Saturday, October 24, 2026

The tidbits, trivia answers and word pairs from Facts & Games on Saturday, October 24, 2026. Play today’s games · All past days · All past tidbits

Six tidbits

Commonly confused words

moral vs. morale

moral: A lesson about right and wrong. morale: The confidence and spirit of a group. The moral of the story; the team’s morale.

morning vs. mourning

morning: The early part of the day. mourning: Grief after a death. Mourning is for someone you mourn.

judicial vs. judicious

judicial: Relating to courts or judges. judicious: Showing good judgment. Judicious means wise.

tortuous vs. torturous

tortuous: Full of twists and turns. torturous: Causing great pain or suffering. Torturous comes from torture.

fortunate vs. fortuitous

fortunate: Lucky. fortuitous: Happening by chance, lucky or not. Fortuitous is about chance.

Beatles trivia

1. In 2008 NASA beamed which Beatles song into deep space?Answer: Across the Universe. Across the Universe was transmitted towards the North Star on February 4, 2008.
2. Where did George Harrison stage the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971?Answer: Madison Square Garden. The two shows at Madison Square Garden raised money for refugees.
3. Which Indian musician taught George Harrison the sitar?Answer: Ravi Shankar. George studied with Ravi Shankar, including in India in 1966.
4. What is the name of Ringo Starr’s touring band, launched in 1989?Answer: The All-Starr Band. Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band has had many changing line-ups.
5. Which Abbey Road track was the last that all four Beatles worked on together in the studio?Answer: I Want You (She’s So Heavy). They finished I Want You on August 20, 1969, their last session as a four.
6. Which album opens with the sound of a jet plane landing?Answer: The Beatles (the White Album). Back in the U.S.S.R. starts the White Album with jet noise.
7. Which Sgt. Pepper song includes the ring of an alarm clock?Answer: A Day in the Life. The alarm clock was left in by chance in A Day in the Life.
8. The huge final chord of “A Day in the Life” was struck on what?Answer: Several pianos at once. Pianos and a harmonium hit the chord together and let it ring.
9. While Ringo briefly quit in 1968, who played most of the drums on “Back in the U.S.S.R.”?Answer: Paul McCartney. Paul played drums, with John and George adding parts.
10. Where was “Give Peace a Chance” recorded in 1969?Answer: A hotel room in Montreal. John and Yoko recorded it during their bed-in at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel.
11. In which city did John and Yoko hold their first Bed-in for Peace in March 1969?Answer: Amsterdam. They stayed in bed at the Amsterdam Hilton for a week; a second bed-in followed in Montreal.
12. Who booked the band’s early Hamburg shows and managed them before Brian Epstein?Answer: Allan Williams. Allan Williams, owner of the Jacaranda club, sent them to Hamburg in 1960.
13. Which lullaby, sung by Ringo, closes the White Album?Answer: Good Night. John wrote Good Night; Ringo sings it over a lush orchestra.
14. Which singer does Ringo play on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band?Answer: Billy Shears. The title song introduces him as Billy Shears.
15. On the Sgt. Pepper cover, the band wear outfits styled like what?Answer: Military band uniforms. The bright satin suits were made to look like old military band uniforms.
16. Pattie Boyd met George Harrison on the set of which film?Answer: A Hard Day’s Night. She had a small part as a schoolgirl in A Hard Day’s Night (1964).
17. Which Beatle married actress Barbara Bach in 1981?Answer: Ringo Starr. Ringo met her while filming Caveman.
18. Which Lennon–McCartney song was a 1964 No. 1 for Peter and Gordon?Answer: A World Without Love. A World Without Love topped the UK and US charts.
19. Which song shared a 1967 double A-side single with “Penny Lane”?Answer: Strawberry Fields Forever. Strawberry Fields Forever; neither song went on Sgt. Pepper.
20. What was the original name of the 1969 project that became the album Let It Be?Answer: Get Back. It began as Get Back, meant as a return to playing live.

Taylor Swift trivia

1. Which crime drama did Swift guest-star on in 2009?Answer: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She played a teenage character in a 2009 episode of the CBS series.
2. Which sketch-comedy show did Swift host in November 2009?Answer: Saturday Night Live. She hosted Saturday Night Live and was also its musical guest on November 7, 2009.
3. What is the name of Swift's mother?Answer: Andrea. Andrea Swift, born Andrea Finlay, worked as a mutual fund marketing executive.
4. Which instrument stands out on "Mean"?Answer: Banjo. Swift said the banjo was her answer to critics who called her not country enough.
5. Which of these is NOT a Taylor Swift album?Answer: Golden Hour. Golden Hour is a 2018 album by Kacey Musgraves.
6. Which 1989 video, starring a cast of famous friends, won Video of the Year at the 2015 VMAs?Answer: Bad Blood. "Bad Blood" also won the Grammy for Best Music Video in 2016.
7. Which singer-songwriter released his own cover version of the whole 1989 album in 2015?Answer: Ryan Adams. Ryan Adams recorded the album track by track in a stripped-down rock style.
8. In 2015 Swift won an Emmy for what?Answer: An interactive music experience app. The AMEX Unstaged: Taylor Swift Experience won for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media.
9. What are Taylor Swift's fans called?Answer: Swifties. Her fans have called themselves Swifties since her early country days.
10. Which album did the music industry group IFPI name the world's best-selling album of 2025?Answer: The Life of a Showgirl. IFPI counted about 6 million copies of The Life of a Showgirl sold in 2025.
11. What was the first single released from Reputation?Answer: Look What You Made Me Do. It came out on August 24, 2017, ahead of the album in November.
12. Which singer duets with Swift on "Run" from Red (Taylor's Version)?Answer: Ed Sheeran. Ed Sheeran, her partner on "Everything Has Changed," also sings on the vault track "Run."
13. Which Speak Now (Taylor's Version) vault track features Hayley Williams?Answer: Castles Crumbling. The Paramore singer joins her on "Castles Crumbling."
14. Which band joins Swift on the vault track "Electric Touch"?Answer: Fall Out Boy. Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy shares vocals on the song.
15. At her first show in which city did Swift announce Speak Now (Taylor's Version) in May 2023?Answer: Nashville. She announced it at Nissan Stadium on May 5, 2023, in the city where she began her career.
16. How many years after the original did 1989 (Taylor's Version) come out?Answer: Nine. Both versions came out on October 27, in 2014 and 2023.
17. Which 1989 (Taylor's Version) vault track reached No. 1 on the Hot 100?Answer: Is It Over Now?. "Is It Over Now?" topped the chart in November 2023.
18. Which country star sings on "I Bet You Think About Me" from Red (Taylor's Version)?Answer: Chris Stapleton. Chris Stapleton is featured on the vault track.
19. Phoebe Bridgers sings on which Red (Taylor's Version) vault track?Answer: Nothing New. The two duet on "Nothing New," a song first written in the Red era.
20. Which singer is featured on the Fearless (Taylor's Version) vault track "You All Over Me"?Answer: Maren Morris. Maren Morris is the featured singer on the song.

Football trivia

1. Which of these teams has never won a Super Bowl?Answer: Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals lost Super Bowls XVI, XXIII and LVI.
2. What is it called when the defense sends extra players rushing at the quarterback?Answer: Blitz. A blitz adds linebackers or defensive backs to the pass rush.
3. Which team did the Patriots beat for their first Super Bowl title?Answer: St. Louis Rams. Adam Vinatieri’s last-second field goal won Super Bowl XXXVI 20–17.
4. Who returned the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI for a touchdown, a Super Bowl first?Answer: Devin Hester. Hester did it for the Bears, though the Colts went on to win.
5. Which Hall of Fame coach won Super Bowl XI with the Raiders and later lent his name to a hit video game?Answer: John Madden. Madden became a famous TV analyst, and the Madden NFL games are named after him.
6. How wide is an NFL field?Answer: 53⅓ yards. The field is 160 feet wide, which works out to 53⅓ yards.
7. Before becoming an NFL star, Kurt Warner famously stocked shelves where?Answer: A grocery store. He worked nights at a grocery store in Iowa before his arena football and NFL careers.
8. Which team won its first Super Bowl in February 2010 by beating the Colts?Answer: New Orleans Saints. The Saints won Super Bowl XLIV 31–17, with Drew Brees named MVP.
9. Who was the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft?Answer: Caleb Williams. The Chicago Bears took the USC quarterback first.
10. Tom Brady took over in 2001 after which Patriots starter was injured?Answer: Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe was hurt in Week 2, and Brady never gave the job back.
11. How many Super Bowls did Joe Montana win?Answer: 4. Montana went 4–0 in Super Bowls with the 49ers and was MVP of three.
12. Which Hall of Fame Raiders center wore jersey number 00?Answer: Jim Otto. Otto’s “double zero” was a pun on his last name, “aught-o.”
13. Fans of which team chant “Who Dey”?Answer: Cincinnati Bengals. The chant has echoed through Cincinnati’s stadium since the early 1980s.
14. In 1966, Washington beat which team 72–41 in the highest-scoring game in NFL history?Answer: New York Giants. The two teams combined for 113 points.
15. Which team scored a record 55 points in Super Bowl XXIV?Answer: San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers beat the Broncos 55–10.
16. Which team plays its home games at Gillette Stadium?Answer: New England Patriots. The stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, opened in 2002.
17. Which team was named after a poem by Edgar Allan Poe?Answer: Baltimore Ravens. Poe lived and is buried in Baltimore, and fans chose the name in a 1996 vote.
18. Who holds the record for most passing yards in a single Super Bowl?Answer: Tom Brady. Brady threw for 505 yards in Super Bowl LII, but the Patriots lost to the Eagles.
19. Super Bowl XLVIII was the first played outdoors in a cold-weather area. Where?Answer: East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was held at MetLife Stadium, home of the Giants and Jets.
20. What jersey number did Walter Payton wear?Answer: 34. The Bears retired No. 34 in his honor.

Basketball trivia

1. Which player is nicknamed “The Joker”?Answer: Nikola Jokić. Jokić won MVP awards in 2021, 2022 and 2024 with Denver.
2. Who was Finals MVP when the Warriors beat the Celtics in 2022?Answer: Stephen Curry. It was Curry’s first Finals MVP, in his fourth championship run.
3. Which team plays its home games at Ball Arena?Answer: Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets share the Denver arena with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche.
4. Which college did Stephen Curry play for?Answer: Davidson. Curry led small Davidson to the Elite Eight of the 2008 NCAA tournament.
5. Which team did the “Bad Boys” Pistons sweep in the 1989 Finals?Answer: Los Angeles Lakers. Joe Dumars was Finals MVP as Detroit won its first NBA title.
6. Which Orlando star was nicknamed “Penny”?Answer: Anfernee Hardaway. Hardaway teamed with Shaquille O’Neal to take the Magic to the 1995 Finals.
7. Shaquille O’Neal won three straight titles from 2000 to 2002 with which team?Answer: Los Angeles Lakers. O’Neal was Finals MVP in all three of those championships.
8. Who was the 1985 NBA Rookie of the Year?Answer: Michael Jordan. Jordan averaged 28.2 points a game in his first season with Chicago.
9. Michael Jordan was majority owner of which team from 2010 to 2023?Answer: Charlotte Hornets. Jordan sold his majority stake in the Charlotte franchise in 2023.
10. Which player was nicknamed “The Big Ticket”?Answer: Kevin Garnett. Garnett won the 2004 MVP award with Minnesota.
11. How long is each quarter of an NBA game?Answer: 12 minutes. International games use 10-minute quarters, and college games use two 20-minute halves.
12. Who won the NBA MVP award in both 2019 and 2020?Answer: Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo won back-to-back MVPs with Milwaukee, then the 2021 title.
13. Which team used to be called the New Orleans Hornets?Answer: New Orleans Pelicans. New Orleans became the Pelicans in 2013, and Charlotte took back the Hornets name in 2014.
14. Who was Michael Jordan’s teammate on all six Bulls championship teams?Answer: Scottie Pippen. Pippen played alongside Jordan for every title in 1991–93 and 1996–98.
15. Which center led the Minneapolis Lakers to five titles and was so dominant the league widened the lane?Answer: George Mikan. The wider lane of 1951 became known as the “Mikan rule.”
16. Which country is Luka Dončić from?Answer: Slovenia. Dončić won a EuroLeague title with Real Madrid before entering the NBA.
17. Which Lakers legend was nicknamed “Mr. Clutch”?Answer: Jerry West. West averaged 27 points a game over 14 seasons, all with the Lakers.
18. In 1994, which team became the first No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in the playoffs?Answer: Denver Nuggets. Dikembe Mutombo’s Nuggets upset the Seattle SuperSonics.
19. What is a “Euro step”?Answer: A two-step move that changes direction on the way to the basket. Manu Ginóbili helped make the move popular in the NBA.
20. Which Pistons guard was nicknamed “The Microwave”?Answer: Vinnie Johnson. Johnson got the name because he could heat up quickly off the bench.

Baseball trivia

1. What is a left-handed pitcher often called?Answer: A southpaw. In many old ballparks the batter faced east, so a lefty pitcher’s throwing arm was on the south side.
2. Which pitcher won four straight Cy Young Awards from 1992 to 1995?Answer: Greg Maddux. Greg Maddux won the first with the Cubs and the next three with the Braves.
3. Which two famous players were among those MLB took off its permanently ineligible list in 2025?Answer: Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson. MLB ruled that such bans end when a player dies, which made both eligible for Hall of Fame consideration.
4. Who hit the most home runs while playing catcher?Answer: Mike Piazza. Mike Piazza hit 396 of his 427 career home runs as a catcher.
5. Which team plays home games at Citizens Bank Park?Answer: Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies moved there from Veterans Stadium in 2004.
6. Which Mets pitcher, nicknamed “Doc,” won the 1985 NL Cy Young Award at age 20?Answer: Dwight Gooden. Dwight Gooden went 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA that season.
7. In which city did the Braves play from 1953 to 1965?Answer: Milwaukee. The Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee, won the 1957 World Series there, then moved to Atlanta.
8. Which team lost Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS after a fan reached for a foul ball?Answer: Chicago Cubs. The Cubs were five outs from the World Series before the Marlins rallied and went on to win the pennant.
9. What is the infield fly rule meant to stop?Answer: Fielders letting a pop-up drop to get a cheap double play. With runners on first and second (or the bases loaded) and fewer than two outs, the batter is out on an easy infield pop-up.
10. Which pitcher struck out Mike Trout for the final out of the 2023 World Baseball Classic?Answer: Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani faced his Angels teammate with a one-run lead and got him swinging on a full count.
11. Which manager won the most games in MLB history?Answer: Connie Mack. Connie Mack won 3,731 games, managing the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 seasons.
12. Which team plays home games at T-Mobile Park?Answer: Seattle Mariners. The Mariners’ ballpark, opened in 1999 as Safeco Field, took its current name in 2019.
13. Bo Jackson was an MLB All-Star and a Pro Bowl player in which other sport?Answer: Football. Jackson starred for the Royals and the NFL’s Los Angeles Raiders at the same time.
14. Who, at 3 feet 7 inches tall, batted once for the St. Louis Browns in 1951?Answer: Eddie Gaedel. Owner Bill Veeck sent Eddie Gaedel up as a pinch hitter, and he walked on four pitches.
15. Which comedy duo performed the famous baseball routine “Who’s on First?”Answer: Abbott and Costello. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello made the routine famous in the late 1930s and 1940s.
16. Which Hall of Famer was known as “Mr. Cub”?Answer: Ernie Banks. Ernie Banks hit 512 home runs and played all 19 of his seasons for the Cubs.
17. In modern baseball slang, what is a “Maddux”?Answer: A shutout on fewer than 100 pitches. The term honors Greg Maddux, who was famous for efficient complete games.
18. Which Dodgers executive signed Jackie Robinson?Answer: Branch Rickey. Branch Rickey signed Robinson in 1945 and brought him to Brooklyn in 1947.
19. Which team played its home games at the Polo Grounds until 1957?Answer: New York Giants. The Giants played in the Manhattan ballpark before moving to San Francisco.
20. Which team won its first World Series title in 2017?Answer: Houston Astros. The Astros beat the Dodgers in seven games.

Hockey trivia

1. Which trophy goes to the NHL’s top goal scorer in the regular season?Answer: Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. Alex Ovechkin has won it a record nine times.
2. The Art Ross Trophy is awarded for what?Answer: Most regular-season points. It is named for Art Ross, the longtime manager of the Boston Bruins.
3. The Frank J. Selke Trophy honors what kind of player?Answer: Best defensive forward. Montreal’s Bob Gainey won each of the first four, starting in 1978.
4. Which franchise has won the most Stanley Cups?Answer: Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens have 24 championships, the most recent in 1993.
5. Which number did the NHL retire for every team in 2000?Answer: 99. Wayne Gretzky’s number was retired leaguewide at the 2000 All-Star Game in Toronto.
6. Which defenseman holds NHL career records for goals and points at his position?Answer: Ray Bourque. Bourque scored 410 goals and 1,579 points, mostly for Boston.
7. Mike Bossy scored at least 50 goals in how many straight seasons?Answer: Nine. He did it in each of his first nine seasons with the Islanders.
8. Bobby Orr grew up in which Ontario town?Answer: Parry Sound. The Bobby Orr Hall of Fame stands in his hometown.
9. In 1993, Mario Lemieux played on the day of his last radiation treatment for what illness?Answer: Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He scored that night in Philadelphia and went on to win the scoring title.
10. Fans of which team are known for throwing catfish onto the ice?Answer: Nashville Predators. It is a Southern twist on Detroit’s octopus tradition.
11. Which current team began as the Quebec Nordiques?Answer: Colorado Avalanche. They moved to Denver in 1995 and won the Cup in their first season there.
12. What is the diameter of an NHL puck?Answer: 3 inches. A puck is one inch thick and is frozen before games so it slides and bounces less.
13. The Montreal Canadiens play home games at which arena?Answer: Bell Centre. The Canadiens moved there from the Montreal Forum in 1996.
14. Which team set NHL records with 65 wins and 135 points in 2022–23?Answer: Boston Bruins. The Bruins broke the record of 62 wins shared by Detroit and Tampa Bay.
15. Who holds the record for points in a single playoff year, with 47?Answer: Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky set the mark in 1985 as Edmonton won the Cup.
16. Ken Dryden won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1971. Which award did he win the next season?Answer: Calder Trophy. He had played only six regular-season games before his 1971 run, so he was still a rookie.
17. Who played coach Herb Brooks in the 2004 film “Miracle”?Answer: Kurt Russell. The film retells the U.S. win over the Soviets at the 1980 Olympics.
18. How many teams are in the NHL in 2026?Answer: 32. The league reached 32 when the Seattle Kraken joined in 2021.
19. Who won back-to-back Conn Smythe Trophies in 2016 and 2017?Answer: Sidney Crosby. Crosby led Pittsburgh to consecutive Stanley Cups.
20. Leon Draisaitl is the NHL’s highest-scoring player from which country?Answer: Germany. He was born in Cologne and was the third overall pick in 2014.

Movies trivia

1. What nickname did the Jaws crew give the film’s mechanical shark?Answer: Bruce. It was reportedly named after Spielberg’s lawyer.
2. In which Star Wars film does Darth Vader reveal he is Luke’s father?Answer: The Empire Strikes Back. The 1980 sequel’s twist was kept secret from most of the cast.
3. Who played the title role in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)?Answer: Matthew Broderick. John Hughes wrote and directed the comedy.
4. Which 1950 film features the faded silent star Norma Desmond?Answer: Sunset Boulevard. Gloria Swanson played Norma in Billy Wilder’s film.
5. Who played Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)?Answer: Gregory Peck. Peck won Best Actor for the role.
6. In Ghostbusters (1984), what giant figure stomps through New York?Answer: The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Ray accidentally summons it by thinking of something harmless.
7. Which film won Best Picture at the 2017 ceremony after La La Land was announced by mistake?Answer: Moonlight. Presenters were handed the wrong envelope.
8. Who played Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (2001)?Answer: Reese Witherspoon. Elle follows her ex-boyfriend to Harvard Law School.
9. What is the name of the young lion in Disney’s The Lion King (1994)?Answer: Simba. Simba is the son of King Mufasa.
10. Who won Best Actress for Annie Hall (1977)?Answer: Diane Keaton. The film also won Best Picture.
11. Who wrote and directed The Sixth Sense (1999)?Answer: M. Night Shyamalan. Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment starred.
12. In Rear Window (1954), why is James Stewart’s character stuck in his apartment?Answer: A broken leg. The photographer watches his neighbors while his leg heals in a cast.
13. Who played Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976)?Answer: Robert De Niro. Martin Scorsese directed the film.
14. In which fictional town is It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) set?Answer: Bedford Falls. George Bailey sees what Bedford Falls would be like without him.
15. Which Kevin Costner film won Best Picture for 1990?Answer: Dances with Wolves. Costner also won Best Director.
16. Who voiced Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story (1995)?Answer: Tim Allen. Tom Hanks voiced Woody.
17. In The Matrix, which pill does Neo swallow?Answer: The red pill. The red pill shows him the truth about the Matrix.
18. Which monster did Boris Karloff play in a 1931 Universal film?Answer: Frankenstein’s monster. Bela Lugosi played Dracula the same year.
19. Which Japanese animation studio did Hayao Miyazaki co-found?Answer: Studio Ghibli. He founded it in 1985 with Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki.
20. Which French brothers held one of the first public, paying film shows in Paris in 1895?Answer: The Lumière brothers. Auguste and Louis Lumière screened their short films in December 1895.

Broadway trivia

1. Which Sondheim musical brings together Cinderella, Jack and Little Red Ridinghood?Answer: Into the Woods. James Lapine wrote the book, weaving several fairy tales together.
2. Which musical is set in a seedy nightspot called the Kit Kat Klub?Answer: Cabaret. Cabaret’s Emcee presides over the Berlin club.
3. Which singer-songwriter wrote the score for Waitress?Answer: Sara Bareilles. Bareilles later stepped into the lead role herself on Broadway.
4. Six reimagines the wives of which king as pop stars?Answer: Henry VIII. Each of Henry VIII’s six queens competes to tell her story.
5. Which 1975 Tony winner for Best Musical retold The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?Answer: The Wiz. The Wiz set the story to soul, gospel and R&B music.
6. Which musical takes place in Gander, Newfoundland, after the September 11 attacks?Answer: Come From Away. It tells how the town took in thousands of stranded air passengers.
7. What is an “eleven o’clock number”?Answer: A big showstopping song late in the show. The name dates from when shows began later and this song came near 11 p.m.
8. Cyndi Lauper wrote the score for which Tony-winning musical?Answer: Kinky Boots. Kinky Boots won Best Musical and Lauper won for Best Original Score.
9. The Lion King’s Broadway score includes film songs by Elton John and which lyricist?Answer: Tim Rice. Rice wrote the lyrics for the songs from the 1994 film.
10. Annie Get Your Gun fictionalises the life of which sharpshooter?Answer: Annie Oakley. Irving Berlin’s musical follows Oakley and her rival-turned-sweetheart Frank Butler.
11. Which Broadway restaurant is famous for caricatures of stars covering its walls?Answer: Sardi’s. Sardi’s, near Shubert Alley, is a classic opening-night spot.
12. Who originated the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway?Answer: Zero Mostel. Mostel won a Tony for the role; Topol played Tevye in the film.
13. Who wrote both the music and lyrics for Kiss Me, Kate?Answer: Cole Porter. It was Porter’s biggest hit and won the first Tony for Best Musical.
14. In a musical, what is the “book”?Answer: The script and spoken dialogue. The book tells the story; the music and lyrics make up the score.
15. Which musical is set largely at Rydell High?Answer: Grease. Grease follows Danny, Sandy and the greasers at a 1950s high school.
16. In which Andrew Lloyd Webber musical do performers zoom around on roller skates?Answer: Starlight Express. The cast play trains racing on skates.
17. Which Tennessee Williams play introduced the character Blanche DuBois?Answer: A Streetcar Named Desire. Jessica Tandy originated Blanche on Broadway in 1947.
18. Hamilton opened at the Broadway theatre named after which composer?Answer: Richard Rodgers. It has played the Richard Rodgers Theatre since 2015.
19. Which Sondheim musical tells its story in reverse chronological order?Answer: Merrily We Roll Along. It begins with its characters in middle age and travels back to their youth.
20. Which Thornton Wilder play is set in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire?Answer: Our Town. Our Town won the 1938 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

U.S. History trivia

1. Which president appears on the U.S. penny?Answer: Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln has been on the one-cent coin since 1909.
2. Whose 1492 voyage reached the Caribbean for Spain?Answer: Christopher Columbus. Columbus landed in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492.
3. Who was the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury?Answer: Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton took office in 1789 and founded the nation’s financial system.
4. Which Powhatan woman is said to have saved Captain John Smith in Virginia?Answer: Pocahontas. Smith wrote that she saved him from execution in 1607.
5. 1850s violence over slavery earned which territory the nickname “Bleeding ___”?Answer: Kansas. Pro- and antislavery settlers clashed there after the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854.
6. Which mail service used relays of riders between Missouri and California in 1860–61?Answer: The Pony Express. Riders carried mail about 1,900 miles in roughly ten days.
7. Who invented the phonograph?Answer: Thomas Edison. Edison demonstrated his sound-recording machine in 1877.
8. Who co-founded Hull House, a settlement house in Chicago, in 1889?Answer: Jane Addams. Addams later won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
9. Which 1917 German message proposing an alliance with Mexico pushed the U.S. toward war?Answer: The Zimmermann Telegram. British codebreakers intercepted it and passed it to the U.S.
10. Which British ocean liner, sunk by a German U-boat in 1915, carried 128 Americans to their deaths?Answer: Lusitania. The sinking turned many Americans against Germany.
11. Which general vowed “I shall return” after leaving the Philippines in 1942?Answer: Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur returned with U.S. forces in October 1944.
12. Which city was the target of the first atomic bomb used in war?Answer: Hiroshima. It was dropped on August 6, 1945; Nagasaki was hit three days later.
13. Which senator gave his name to reckless anti-communist accusations in the 1950s?Answer: Joseph McCarthy. The term “McCarthyism” comes from the Wisconsin senator.
14. What were the Black students who integrated Little Rock’s Central High in 1957 called?Answer: The Little Rock Nine. President Eisenhower sent federal troops to protect them.
15. Which president launched the “Great Society” programs?Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson’s programs included Medicare and Medicaid, created in 1965.
16. Which 1969 music festival drew about 400,000 people to a New York farm?Answer: Woodstock. It was held on Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York.
17. What did Title IX, passed in 1972, ban?Answer: Sex discrimination in federally funded education. It greatly expanded sports opportunities for girls and women.
18. Which Chief Justice led the Supreme Court for 34 years starting in 1801?Answer: John Marshall. Marshall served until his death in 1835.
19. What is the U.S. hockey team’s 1980 Olympic upset of the Soviet Union called?Answer: The Miracle on Ice. The college players won 4–3 at Lake Placid, New York.
20. Which of these was NOT one of the original 13 colonies?Answer: Vermont. Vermont became the 14th state in 1791.

U.S. Presidents trivia

1. Who was the fifth president?Answer: James Monroe. Monroe served from 1817 to 1825.
2. Which future president wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence?Answer: Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson drafted the Declaration in June 1776.
3. Who was the first president to visit China while in office?Answer: Richard Nixon. Nixon made his landmark trip to China in February 1972.
4. Which president called his program the “Fair Deal”?Answer: Harry S. Truman. Truman used the name for his domestic agenda in 1949.
5. Which president urged “tear down this wall” in a speech in West Berlin?Answer: Ronald Reagan. Reagan spoke at the Brandenburg Gate in June 1987.
6. In which state is Mount Rushmore?Answer: South Dakota. The memorial is carved into a mountain in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
7. Who was Jimmy Carter’s vice president?Answer: Walter Mondale. Mondale served as vice president from 1977 to 1981.
8. Which first lady led a televised tour of the White House in 1962?Answer: Jacqueline Kennedy. Jacqueline Kennedy showed viewers the restored rooms in a February 1962 broadcast.
9. Which president set the goal of landing a man on the Moon?Answer: John F. Kennedy. Kennedy announced the goal to Congress in May 1961.
10. Which president had earlier been director of the CIA?Answer: George H. W. Bush. Bush led the CIA in 1976 and 1977.
11. Which president was the first born in the state of New York?Answer: Martin Van Buren. Van Buren was born in Kinderhook, New York, in 1782.
12. Who is the only president to have earned a PhD?Answer: Woodrow Wilson. Wilson earned his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in 1886.
13. Which president signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830?Answer: Andrew Jackson. Jackson signed the act in May 1830.
14. Which president pardoned Richard Nixon?Answer: Gerald Ford. Ford issued the pardon on September 8, 1974.
15. What is the White House’s street address?Answer: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The White House is at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C.
16. Who was the first first lady born outside the United States?Answer: Louisa Adams. Louisa Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams, was born in London.
17. Who gave the shortest inaugural address in history?Answer: George Washington. Washington’s second inaugural address in 1793 was just 135 words.
18. Which two presidents died on the same day, July 4, 1826?Answer: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. They died hours apart on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
19. Who became president when Warren G. Harding died in 1923?Answer: Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge took the oath at his family’s home in Vermont.
20. Who was the first president to live in a White House wired for electricity?Answer: Benjamin Harrison. Electric lighting was installed in the White House in 1891.

Geography trivia

1. What is the capital of Mexico?Answer: Mexico City. Mexico City is built on the old lakebed of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan.
2. Which Great Lake lies entirely within the United States?Answer: Lake Michigan. The other four Great Lakes are shared with Canada.
3. Serengeti National Park is in which country?Answer: Tanzania. The Serengeti is in northern Tanzania, next to Kenya’s Maasai Mara.
4. What is the longest river in Asia?Answer: Yangtze. The Yangtze flows about 6,300 km across China.
5. Which country’s flag is red with one large yellow star and four smaller ones?Answer: China. China’s flag has five yellow stars in the upper hoist corner.
6. What is the capital of Ireland?Answer: Dublin. Dublin lies on the River Liffey on Ireland’s east coast.
7. The Isthmus of Panama connects which two continents?Answer: North and South America. The narrow isthmus joins Central America to Colombia.
8. Which U.S. state has the most people?Answer: California. California has been the most populous state since the 1960s.
9. The Inca citadel of Machu Picchu is in which country?Answer: Peru. Machu Picchu sits high above the Urubamba valley in Peru.
10. Istanbul’s Bosporus strait links the Sea of Marmara with which sea?Answer: Black Sea. The Bosporus runs north from the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea.
11. What is the largest country in Africa by area?Answer: Algeria. Algeria became Africa’s largest country when South Sudan split from Sudan in 2011.
12. What is the capital of Vietnam?Answer: Hanoi. Hanoi, in the north, is the capital; Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city.
13. Which U.S. state is nicknamed the Empire State?Answer: New York. The nickname, a nod to New York’s wealth and power, also inspired the name of the Empire State Building.
14. Bermuda lies in which ocean?Answer: Atlantic Ocean. Bermuda is in the North Atlantic, about 1,000 km off North Carolina.
15. Which river flows through Rome?Answer: Tiber. The Tiber winds through Rome on its way to the Tyrrhenian Sea.
16. Which country is nicknamed the Land of a Thousand Lakes?Answer: Finland. Finland actually has close to 190,000 lakes.
17. What is the capital of Saudi Arabia?Answer: Riyadh. Riyadh lies in the center of the Arabian Peninsula.
18. The Galápagos Islands belong to which country?Answer: Ecuador. The Galápagos lie about 900 km off Ecuador’s coast.
19. Which mountain range runs down the length of Italy?Answer: Apennines. The Apennines form the spine of the Italian peninsula.
20. The Øresund Bridge links Denmark with which country?Answer: Sweden. The bridge and tunnel join Copenhagen and Malmö.