Andes to the Atlantic.
3. Which country is shaped roughly like a boot?Answer: Italy. Italy’s long peninsula looks like a boot kicking the island of Sicily.
4. What is the largest hot desert in the world?Answer: Sahara. Only the cold polar deserts are bigger than the Sahara.
5. Which U.S. state is made up entirely of islands?Answer: Hawaii. Hawaii is an archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
6. Mount Kilimanjaro is in which country?Answer: Tanzania. Kilimanjaro rises in northeastern Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border.
7. Which is the largest ocean?Answer: Pacific. The Pacific covers about a third of Earth’s surface.
8. Which strait separates Europe from Africa at their closest point?Answer: Strait of Gibraltar. Spain and Morocco are only about 14 km apart across the Strait of Gibraltar.
9. Which country’s flag shows a red maple leaf on white, between two red bands?Answer: Canada. Canada adopted the Maple Leaf flag in 1965.
10. What is the capital of Canada?Answer: Ottawa. Ottawa, in Ontario, is Canada’s capital, not its largest city Toronto.
11. Lake Titicaca lies on the border of Peru and which country?Answer: Bolivia. Lake Titicaca straddles the Peru–Bolivia border high in the Andes.
12. What is the smallest country in the world by area?Answer: Vatican City. Vatican City covers less than half a square kilometre inside Rome.
13. The Danube empties into which sea?Answer: Black Sea. The Danube reaches the Black Sea through a delta in Romania and Ukraine.
14. Which U.S. state has the longest coastline?Answer: Alaska. Alaska’s coastline is longer than all the other states’ combined.
15. Counting its overseas territories, which country spans the most time zones?Answer: France. Thanks to territories around the globe, France spans 12 time zones (13 with its Antarctic claim).
16. Angel Falls, the world’s highest uninterrupted waterfall, is in which country?Answer: Venezuela. Angel Falls plunges about 979 m in Venezuela’s Canaima National Park.
17. Which two countries share the world’s longest international border?Answer: Canada and the United States. The Canada–U.S. border runs about 8,900 km, including Alaska’s.
18. What is the capital of Kenya?Answer: Nairobi. Nairobi is Kenya’s capital and largest city.
19. Madagascar lies in which ocean?Answer: Indian Ocean. Madagascar sits in the Indian Ocean, across the Mozambique Channel from southeast Africa.
20. The ancient rock-cut city of Petra is in which country?Answer: Jordan. Petra, carved into rose-red cliffs, is in southern Jordan.