Friday, October 23, 2026

The tidbits, trivia answers and word pairs from Facts & Games on Friday, October 23, 2026. Play today’s games · All past days · All past tidbits

Six tidbits

Commonly confused words

lay vs. lie

lay: To put something down (takes an object). lie: To recline or rest (no object). You lay a book down; you lie on the couch.

incredible vs. incredulous

incredible: Hard to believe. incredulous: Unwilling or unable to believe. A story is incredible; the listener is incredulous.

censor vs. censure

censor: To remove or suppress objectionable material. censure: To express strong formal disapproval. A censor cuts things out; censure is a stern rebuke.

plaintiff vs. plaintive

plaintiff: A person who brings a case to court. plaintive: Sounding sad and mournful. Plaintive sounds like a lament.

pray vs. prey

pray: To speak to a god. prey: An animal hunted for food. A predator stalks its prey.

Beatles trivia

1. Which 1977 Wings single became the UK’s best-selling single at the time?Answer: Mull of Kintyre. Mull of Kintyre passed She Loves You to take the record.
2. Which was the first Beatles LP released on the Apple label?Answer: The Beatles (the White Album). The White Album came out on Apple in November 1968.
3. Which artist designed the plain white cover of The Beatles (the White Album)?Answer: Richard Hamilton. Pop artist Richard Hamilton suggested the stark white sleeve.
4. Which kind of guitar gave George his chiming sound on A Hard Day’s Night?Answer: A Rickenbacker 12-string. His Rickenbacker 360/12 can be heard all over the 1964 album and film.
5. Which singer did the band back on the 1961 recording of “My Bonnie”?Answer: Tony Sheridan. They recorded it in Hamburg with Tony Sheridan, credited as the Beat Brothers.
6. What did Brian Epstein run before he managed the band?Answer: A record shop. He managed the record department of his family’s NEMS store in Liverpool.
7. Which Beatle was often called “the quiet Beatle”?Answer: George Harrison. George was known as the quiet one.
8. Which relative raised John Lennon for most of his childhood?Answer: His aunt Mimi. John lived with his aunt Mimi Smith at Mendips, her house in Woolton.
9. Paul said “Let It Be” came from a dream about his late mother. What was her name?Answer: Mary. Mary McCartney died in 1956, when Paul was 14.
10. Which White Album song did John write for his late mother?Answer: Julia. Julia was named after his mother, Julia Lennon.
11. George Martin played the baroque-style solo on “In My Life” on which instrument?Answer: Piano. He recorded piano at half speed, so it sounds like a harpsichord when played back.
12. What is the name of the 2000 compilation of the band’s No. 1 hits?Answer: 1. Simply titled 1, it became one of the best-selling albums of the 2000s.
13. Which 1995 TV series and album set told the band’s story in its own words?Answer: Anthology. The Beatles Anthology came with three double albums of outtakes.
14. Which new song, built from a John Lennon demo, came out with Anthology in 1995?Answer: Free as a Bird. Free as a Bird was released in late 1995; Real Love followed in 1996.
15. Which recording engineer worked on Revolver, Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road?Answer: Geoff Emerick. Geoff Emerick was the band’s main engineer from Revolver on, with breaks.
16. “Till There Was You”, covered on With the Beatles, comes from which musical?Answer: The Music Man. Meredith Willson wrote it for The Music Man.
17. Which Beatles cover was first recorded by Chuck Berry?Answer: Roll Over Beethoven. Roll Over Beethoven, sung by George on With the Beatles.
18. Which name did the band use briefly in 1960 before settling on the Beatles?Answer: The Silver Beetles. They were the Silver Beetles for a short tour of Scotland in May 1960.
19. Blue Jay Way, the title of a George song, is a street in which city?Answer: Los Angeles. George wrote it while waiting in a rented house on Blue Jay Way in the Hollywood Hills.
20. What did John say in a 1966 interview that led to record burnings in the US?Answer: The Beatles were more popular than Jesus. The remark from a London newspaper interview caused uproar when a US magazine reprinted it.

Taylor Swift trivia

1. Which number does Swift call her lucky number?Answer: 13. She was born on the 13th and often writes 13 on her hand before shows.
2. Swift's family had a summer home in which state, where she sometimes played at a local coffee shop?Answer: New Jersey. The family spent summers in Stone Harbor, New Jersey.
3. Swift wrote "Our Song" for what occasion?Answer: Her high-school talent show. She wrote it for a high-school talent show, and it later became a No. 1 country hit.
4. Swift's debut album was the longest-charting album of which decade on the Billboard 200?Answer: 2000s. Taylor Swift (2006) charted longer than any other album released in the 2000s.
5. Fearless was the best-selling album in the US in which year?Answer: 2009. It sold about 3.2 million copies in the US in 2009.
6. The "Love Story" music video was filmed at a castle in which state?Answer: Tennessee. It was shot at Castle Gwynn in Arrington, Tennessee, home of the Tennessee Renaissance Festival.
7. Besides Romeo and Juliet, "Love Story" references which novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne?Answer: The Scarlet Letter. The lyrics nod to The Scarlet Letter (1850).
8. Which of Swift's tours opened at the Tokyo Dome in May 2015?Answer: The 1989 World Tour. The 1989 World Tour opened in Tokyo on May 5, 2015.
9. What record did the Reputation Stadium Tour's North American leg set?Answer: Highest-grossing North American tour of all time. Its 38 shows earned $266.1 million, passing the Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang Tour.
10. What did Swift do on social media just before announcing Reputation in August 2017?Answer: Wiped all her posts. She cleared her accounts on August 18, 2017, then announced the album days later.
11. The "Look What You Made Me Do" video premiered at which awards show?Answer: The MTV VMAs. It debuted at the VMAs on August 27, 2017, and set a YouTube record for first-day views.
12. What did Swift name the kitten that appears in the "Me!" video?Answer: Benjamin Button. She adopted the kitten from the shoot and named it Benjamin Button.
13. Swift's cat Olivia Benson is named after a character from which TV show?Answer: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Olivia Benson is the detective played by Mariska Hargitay.
14. Swift's cat Meredith is named after the main character of which TV show?Answer: Grey's Anatomy. Meredith Grey is the doctor played by Ellen Pompeo.
15. Lover's songs made with Jack Antonoff were recorded at which New York studio?Answer: Electric Lady Studios. Electric Lady was founded by Jimi Hendrix in Greenwich Village.
16. What was the Eras Tour's acoustic segment, with different songs each night, called?Answer: Surprise songs. Each show she played two surprise songs, usually on guitar and piano.
17. Which streaming service added The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version) in March 2024?Answer: Disney+. The extended cut of the concert film arrived on Disney+ on March 14, 2024.
18. Swift attended her first Kansas City Chiefs game in September 2023 against which team?Answer: Chicago Bears. She watched Travis Kelce and the Chiefs beat the Bears at Arrowhead Stadium on September 24, 2023.
19. On which podcast did Swift reveal the cover and track list of The Life of a Showgirl?Answer: New Heights. She appeared on Travis and Jason Kelce's New Heights on August 13, 2025.
20. "The Fate of Ophelia" refers to a character from which Shakespeare play?Answer: Hamlet. Ophelia is the young woman Hamlet loves, who drowns in the play.

Football trivia

1. Which quarterback holds the NFL record for consecutive regular-season starts?Answer: Brett Favre. Favre started 297 straight regular-season games from 1992 to 2010.
2. Who was named MVP of Super Bowl LIX in February 2025?Answer: Jalen Hurts. Hurts led the Eagles to a 40–22 win over the Chiefs in New Orleans.
3. Which Eagles running back rushed for 2,005 yards in 2024?Answer: Saquon Barkley. Barkley became the ninth player to reach 2,000 rushing yards in a season.
4. Which Hall of Famer was nicknamed “Crazy Legs”?Answer: Elroy Hirsch. Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch was a star receiver for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1950s.
5. What was receiver Lance Alworth’s nickname?Answer: Bambi. The graceful Chargers star was the first AFL player elected to the Hall of Fame.
6. Which Raiders quarterback was nicknamed “The Snake”?Answer: Ken Stabler. Ken Stabler led the Raiders to their first Super Bowl win, Super Bowl XI.
7. Which quarterback and kicker played a record 26 pro seasons, retiring at 48?Answer: George Blanda. George Blanda played from 1949 to 1975 for the Bears, Oilers and Raiders, among others.
8. Which team plays its home games at Highmark Stadium?Answer: Buffalo Bills. The Bills’ stadium is in Orchard Park, New York, just outside Buffalo.
9. Which team beat the Denver Broncos 43–8 in Super Bowl XLVIII?Answer: Seattle Seahawks. Seattle’s defense dominated, and linebacker Malcolm Smith was named MVP.
10. The NFL’s “Rooney Rule” requires teams to do what?Answer: Interview minority candidates for head coach and top jobs. Adopted in 2003, it is named after longtime Steelers owner Dan Rooney.
11. Who was the first NFL quarterback to pass for 5,000 yards in a season?Answer: Dan Marino. Marino threw for 5,084 yards for the Dolphins in 1984.
12. How many Super Bowls did the Dallas Cowboys win in the 1990s?Answer: 3. Dallas won Super Bowls XXVII, XXVIII and XXX.
13. The 1980s “New York Sack Exchange” was the defensive line of which team?Answer: New York Jets. Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons and Abdul Salaam made up the Jets’ famous front four.
14. Mike Ditka coached the 1985 Bears. What position did he play in his Hall of Fame career?Answer: Tight end. Ditka was the first tight end elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
15. Which team lost to Tom Brady’s Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV?Answer: Kansas City Chiefs. Tampa Bay won 31–9, becoming the first team to win a Super Bowl in its home stadium.
16. On the “Philly Special” in Super Bowl LII, who caught the touchdown pass?Answer: Nick Foles. Tight end Trey Burton threw it to quarterback Nick Foles.
17. In which Texas city is the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium?Answer: Arlington. The Cowboys moved there in 2009 after decades at Texas Stadium in Irving.
18. Which team has a horseshoe on its helmets?Answer: Indianapolis Colts. The Colts’ horseshoe dates back to the team’s years in Baltimore.
19. In the 1970 merger, which three NFL teams moved over to the new AFC?Answer: Colts, Browns and Steelers. They joined the ten AFL teams to make 13 in each conference.
20. Who coached the “Greatest Show on Turf” Rams to a Super Bowl XXXIV win?Answer: Dick Vermeil. Dick Vermeil won the title in his third season with the Rams, then retired.

Basketball trivia

1. Which Hall of Famer was nicknamed “The Iceman”?Answer: George Gervin. Gervin, famous for his finger roll, won four scoring titles with the Spurs.
2. Bill Walton won Sixth Man of the Year in 1986 with which team?Answer: Boston Celtics. Walton came off the bench for the 1985–86 Celtics, who won the title.
3. Which team won the 1995 title as a sixth seed, the lowest seed ever to win it all?Answer: Houston Rockets. The defending champion Rockets swept Orlando in the 1995 Finals.
4. The Lakers’ name comes from which state, the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”?Answer: Minnesota. The team began as the Minneapolis Lakers and kept the name after moving to Los Angeles.
5. Which player was drafted straight out of high school in 1995, the first to do so in 20 years?Answer: Kevin Garnett. Minnesota took Garnett fifth overall.
6. Which player, nicknamed “Chocolate Thunder,” shattered two backboards in 1979?Answer: Darryl Dawkins. Dawkins’ glass-breaking dunks helped lead to breakaway rims.
7. Who scored 8 points in 8.9 seconds to stun the Knicks in a 1995 playoff game?Answer: Reggie Miller. Miller’s late burst won Game 1 of the series for Indiana at Madison Square Garden.
8. Which Knicks guard threw down a famous dunk over Horace Grant and Michael Jordan in 1993?Answer: John Starks. Starks’ left-handed dunk came in Game 2 of the 1993 Eastern Conference finals.
9. How many personal fouls does it take to foul out of an NBA game?Answer: Six. NBA players are allowed six fouls, while college players foul out after five.
10. How many Finals MVP awards did Michael Jordan win?Answer: Six. Jordan was Finals MVP in all six of Chicago’s title runs.
11. Which two players were the 1980s Houston Rockets’ “Twin Towers”?Answer: Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon. Sampson and Olajuwon took Houston to the 1986 Finals.
12. Which team drafted Dirk Nowitzki in 1998 and traded him to Dallas that night?Answer: Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks took him ninth and dealt him to Dallas in a trade for Robert Traylor.
13. Who was Finals MVP when the Pistons upset the Lakers in 2004?Answer: Chauncey Billups. Billups, nicknamed “Mr. Big Shot,” led Detroit to a five-game win.
14. Which coach’s company trademarked the phrase “three-peat”?Answer: Pat Riley. Riley’s company registered it in the late 1980s, while he was coaching the Lakers.
15. Which NBA star played the lead role in Spike Lee’s 1998 film “He Got Game”?Answer: Ray Allen. Allen played high school phenom Jesus Shuttlesworth opposite Denzel Washington.
16. Who holds the record for most NBA scoring titles?Answer: Michael Jordan. Jordan won 10 scoring titles; Wilt Chamberlain is next with seven.
17. Who averaged 50.4 points per game for a full season?Answer: Wilt Chamberlain. Chamberlain did it for the Philadelphia Warriors in 1961–62.
18. Who was the first pick in the 2019 NBA draft?Answer: Zion Williamson. New Orleans took Williamson out of Duke; Ja Morant went second to Memphis.
19. Moses Malone was Finals MVP as which team swept the Lakers in 1983?Answer: Philadelphia 76ers. Malone, acquired before the season, led Philadelphia to a 4–0 Finals sweep.
20. In basketball slang, what is a “dime”?Answer: An assist. Players “drop dimes” when they make sharp passes that lead to baskets.

Baseball trivia

1. Which Hall of Famer was nicknamed “The Yankee Clipper”?Answer: Joe DiMaggio. DiMaggio played center field for the Yankees from 1936 to 1951, missing three seasons for World War II service.
2. Who was the first Japanese-born player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame?Answer: Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro was elected in 2025, just one vote short of unanimous.
3. How many balls does it take for a batter to walk?Answer: Four. The number of balls for a walk was finally set at four in 1889.
4. Who was the starting pitcher and leadoff hitter for the AL in the 2021 All-Star Game?Answer: Shohei Ohtani. Shohei Ohtani became the first player picked for the All-Star Game as both a pitcher and a hitter.
5. Which team won the 2025 World Series?Answer: Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers beat Toronto in 11 innings of Game 7 to become the first repeat champions since the 1998-2000 Yankees.
6. What does RBI stand for?Answer: Runs batted in. A batter gets an RBI for each run that scores because of his hit, walk, sacrifice or out.
7. Which team plays home games at Busch Stadium?Answer: St. Louis Cardinals. The name comes from the Busch family of Anheuser-Busch, who bought the Cardinals in 1953 and owned them for more than 40 years.
8. Which Cubs catcher hit the famous “Homer in the Gloamin’” in near-darkness in 1938?Answer: Gabby Hartnett. Gabby Hartnett’s ninth-inning homer at dusk on September 28, 1938, put the Cubs in first place on their way to the pennant.
9. In baseball slang, what is a “Texas Leaguer”?Answer: A bloop hit between the infielders and outfielders. The name goes back to the minor league Texas League of the late 1880s.
10. With which team did Babe Ruth finish his playing career in 1935?Answer: Boston Braves. Ruth returned to Boston to play for the National League Braves in his final season.
11. Which pitcher won 31 games in 1968, the last 30-win season in MLB?Answer: Denny McLain. Denny McLain went 31-6 for the Detroit Tigers and won the AL MVP and Cy Young.
12. What was the nickname of the 1970s Cincinnati Reds dynasty?Answer: The Big Red Machine. The Big Red Machine won back-to-back World Series in 1975 and 1976.
13. Why did Sandy Koufax not pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series?Answer: It was Yom Kippur. Koufax, who is Jewish, sat out on the holy day and went on to pitch a shutout in Game 7.
14. In which state was MLB’s first “Field of Dreams” game played in 2021?Answer: Iowa. The Yankees and White Sox played near the movie set in Dyersville, Iowa.
15. Which Hall of Famer was known as “Mr. Tiger”?Answer: Al Kaline. Al Kaline went straight from high school to the Tigers at 18 and played all 22 seasons in Detroit.
16. Which first baseman did Lou Gehrig replace in 1925, early in his famous streak?Answer: Wally Pipp. Gehrig took over for Wally Pipp at first base on June 2, 1925, and held the job for 14 years.
17. Which Yankee threw a perfect game on “Yogi Berra Day” in 1999?Answer: David Cone. Don Larsen threw the ceremonial first pitch to Berra before David Cone’s perfect game on July 18, 1999.
18. Ken Griffey Jr. and his father played together for which team?Answer: Seattle Mariners. The Griffeys even hit back-to-back home runs for the Mariners on September 14, 1990.
19. In what year was the song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” written?Answer: 1908. Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer wrote it in 1908, before Norworth had ever seen a game.
20. Which team won three straight World Series from 1972 to 1974?Answer: Oakland Athletics. The A’s of Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers won all three.

Hockey trivia

1. How many goals did Wayne Gretzky score in 1981–82, still the single-season record?Answer: 92. He broke Phil Esposito’s mark of 76 that season.
2. The Vezina Trophy is named after a goaltender from which team?Answer: Montreal Canadiens. Georges Vézina was the Canadiens’ goalie until illness ended his career; he died in 1926.
3. Which trophy goes to the most valuable player of the playoffs?Answer: Conn Smythe Trophy. First awarded in 1965, it honors the longtime Toronto Maple Leafs boss.
4. The 1955 Richard Riot in Montreal followed a suspension handed down by whom?Answer: NHL president Clarence Campbell. Campbell suspended Maurice Richard for the rest of the season, including the playoffs.
5. Which country won the 4 Nations Face-Off in February 2025?Answer: Canada. Connor McDavid scored in overtime to beat the U.S. 3–2 in Boston.
6. Who holds the record for goals in a season by a defenseman, with 48?Answer: Paul Coffey. Coffey scored 48 for Edmonton in 1985–86, passing Orr’s 46.
7. Who scored 86 goals in 1990–91, the most in a season by anyone other than Wayne Gretzky?Answer: Brett Hull. Hull did it for the St. Louis Blues.
8. Wayne Gretzky grew up in which Ontario city?Answer: Brantford. He learned the game on a backyard rink his father built in Brantford.
9. Who holds the NHL record for career penalty minutes?Answer: Dave “Tiger” Williams. Williams piled up 3,966 regular-season penalty minutes.
10. Youppi!, the Canadiens’ mascot, first cheered for which team?Answer: Montreal Expos. Youppi! joined the Canadiens in 2005 after the Expos moved to Washington.
11. Who was the NHL’s first president, in 1917?Answer: Frank Calder. The trophy for the NHL’s rookie of the year is named for him.
12. Which current team began as the Kansas City Scouts?Answer: New Jersey Devils. The Scouts became the Colorado Rockies in 1976 and moved to New Jersey in 1982.
13. In hockey, what is the “five-hole”?Answer: The gap between a goalie’s legs. Shooters number the openings around a goalie, and the fifth is between the pads.
14. Pittsburgh’s old Civic Arena had what nickname?Answer: The Igloo. Its round steel roof could open to the sky.
15. Who is second to Wayne Gretzky in career NHL points?Answer: Jaromír Jágr. Jágr finished with 1,921 points.
16. Sidney Crosby grew up in which Canadian province?Answer: Nova Scotia. He is from Cole Harbour, near Halifax.
17. Behind each net, what color light signals that a goal has been scored?Answer: Red. A green light signals the end of a period, after which no goal can count.
18. Which player was nicknamed “The Golden Jet”?Answer: Bobby Hull. His blond hair and blazing speed earned Hull the name.
19. How many faceoff spots are on an NHL rink?Answer: Nine. There is one at center ice, four in the neutral zone and two in each end zone.
20. Who holds the NHL record for career regular-season games played?Answer: Patrick Marleau. Marleau passed Howe’s 1,767 in 2021 and finished with 1,779.

Movies trivia

1. Who played Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939)?Answer: Vivien Leigh. The British actress won Best Actress for the role.
2. Which film won the first Oscar for Best Animated Feature?Answer: Shrek. The award was first given at the 2002 ceremony, for films of 2001.
3. Who wrote the novel Jurassic Park?Answer: Michael Crichton. Crichton also co-wrote the screenplay for Spielberg’s 1993 film.
4. Which star of Rocky (1976) also wrote its screenplay?Answer: Sylvester Stallone. Stallone was nominated for both Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay.
5. Who directed Lawrence of Arabia (1962)?Answer: David Lean. Lean won Best Director, and the film won Best Picture.
6. Marilyn Monroe’s white dress blows up over a subway grate in which film?Answer: The Seven Year Itch. The 1955 comedy was directed by Billy Wilder.
7. Blade Runner (1982) is based on a novel by which author?Answer: Philip K. Dick. It adapts Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
8. Who played Neo in The Matrix (1999)?Answer: Keanu Reeves. The film was written and directed by the Wachowskis.
9. In what year was the first Academy Awards ceremony held?Answer: 1929. It was held in May 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
10. Which actor won back-to-back Best Actor Oscars for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump?Answer: Tom Hanks. He won in 1994 and 1995, matching Spencer Tracy’s back-to-back wins of the 1930s.
11. Who directed The Godfather (1972)?Answer: Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola co-wrote the script with novelist Mario Puzo.
12. Which pioneering 1902 French film shows a rocket landing in the eye of the Man in the Moon?Answer: A Trip to the Moon. It was made by stage magician turned filmmaker Georges Méliès.
13. Who played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939)?Answer: Judy Garland. Garland was 16 when filming began.
14. Which Disney film features the song “Let It Go”?Answer: Frozen. The song won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 2014 ceremony.
15. Who was the first Black performer to win an Academy Award?Answer: Hattie McDaniel. She won Best Supporting Actress for Gone with the Wind at the 1940 ceremony.
16. In Home Alone (1990), where is Kevin’s family flying when they leave him behind?Answer: Paris. The McCallisters are flying to Paris for Christmas.
17. Who was Stan Laurel’s comedy partner?Answer: Oliver Hardy. Laurel and Hardy made more than 100 films together.
18. Which Hollywood studio was founded by Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack?Answer: Warner Bros.. The four Warner brothers’ studio made The Jazz Singer.
19. Who played FBI trainee Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)?Answer: Jodie Foster. Foster won her second Best Actress Oscar for the role.
20. Which film won all 11 Oscars it was nominated for?Answer: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Peter Jackson’s 2003 film swept every category it was up for.

Broadway trivia

1. In stage directions, “stage left” is whose left?Answer: The actor’s, facing the audience. Stage directions are given from the performer’s point of view.
2. Which is Broadway’s largest theatre, with roughly 1,900 seats?Answer: The Gershwin. The Gershwin Theatre seats about 1,930 people.
3. Hairspray is based on a film by which director?Answer: John Waters. Waters’s 1988 film is set in his hometown of Baltimore.
4. Hello, Dolly! is based on which play by Thornton Wilder?Answer: The Matchmaker. The Matchmaker features the meddling widow Dolly Levi.
5. Which songwriting team wrote Cabaret and Chicago?Answer: Kander and Ebb. John Kander wrote the music and Fred Ebb the lyrics.
6. Which Broadway musical is about the comedian Fanny Brice?Answer: Funny Girl. Brice was a star of the Ziegfeld Follies; Barbra Streisand played her on Broadway.
7. Which Tennessee Williams play features Amanda and Laura Wingfield?Answer: The Glass Menagerie. The Glass Menagerie was Williams’s first big Broadway success.
8. The creators of which TV series co-wrote The Book of Mormon?Answer: South Park. Trey Parker and Matt Stone wrote it with Robert Lopez.
9. Who wrote the lyrics for both Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar?Answer: Tim Rice. Rice partnered with Andrew Lloyd Webber on both rock operas.
10. Who wrote the play A Raisin in the Sun?Answer: Lorraine Hansberry. Hansberry’s drama follows the Younger family in Chicago.
11. Which jukebox musical is built on the songs of ABBA?Answer: Mamma Mia!. Mamma Mia! weaves ABBA hits into a story set on a Greek island.
12. Eva Perón, the subject of Evita, was first lady of which country?Answer: Argentina. She was the wife of Argentine president Juan Perón.
13. Which Lion King creative became the first woman to win the Tony for Best Direction of a Musical?Answer: Julie Taymor. Taymor, who also designed the costumes and masks, won in 1998.
14. In theatre, what is the proscenium?Answer: The arch that frames the stage opening. A proscenium stage is viewed through this frame like a picture.
15. Which star originated Mama Rose in Gypsy?Answer: Ethel Merman. Merman created the role of the ultimate stage mother in 1959.
16. Which Sondheim musical was inspired by a painting by Georges Seurat?Answer: Sunday in the Park with George. Act One imagines the making of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.
17. In Wicked, which character becomes the Wicked Witch of the West?Answer: Elphaba. Elphaba is the green-skinned girl misunderstood by Oz.
18. Who composed The Phantom of the Opera?Answer: Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lloyd Webber’s musical is based on Gaston Leroux’s novel.
19. Which August Wilson play won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Drama?Answer: Fences. Fences starred James Earl Jones as Troy Maxson.
20. Which Sondheim musical follows a vengeful barber on Fleet Street?Answer: Sweeney Todd. Sweeney Todd is set in Victorian London.

U.S. History trivia

1. Who was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court?Answer: Sandra Day O’Connor. Ronald Reagan appointed O’Connor in 1981.
2. Which colony did the Calvert family found as a haven for English Catholics?Answer: Maryland. The first Maryland settlers arrived in 1634 under a charter granted to Lord Baltimore.
3. Which treaty ended the War of 1812?Answer: Treaty of Ghent. It was signed in Ghent, in modern Belgium, in December 1814.
4. Which 1848 treaty ended the Mexican–American War?Answer: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Mexico gave up land that now includes California and much of the Southwest.
5. Which abolitionist escaped slavery and published a famous autobiography in 1845?Answer: Frederick Douglass. His book was the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
6. Where did the Civil War begin when Confederate guns opened fire in April 1861?Answer: Fort Sumter. The fort in Charleston Harbor surrendered after a 34-hour bombardment.
7. What happened at Promontory Summit, Utah, in 1869?Answer: The first transcontinental railroad was completed. Officials drove a ceremonial golden spike to join the two lines.
8. Who founded the American Red Cross?Answer: Clara Barton. Barton, a Civil War nurse, founded it in 1881.
9. Which Apache leader surrendered to the U.S. Army in 1886?Answer: Geronimo. He surrendered to General Nelson Miles in Skeleton Canyon, Arizona.
10. Which president was assassinated in Buffalo, New York, in 1901?Answer: William McKinley. McKinley was shot at the Pan-American Exposition and died days later.
11. What was the Great Migration?Answer: Black Americans moving from the rural South to Northern and Western cities. Millions moved between about 1910 and 1970.
12. What was Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929?Answer: A stock market crash. Panic selling on Wall Street that day helped start the Great Depression.
13. Who was the Supreme Allied Commander for the D-Day invasion?Answer: Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower later became the 34th president.
14. How did the U.S. and Britain keep West Berlin supplied during the 1948–49 Soviet blockade?Answer: By flying supplies in on cargo planes. The Berlin Airlift delivered food and coal by air for nearly a year.
15. What was the name of Apollo 11’s lunar module?Answer: Eagle. Eagle landed on the Moon; Columbia was the command module.
16. Which agency was created in 1958 to run America’s space program?Answer: NASA. NASA was established in response to the Soviet Sputnik launch.
17. What were Jim Crow laws?Answer: Laws enforcing racial segregation. Southern states used them to segregate public life from the late 1800s into the 1960s.
18. Which 1896 Supreme Court case upheld “separate but equal”?Answer: Plessy v. Ferguson. It was overturned in public schools by Brown v. Board in 1954.
19. Which president vetoed the recharter of the Second Bank of the United States in 1832?Answer: Andrew Jackson. Jackson’s veto was a central issue in the 1832 election.
20. Which agreement did the Pilgrims sign aboard ship in 1620 to govern themselves?Answer: The Mayflower Compact. It was signed before they went ashore at Plymouth.

U.S. Presidents trivia

1. Which president was nicknamed “Honest Abe”?Answer: Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln earned the name for his reputation for honesty as a young man in Illinois.
2. Who was the first president to die in office?Answer: William Henry Harrison. Harrison died of illness on April 4, 1841.
3. Which president signed the Social Security Act?Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt signed it into law on August 14, 1935.
4. Who was president during the Watergate scandal?Answer: Richard Nixon. The scandal grew from a 1972 break-in and led to Nixon’s resignation in 1974.
5. Which first lady was born in Slovenia and worked as a fashion model?Answer: Melania Trump. Melania Trump was born in Novo Mesto, then part of Yugoslavia, now Slovenia.
6. Which president was born in Hope, Arkansas?Answer: Bill Clinton. Clinton was born in Hope in 1946.
7. Who was George H. W. Bush’s vice president?Answer: Dan Quayle. Quayle served as vice president from 1989 to 1993.
8. Who was the youngest person ever elected president?Answer: John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was 43 when he was elected in 1960.
9. Who was the oldest person ever inaugurated as president?Answer: Donald Trump. Trump was 78 years and seven months old at his inauguration in January 2025.
10. What 1823 policy warned European powers against new colonies in the Americas?Answer: The Monroe Doctrine. President James Monroe set it out in his message to Congress in December 1823.
11. Which future president led American forces to victory at the Battle of New Orleans?Answer: Andrew Jackson. Jackson’s troops defeated the British there in January 1815.
12. Who was the first president inaugurated in Washington, D.C.?Answer: Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson took the oath at the Capitol in March 1801.
13. Which president was nicknamed “Silent Cal”?Answer: Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge was known for saying very little in public.
14. Which president’s library is in Simi Valley, California?Answer: Ronald Reagan. The Reagan Library opened in Simi Valley in 1991.
15. Which future president wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Profiles in Courage”?Answer: John F. Kennedy. Kennedy’s book won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957.
16. Which president signed the Affordable Care Act?Answer: Barack Obama. Obama signed the health care law on March 23, 2010.
17. What is the name of the president’s yearly address to Congress?Answer: State of the Union. The Constitution says the president shall give Congress information on the state of the union.
18. Which future president led the “Rough Riders” in the Spanish–American War?Answer: Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt led the volunteer cavalry in Cuba in 1898.
19. Abraham Lincoln was the first president from which party?Answer: Republican. Lincoln was elected in 1860 as the first Republican president.
20. Who is the only president to serve in the House of Representatives after his presidency?Answer: John Quincy Adams. Adams represented Massachusetts in the House from 1831 until his death in 1848.

Geography trivia

1. What is the capital of Egypt?Answer: Cairo. Cairo is Egypt’s capital and largest city.
2. Which is the coldest continent?Answer: Antarctica. Antarctica holds the record for the lowest temperatures measured on Earth.
3. Most of Yellowstone National Park lies in which U.S. state?Answer: Wyoming. About 96 percent of Yellowstone is in Wyoming; slivers reach Montana and Idaho.
4. Which river flows through Cologne?Answer: Rhine. Cologne’s cathedral stands beside the Rhine.
5. What is the capital of China?Answer: Beijing. Beijing is China’s capital; Shanghai is its biggest city.
6. The Kalahari Desert covers most of which country?Answer: Botswana. The Kalahari spreads over most of Botswana and into Namibia and South Africa.
7. What is the highest mountain in South America?Answer: Aconcagua. Aconcagua, in Argentina, rises to about 6,960 m.
8. Honshu is the largest island of which country?Answer: Japan. Honshu is home to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.
9. Which line of latitude lies at about 23.4 degrees north?Answer: Tropic of Cancer. The Tropic of Cancer marks the sun’s farthest point north.
10. The Everglades wetlands are in which U.S. state?Answer: Florida. The Everglades cover much of southern Florida.
11. What is the capital of Portugal?Answer: Lisbon. Lisbon sits where the Tagus River meets the Atlantic.
12. Which sea lies between Saudi Arabia and northeastern Africa?Answer: Red Sea. The Red Sea separates the Arabian Peninsula from Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea.
13. Sri Lanka lies off the southern coast of which country?Answer: India. The Palk Strait separates Sri Lanka from southern India.
14. The city of Marrakesh is in which country?Answer: Morocco. Marrakesh lies at the foot of Morocco’s Atlas Mountains.
15. Which country’s flag is green with a yellow diamond and a blue starry globe?Answer: Brazil. Brazil’s flag shows a blue globe with stars inside a yellow diamond.
16. Which is the largest of the Great Lakes?Answer: Lake Superior. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by area.
17. Manila is the capital of which island nation?Answer: Philippines. Manila is on Luzon, the Philippines’ largest island.
18. Which of these South American countries is landlocked?Answer: Bolivia. Bolivia lost its coastline to Chile in the War of the Pacific.
19. Which mountain range in Russia is traditionally seen as part of the boundary between Europe and Asia?Answer: Ural Mountains. The Urals run north to south from the Arctic Ocean toward Kazakhstan.
20. What is Canada’s largest city?Answer: Toronto. Toronto, on Lake Ontario, is Canada’s most populous city.