Monday, November 9, 2026

The tidbits, trivia answers and word pairs from Facts & Games on Monday, November 9, 2026. Play today’s games · All past days · All past tidbits

Six tidbits

Commonly confused words

pedal vs. peddle

pedal: A lever pushed with the foot. peddle: To sell goods, often door to door. Peddlers peddle their wares.

dual vs. duel

dual: Having two parts. duel: A fight between two people. Dual is about two; a duel is a contest.

precede vs. proceed

precede: To come before in time or order. proceed: To go forward or continue. Pre- means before.

historic vs. historical

historic: Famous or important in history. historical: Relating to the past. A historic day matters; a historical one simply happened long ago.

elicit vs. illicit

elicit: To draw out a response or reaction. illicit: Forbidden by law or custom. Illicit starts like ill: it’s against the rules.

Beatles trivia

1. Which Beatle missed long spells of school as a boy through illnesses including peritonitis and tuberculosis?Answer: Ringo Starr. Ringo spent many months in hospital as a child, first with peritonitis and later with tuberculosis.
2. Paul McCartney first sang “Hey Jude” with a different name in it. What was it?Answer: Hey Jules. Paul wrote it for Julian Lennon and changed “Jules” to “Jude” because it sang better.
3. Which Beatles song won the Grammy for Song of the Year?Answer: Michelle. “Michelle” won Song of the Year for Lennon and McCartney at the 1967 Grammys.
4. Which Beatles album won the Grammy for Album of the Year?Answer: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Sgt. Pepper was the first rock album to win the Grammy for Album of the Year.
5. Which Cream song did George Harrison write with Eric Clapton?Answer: Badge. George co-wrote “Badge” with Eric and played rhythm guitar on it under the name L’Angelo Misterioso.
6. Which track plays just before “A Day in the Life” on Sgt. Pepper?Answer: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise). The short reprise of the title song runs straight into the album’s closing track.
7. Which is the longest track on the White Album?Answer: Revolution 9. The sound collage “Revolution 9” runs for more than eight minutes.
8. A celebrated December 1960 show, soon after the band came home from Hamburg, is often seen as their Liverpool breakthrough. Where was it?Answer: Litherland Town Hall. Billed as “Direct from Hamburg”, the band caused a sensation at Litherland Town Hall on December 27, 1960.
9. Paul’s father, Jim McCartney, led what kind of band in the 1920s?Answer: A jazz band. Jim led Jim Mac’s Jazz Band around Liverpool in the 1920s.
10. John Lennon’s mother, Julia, taught him his first chords on which instrument?Answer: Banjo. Julia played the banjo and taught John banjo chords, which he first used on the guitar.
11. Before turning professional, George Harrison worked briefly as an apprentice in which trade?Answer: Electrician. George was an apprentice electrician at Blackler’s department store in Liverpool.
12. Which instrument, played by a local pipe band, gives Wings’ “Mull of Kintyre” its famous sound?Answer: Bagpipes. The Campbeltown Pipe Band played the bagpipes on the record.
13. Ringo Starr’s stage name came partly from his habit of wearing what?Answer: Rings. Richard Starkey wore several rings, hence “Ringo”, and shortened his surname to Starr.
14. What name did George Harrison give the Fender Stratocaster he painted in psychedelic colours?Answer: Rocky. George hand-painted the guitar in 1967 and wrote “Rocky” on its headstock.
15. Which label released the US soundtrack album of A Hard Day’s Night?Answer: United Artists. United Artists, the studio behind the film, put out the US soundtrack LP.
16. In which James Bond film does 007 joke that the Beatles are best heard with earmuffs?Answer: Goldfinger. In Goldfinger, Bond compares drinking warm Dom Pérignon with hearing the Beatles without earmuffs.
17. Which Paul McCartney song, credited to Lennon–McCartney, became Mary Hopkin’s second hit on Apple?Answer: Goodbye. Paul wrote “Goodbye” for Mary Hopkin and produced her recording, a UK No. 2 hit.
18. Paul wrote “Step Inside Love” as the theme for which singer’s TV show?Answer: Cilla Black. Paul wrote it for Cilla Black’s BBC series Cilla.
19. Which Beach Boy, also in Rishikesh with the Beatles, suggested the Beach Boys-style section of “Back in the U.S.S.R.”?Answer: Mike Love. Mike Love, there to study with the Maharishi, suggested Paul add a bit about the girls of Russia.
20. Ringo Starr played a Mexican gardener in which film, alongside Marlon Brando and Richard Burton?Answer: Candy. Ringo played the gardener Emmanuel in the comedy Candy.

Taylor Swift trivia

1. Which hit songwriter co-wrote the 1989 (Taylor’s Version) vault track “Say Don’t Go”?Answer: Diane Warren. Swift wrote “Say Don’t Go” with Diane Warren years before it was finally released as a vault track.
2. Which actress made her directing debut with Swift’s “I Bet You Think About Me” video?Answer: Blake Lively. Blake Lively directed the wedding-themed video, which stars Miles Teller.
3. “Anti-Hero” was up for Song of the Year at the Grammys. Which Billie Eilish song won?Answer: What Was I Made For?. Billie Eilish and Finneas won Song of the Year for “What Was I Made For?” from the Barbie soundtrack.
4. Which “Riptide” singer was an opening act on the 1989 World Tour?Answer: Vance Joy. Australian singer Vance Joy opened shows on the 1989 World Tour, along with Shawn Mendes, Haim and James Bay.
5. Camila Cabello and which singer opened shows on the Reputation Stadium Tour?Answer: Charli XCX. Camila Cabello and Charli XCX were the tour’s announced opening acts.
6. Swift released a duet version of “Long Live” with Paula Fernandes, a star from which country?Answer: Brazil. Paula Fernandes is a Brazilian singer, and the duet version sings partly in Portuguese.
7. What do fans call the hidden clues Swift plants in her videos and posts?Answer: Easter eggs. Swifties hunt for “Easter eggs” that hint at upcoming songs and albums.
8. Swift’s first holiday EP opens with her cover of which Wham! song?Answer: Last Christmas. The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection starts with “Last Christmas,” written by George Michael.
9. Who directed the film Cats, in which Swift plays Bombalurina?Answer: Tom Hooper. Tom Hooper, who also directed Les Misérables, made the film version of Cats.
10. Swift voices Audrey in The Lorax. Who voices the Lorax himself?Answer: Danny DeVito. Danny DeVito voices the Lorax, while Ed Helms voices the Once-ler.
11. Who directed Valentine’s Day, the romantic comedy that gave Swift her first film role?Answer: Garry Marshall. Garry Marshall, the director of Pretty Woman, made the star-packed Valentine’s Day.
12. In Amsterdam, the film Swift appears in, which actor plays the doctor Burt Berendsen?Answer: Christian Bale. Christian Bale leads the cast of David O. Russell’s Amsterdam as Dr. Burt Berendsen.
13. How many tracks are on the standard edition of 1989?Answer: 13. The standard 1989 runs from “Welcome to New York” to “Clean,” 13 tracks in all.
14. Taylor Swift was born on December 13. What is her star sign?Answer: Sagittarius. December 13 falls under Sagittarius, which runs from about November 22 to December 21.
15. Travis Kelce’s brother Jason spent his whole NFL career with which team?Answer: Philadelphia Eagles. Center Jason Kelce played all 13 of his NFL seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles.
16. About how big a bonus did Swift reportedly give each of her Eras Tour truck drivers?Answer: $100,000. Swift gave each Eras Tour truck driver a reported $100,000 bonus.
17. Who directed the music video for “You Belong with Me”?Answer: Roman White. Roman White directed the video, in which Swift plays both the narrator and the rival.
18. Which British actor plays Swift’s love interest in the “Mine” video?Answer: Toby Hemingway. Toby Hemingway co-stars in the “Mine” video, which Swift co-directed with Roman White.
19. In the Cinderella-style “Bejeweled” video, which band’s members play the stepsisters?Answer: Haim. The three Haim sisters play the stepsisters, with Laura Dern as the stepmother.
20. 1989 won Album of the Year at the Grammys over which Kendrick Lamar album?Answer: To Pimp a Butterfly. To Pimp a Butterfly was among the nominees 1989 beat for Album of the Year.

Football trivia

1. Who was the first overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans’ first-ever draft choice?Answer: David Carr. The expansion Texans took the Fresno State quarterback first overall.
2. Who was the first overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft?Answer: Michael Vick. The Atlanta Falcons traded up with San Diego to take the Virginia Tech quarterback.
3. Which two Cowboys defensive linemen shared the MVP award of Super Bowl XII?Answer: Harvey Martin and Randy White. Dallas’s pass rush overwhelmed Denver, and the award was split for the only time.
4. Who was named MVP of Super Bowl XXI after completing 22 of 25 passes?Answer: Phil Simms. Simms led the Giants past the Broncos with a near-perfect passing day.
5. Which running back was named MVP of Super Bowl XXV after rushing for 102 yards?Answer: Ottis Anderson. Anderson’s running helped the Giants keep the ball away from Buffalo in a 20–19 win.
6. Which Cowboys quarterback was nicknamed “Captain Comeback”?Answer: Roger Staubach. Staubach was famous for leading Dallas to late fourth-quarter wins.
7. Which rookie running back’s end-zone dance, the “Shuffle,” became a craze for the 1988 Bengals?Answer: Ickey Woods. The “Ickey Shuffle” delighted fans as Cincinnati reached the Super Bowl.
8. Which quarterback broke Johnny Unitas’s record of 47 straight games with a touchdown pass?Answer: Drew Brees. Brees passed Unitas in 2012 and stretched the streak to 54 games.
9. In the NFL, how is defensive pass interference penalized?Answer: The ball moves to the spot of the foul, with a first down. It is a spot foul; if it happens in the end zone, the ball goes to the 1-yard line.
10. In football, what is a “screen pass”?Answer: A short pass to a receiver with blockers set up in front of him. Linemen let the rushers through, then slip out to block for the receiver.
11. Before moving to Arizona, the Cardinals played in which city?Answer: St. Louis. The Cardinals left Chicago for St. Louis in 1960 and later moved on to Arizona.
12. The Chargers played their first season in which city before moving to San Diego?Answer: Los Angeles. The AFL’s Chargers began in Los Angeles in 1960, moved to San Diego in 1961 and returned to L.A. in 2017.
13. Which team moved from the AFC West to the NFC West when the NFL realigned in 2002?Answer: Seattle Seahawks. Seattle had played in the AFC West since 1977.
14. When the Colts left Baltimore overnight in 1984, their equipment went in trucks from which moving company?Answer: Mayflower. A fleet of Mayflower vans carried the team to Indianapolis in the middle of the night.
15. Who coached the Raiders to wins in Super Bowls XV and XVIII?Answer: Tom Flores. Flores was also the first Hispanic head coach to win a Super Bowl.
16. How many head coaches have won the Super Bowl with two different teams?Answer: None. Several, like Don Shula and Bill Parcells, reached the game with two franchises, but none has won it with both.
17. Barry Sanders won the 1988 Heisman Trophy playing for which college?Answer: Oklahoma State. Sanders had one of college football’s greatest seasons for the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
18. Which college did Jim Brown play for?Answer: Syracuse. Brown starred in football and lacrosse at Syracuse before the Browns drafted him.
19. Which Browns quarterback also won a pro basketball title with the Rochester Royals?Answer: Otto Graham. Graham won a National Basketball League title with the Royals before joining the Browns.
20. The “Fearsome Foursome” was the defensive line of which team?Answer: Los Angeles Rams. Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, Lamar Lundy and Rosey Grier anchored the 1960s Rams.

Basketball trivia

1. Who was the first overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft?Answer: Chris Webber. Orlando took Webber and traded him to Golden State that night for Penny Hardaway and draft picks.
2. Who was the first overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft?Answer: David Robinson. The Spurs waited two years for Robinson to finish his Navy service.
3. Who was Finals MVP when the Washington Bullets won the 1978 title?Answer: Wes Unseld. Unseld’s rebounding and passing anchored Washington’s seven-game win over Seattle.
4. Who was Finals MVP when the Celtics beat the Phoenix Suns for their 13th title?Answer: Jo Jo White. White scored 33 points in the famous triple-overtime Game 5.
5. Which Knick was named Finals MVP for both of the team’s titles in the 1970s?Answer: Willis Reed. Reed became the first player to win the Finals MVP award twice.
6. Which Hall of Fame center was nicknamed “Zo”?Answer: Alonzo Mourning. Mourning won a title with the Miami Heat in 2006 after a kidney transplant.
7. What is a “defensive three seconds” violation?Answer: A defender staying in the lane over three seconds without closely guarding anyone. The rule stops a big man from simply parking under the basket.
8. The Utah Jazz took their name from which city, where the franchise began?Answer: New Orleans. The name fit New Orleans’ music history and stayed when the team moved to Salt Lake City.
9. The Sacramento Kings began in the NBA as the Royals of which city?Answer: Rochester. The Rochester Royals won the 1951 NBA title before moving to Cincinnati.
10. Who was the first player to win three straight NBA MVP awards?Answer: Bill Russell. Russell won in 1961, 1962 and 1963; Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird later did the same.
11. Which team did the Lakers beat in the Finals when rookie Magic Johnson started at center in the clinching game?Answer: Philadelphia 76ers. Magic scored 42 points in Game 6 in Philadelphia.
12. Which team did the Warriors beat in the 2017 NBA Finals?Answer: Cleveland Cavaliers. Golden State beat LeBron James’s Cavaliers in five games, a year after losing to them.
13. Who won the NBA MVP award for the 2003–04 season?Answer: Kevin Garnett. Garnett led the Minnesota Timberwolves to the best record in the West.
14. Who won the NBA MVP award for the 2016–17 season after averaging a triple-double?Answer: Russell Westbrook. Westbrook was the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double for a season.
15. Which college did Ray Allen play for?Answer: UConn. Allen starred for the Connecticut Huskies before reaching the NBA.
16. Which college did Steve Nash play for?Answer: Santa Clara. Nash spent four years at Santa Clara, a small Jesuit school in California.
17. Which coach was nicknamed “the Zen Master”?Answer: Phil Jackson. Jackson brought ideas from Zen Buddhism into his coaching.
18. Which NBA star played a genie in the family film “Kazaam”?Answer: Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal starred as a rapping genie who grants a boy’s wishes.
19. What jersey number did Magic Johnson wear for the Lakers?Answer: 32. The Lakers retired No. 32 in Magic’s honor.
20. Which Hall of Fame forward was nicknamed “the Big E”?Answer: Elvin Hayes. Hayes starred for the Rockets and Bullets and won a title with Washington.

Baseball trivia

1. Which Yankees shortstop and longtime broadcaster was nicknamed “Scooter”?Answer: Phil Rizzuto. Phil Rizzuto won the 1950 AL MVP and later called Yankees games for decades.
2. Which slugging first baseman was nicknamed “Crime Dog”?Answer: Fred McGriff. Fred McGriff’s nickname came from McGruff, the cartoon crime-prevention dog.
3. Montreal Expos fans nicknamed which red-haired slugger “Le Grand Orange”?Answer: Rusty Staub. Rusty Staub became the Expos’ first big star and a fan favorite in Montreal.
4. Which Houston Astros slugger was nicknamed “The Toy Cannon”?Answer: Jimmy Wynn. Jimmy Wynn packed surprising home run power into a small frame.
5. Which free-spirited Red Sox left-hander of the 1970s was nicknamed “Spaceman”?Answer: Bill Lee. Bill Lee was as famous for his offbeat opinions as for his pitching.
6. Who was the last pitcher allowed to throw the spitball legally?Answer: Burleigh Grimes. Grimes was one of a handful of spitballers allowed to keep the pitch after the ban, and he pitched the longest, until 1934.
7. Which surgeon performed the first Tommy John surgery, in 1974?Answer: Frank Jobe. Dr. Frank Jobe, the Dodgers’ team doctor, rebuilt Tommy John’s elbow with a tendon taken from his other arm.
8. The Mets traded a young Nolan Ryan to the Angels in a deal for which infielder?Answer: Jim Fregosi. The Mets wanted the Angels’ star shortstop Jim Fregosi; Ryan went on to throw four no-hitters for California.
9. Which of these players was NOT in the Baseball Hall of Fame’s first class of five?Answer: Cy Young. The first five were Cobb, Ruth, Wagner, Mathewson and Johnson; Cy Young was elected the following year.
10. Who holds MLB’s record for saves in a single season?Answer: Francisco Rodríguez. Francisco “K-Rod” Rodríguez saved 62 games for the Angels in 2008.
11. Which pitch made Mariano Rivera nearly unhittable?Answer: Cut fastball. Rivera threw his cutter almost every pitch, and it broke countless bats.
12. Which Hall of Fame reliever built a 21-season career on the knuckleball?Answer: Hoyt Wilhelm. Hoyt Wilhelm pitched in more than 1,000 games, nearly all in relief.
13. At which team’s home games do runners dressed as giant sausages race around the field?Answer: Milwaukee Brewers. The Famous Racing Sausages run at the Brewers’ ballpark during home games.
14. At which team’s home games do runners in big-headed presidents costumes race?Answer: Washington Nationals. The Presidents Race, featuring George, Abe, Tom and Teddy, is a Nationals Park tradition.
15. Who became MLB’s first female general manager, with the Marlins in 2020?Answer: Kim Ng. Kim Ng was hired by Miami after three decades in front offices.
16. Which team won the 1996 World Series, beating the defending-champion Atlanta Braves?Answer: New York Yankees. The Yankees lost the first two games at home, then won four straight.
17. In baseball slang, what is an “immaculate inning”?Answer: Three strikeouts on nine pitches. The pitcher strikes out all three batters on the minimum nine pitches.
18. In baseball slang, what is a “hanger”?Answer: A breaking ball that fails to break. A hanging curve or slider floats over the plate and is easy to hit hard.
19. Which Homestead Grays first baseman, a Hall of Famer, was called “the Black Lou Gehrig”?Answer: Buck Leonard. Buck Leonard batted behind Josh Gibson as the Grays dominated the Negro National League.
20. Which San Francisco Giants first baseman was nicknamed “Will the Thrill”?Answer: Will Clark. Will Clark homered off Nolan Ryan in his first major league at-bat.

Hockey trivia

1. Which Canadiens star of the 1920s and 1930s was nicknamed “The Stratford Streak”?Answer: Howie Morenz. Howie Morenz, from Stratford, Ontario, was the fastest skater of his era.
2. Which goaltender’s nickname was “the Bulin Wall”?Answer: Nikolai Khabibulin. Nikolai Khabibulin backstopped Tampa Bay to the 2004 Stanley Cup.
3. A player’s plus-minus rating tracks what?Answer: Goals for and against while he is on the ice. He gets a plus or minus for even-strength and shorthanded goals scored while he is on the ice; power-play goals for don’t count.
4. The “Battle of Alberta” is the rivalry between which two teams?Answer: Calgary and Edmonton. The Flames and Oilers, about 180 miles apart, have been bitter rivals since the 1980s.
5. Which team’s fast-skating stars were nicknamed “the Flying Frenchmen”?Answer: Montreal Canadiens. The nickname followed the Canadiens’ French-Canadian stars for decades.
6. Who centered Detroit’s “Production Line” between Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay?Answer: Sid Abel. Sid Abel, the Red Wings’ captain, won the Hart Trophy in 1949.
7. Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer formed which famous Los Angeles Kings line?Answer: The Triple Crown Line. The trio piled up goals for the Kings around 1980.
8. What was the Stanley Cup’s original name?Answer: Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup. Lord Stanley donated it as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, but everyone soon called it the Stanley Cup.
9. Which Flyers goaltender became the first European to win the Vezina Trophy, in 1985?Answer: Pelle Lindbergh. Sweden’s Pelle Lindbergh won 40 games that season for Philadelphia.
10. Who was the first woman to have her name engraved on the Stanley Cup?Answer: Marguerite Norris. Marguerite Norris was the Detroit Red Wings’ president when they won the Cup in the 1950s.
11. Who was the first Black player to win the Art Ross Trophy as NHL scoring champion?Answer: Jarome Iginla. Jarome Iginla led the league with 96 points for Calgary in 2001–02.
12. Which team, led by Wayne Gretzky, lost the 1993 Stanley Cup Final to Montreal?Answer: Los Angeles Kings. The Canadiens won three overtime games in the series against the Kings.
13. Which team did the Detroit Red Wings beat in the 2002 Stanley Cup Final?Answer: Carolina Hurricanes. Detroit won in five games for its third Cup in six seasons.
14. Which team plays its home games at Delta Center?Answer: Utah Mammoth. Utah’s team shares the Salt Lake City arena with basketball’s Utah Jazz.
15. Which team plays the song “Chelsea Dagger” after home goals?Answer: Chicago Blackhawks. The Fratellis’ song became the Blackhawks’ goal song during their 2010s Cup runs.
16. Which Canadian singer recorded “The Hockey Song,” heard in arenas across the NHL?Answer: Stompin’ Tom Connors. Stompin’ Tom Connors released it in the 1970s, and it became an arena staple.
17. Which actor played coach Gordon Bombay in “The Mighty Ducks”?Answer: Emilio Estevez. The hit movie later inspired the name of Anaheim’s NHL team.
18. Which goaltender was in net when Canada won the men’s gold medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics?Answer: Roberto Luongo. Roberto Luongo, then a Vancouver Canuck, won gold on his home ice.
19. Who was the first Toronto Maple Leaf to score 50 goals in a season?Answer: Rick Vaive. Rick Vaive scored 54 goals in 1981–82.
20. On a penalty shot, who is allowed to try to stop the shooter?Answer: Only the goalie. The shooter skates in alone from center ice against the goalie.

Soccer trivia

1. FIFA’s award for the year’s best goal is named after which player?Answer: Ferenc Puskás. The FIFA Puskás Award, first given in 2009, honors Hungary’s great forward Ferenc Puskás.
2. Which club plays its home games at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona?Answer: Napoli. Napoli’s stadium, formerly the San Paolo, was renamed after Maradona’s death in 2020.
3. Which German great was nicknamed “Der Kaiser”?Answer: Franz Beckenbauer. Franz Beckenbauer won the World Cup as West Germany’s captain and again as its coach.
4. Which French club plays its home games at the Stade Vélodrome?Answer: Marseille. Olympique de Marseille has played at the Vélodrome since it opened in 1937.
5. Which country has won the CONCACAF Gold Cup the most times?Answer: Mexico. Mexico has won the Gold Cup more often than anyone, ahead of the United States with seven titles.
6. Which Colombian won the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup?Answer: James Rodríguez. James Rodríguez scored six goals, including a famous volley against Uruguay, as Colombia reached the quarterfinals.
7. Which Japanese midfielder captained her country to the 2011 Women’s World Cup title?Answer: Homare Sawa. Homare Sawa also won the tournament’s Golden Ball and Golden Boot.
8. Which English club is nicknamed “the Blades”?Answer: Sheffield United. The nickname nods to Sheffield’s long history of making steel cutlery.
9. Which Edinburgh club plays its home games at Easter Road?Answer: Hibernian. Hibernian, known as Hibs, have played at Easter Road since the 1890s; city rivals Hearts play at Tynecastle.
10. In which city are Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş all based?Answer: Istanbul. Turkey’s three most famous clubs are all from Istanbul, and their derbies are among Europe’s loudest.
11. Which Italian striker, a surprise star, won the Golden Boot at Italia 90?Answer: Salvatore Schillaci. Salvatore “Totò” Schillaci scored six goals as host Italy finished third.
12. How long is extra time in a knockout soccer match, not counting stoppages?Answer: 30 minutes. Extra time is played as two halves of 15 minutes each.
13. Which Mexican striker won La Liga’s top-scorer award five times, four of them with Real Madrid?Answer: Hugo Sánchez. Hugo Sánchez, famous for acrobatic goals and somersault celebrations, won his other Pichichi with Atlético Madrid.
14. Which country won the men’s soccer gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics?Answer: Nigeria. Nigeria beat Brazil in the semifinal and Argentina 3–2 in the final to become the first African winners.
15. Which country won back-to-back AFC Asian Cups, the second on home soil?Answer: Qatar. Qatar won in the United Arab Emirates in 2019 and then as hosts of the 2023 edition.
16. Which English club has won the most European Cup and Champions League titles?Answer: Liverpool. Liverpool have been champions of Europe six times, twice as often as Manchester United.
17. Which Lisbon club is nicknamed “As Águias” (the Eagles)?Answer: Benfica. A live eagle named Vitória often flies around Benfica’s stadium before home games.
18. Which national team is known as “the Three Lions”?Answer: England. The name comes from the three lions on the England team’s crest.
19. Which Brazilian club plays its home games at the Morumbi stadium?Answer: São Paulo. São Paulo FC owns the Morumbi, one of Brazil’s biggest stadiums.
20. Which trophy is nicknamed “Big Ears” for its huge handles?Answer: The Champions League trophy. The European Cup trophy, still awarded to Champions League winners, is famous for its oversized handles.

Movies trivia

1. Who played Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman?Answer: Julia Roberts. The role earned Julia Roberts an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
2. Who played Max Rockatansky in the original Mad Max?Answer: Mel Gibson. Mel Gibson played the vengeful policeman in George Miller’s low-budget Australian hit.
3. Who played paleontologist Alan Grant in Jurassic Park?Answer: Sam Neill. Sam Neill’s Dr. Grant leads the children to safety through the park.
4. Who played private eye Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon?Answer: Humphrey Bogart. John Huston’s first film as director made Bogart’s Sam Spade a model for screen detectives.
5. Who played Doc Holliday in Tombstone?Answer: Val Kilmer. Kurt Russell played Wyatt Earp, but Val Kilmer’s Doc Holliday stole many scenes.
6. In The Sound of Music, in which Austrian city do the von Trapps live?Answer: Salzburg. Much of the film was shot on location in and around Salzburg.
7. Who played the Soviet boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky IV?Answer: Dolph Lundgren. Dolph Lundgren’s Drago is the towering opponent Rocky fights in Moscow.
8. Which comedy duo performed their “Who’s on First?” routine on screen in The Naughty Nineties?Answer: Abbott and Costello. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello’s baseball routine became their most famous sketch.
9. Who played lawman Eliot Ness in The Untouchables?Answer: Kevin Costner. Kevin Costner played Ness, and Sean Connery won an Oscar as his partner Jim Malone.
10. Who played Princess Buttercup in The Princess Bride?Answer: Robin Wright. It was one of Robin Wright’s first big film roles.
11. In Disney’s Aladdin, what is the name of Aladdin’s pet monkey?Answer: Abu. Abu is Aladdin’s sticky-fingered monkey; Rajah is Jasmine’s tiger and Iago is Jafar’s parrot.
12. Which studio’s films open with a boy fishing from a crescent moon?Answer: DreamWorks. The DreamWorks logo shows a boy sitting on a crescent moon and casting a fishing line.
13. Which golden protocol droid travels with R2-D2 in Star Wars?Answer: C-3PO. C-3PO, played by Anthony Daniels, is fluent in over six million forms of communication.
14. Who voiced Donkey in Shrek?Answer: Eddie Murphy. Mike Myers voiced Shrek and Eddie Murphy his chatterbox sidekick Donkey.
15. Which film features Huey Lewis and the News’ hit “The Power of Love”?Answer: Back to the Future. The song plays as Marty McFly skateboards to school, and it was nominated for an Oscar.
16. In Psycho, what is the name of the motel run by Norman?Answer: The Bates Motel. Marion Crane checks in at the Bates Motel after stealing money from her employer.
17. Who played Jo March in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women?Answer: Saoirse Ronan. Saoirse Ronan was nominated for Best Actress; Florence Pugh played Amy.
18. Who played Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark?Answer: Karen Allen. Karen Allen returned as Marion in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
19. Who played the Sundance Kid opposite Paul Newman’s Butch Cassidy?Answer: Robert Redford. Redford and Newman teamed up again in The Sting.
20. In The Karate Kid, what is the name of Mr. Miyagi’s student?Answer: Daniel LaRusso. Ralph Macchio played Daniel, a New Jersey teen who moves to California.

Television trivia

1. Who became famous for turning the letters on Wheel of Fortune, starting in 1982?Answer: Vanna White. Vanna White took over the puzzle board in 1982 and became one of TV’s most familiar faces.
2. On Jeopardy!, what is the last round, where players wager on a single clue?Answer: Final Jeopardy!. In Final Jeopardy!, players bet part or all of their winnings on one last clue.
3. On Family Feud, where do the answers the players try to guess come from?Answer: A survey of 100 people. The board shows the most popular answers given by 100 people surveyed.
4. On The Big Bang Theory, what is Howard Wolowitz’s job?Answer: Aerospace engineer. Howard is an engineer who even flies to the International Space Station.
5. At his wedding in London on Friends, Ross says the wrong name at the altar. Whose name does he say?Answer: Rachel. Ross says “Rachel” instead of his bride Emily, ending season four on a cliffhanger.
6. Frasier was a spin-off of which sitcom?Answer: Cheers. Kelsey Grammer first played Frasier Crane on Cheers.
7. On I Love Lucy, what was Ricky Ricardo’s job?Answer: Bandleader. Ricky led the band at the Tropicana nightclub and later opened his own Club Babalu.
8. Dr. Gregory House of House was modeled on which famous fictional detective?Answer: Sherlock Holmes. The writers drew on Sherlock Holmes; House even lives at 221B.
9. The HBO western Deadwood is set in a gold-rush town in which present-day state?Answer: South Dakota. Deadwood was a mining camp in the Black Hills of Dakota Territory, now South Dakota.
10. Clint Eastwood became a TV star playing Rowdy Yates on which western?Answer: Rawhide. Eastwood played the trail hand Rowdy Yates on Rawhide before his movie career took off.
11. At which advertising agency is Don Draper working when Mad Men begins?Answer: Sterling Cooper. Don is creative director at Sterling Cooper on Madison Avenue.
12. Which Sesame Street character is Big Bird’s shaggy friend whom the grown-ups long thought was imaginary?Answer: Mr. Snuffleupagus. Adults on the street finally met Snuffy in 1985.
13. What was the name of the silent clown on The Howdy Doody Show?Answer: Clarabell. Clarabell the Clown spoke with a horn and a seltzer bottle instead of words.
14. What color is Barney, the dinosaur of Barney & Friends?Answer: Purple. Barney is a purple dinosaur with a green belly.
15. In the early seasons of South Park, which boy gets killed in almost every episode?Answer: Kenny. Kenny McCormick’s weekly deaths were a famous running gag.
16. Peter Jennings anchored the evening news on which network?Answer: ABC. Jennings anchored ABC’s World News Tonight for more than two decades.
17. What is the name of the hospital on Scrubs?Answer: Sacred Heart. J.D. and friends train and work at Sacred Heart Hospital.
18. In the crime drama CSI, what does CSI stand for?Answer: Crime Scene Investigation. The show followed Las Vegas crime scene investigators.
19. On The Walking Dead, what are the zombies most often called?Answer: Walkers. The survivors mostly call the undead “walkers.”
20. Which singer co-hosted a 1970s TV variety show with her brother Donny?Answer: Marie Osmond. Donny & Marie mixed songs, skits and ice-skating numbers on ABC.

Fantasy trivia

1. Which actor wore Darth Vader’s costume in the original Star Wars trilogy?Answer: David Prowse. Bodybuilder David Prowse played Vader on set, while James Earl Jones supplied the voice.
2. Which Rebel commander warns “It’s a trap!” in Return of the Jedi?Answer: Admiral Ackbar. The fish-like Mon Calamari admiral’s line became one of the saga’s best-known moments.
3. Who played the former Borg drone Seven of Nine on Star Trek: Voyager?Answer: Jeri Ryan. Jeri Ryan joined Voyager in its fourth season and later returned in Star Trek: Picard.
4. In Star Trek: The Next Generation, what is the name of Data’s evil android brother?Answer: Lore. Lore was built before Data by the same creator, Dr. Noonien Soong.
5. What is the name of the Padishah Emperor in Dune?Answer: Shaddam IV. Shaddam IV, ruler of the Known Universe, secretly helps the Harkonnens attack House Atreides.
6. What is the Fremen knife made from a sandworm’s tooth called?Answer: Crysknife. The crysknife is sacred to the Fremen and is made from the tooth of a sandworm.
7. Complete the famous tagline of Alien: “In space, no one can hear you ___.”Answer: Scream. The tagline became one of the best-known in movie history.
8. Which Predator film was directed by Shane Black, who had acted in the 1987 original?Answer: The Predator. Shane Black played the joke-telling commando Hawkins in Predator before directing The Predator.
9. In The Matrix, what is Neo’s real name?Answer: Thomas Anderson. By day, Thomas A. Anderson is a programmer; by night he is the hacker Neo.
10. In The Lord of the Rings, what is Pippin’s full first name?Answer: Peregrin. Peregrin Took is Pippin; Meriadoc Brandybuck is Merry.
11. What is the name of the Weasley family’s old, worn-out owl?Answer: Errol. Errol often crashes when delivering the Weasleys’ mail.
12. Which magic mirror in Harry Potter shows the viewer’s deepest desire?Answer: The Mirror of Erised. “Erised” is “desire” written backward; Harry sees his parents in it.
13. Which Avenger’s real name is Clint Barton?Answer: Hawkeye. Clint Barton is the master archer Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner in the films.
14. What is Star-Lord’s real name in Guardians of the Galaxy?Answer: Peter Quill. Peter Quill was taken from Earth as a boy and grew up among space pirates.
15. Which actress played Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey?Answer: Margot Robbie. Margot Robbie played the Joker’s former psychiatrist turned antihero.
16. Which actor played the first Doctor in Doctor Who?Answer: William Hartnell. William Hartnell played the Doctor from the show’s start until 1966.
17. In Back to the Future, which Chuck Berry song does Marty play at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance?Answer: Johnny B. Goode. Bandleader Marvin Berry phones his cousin Chuck to let him hear it.
18. Who played the T-X, the female Terminator, in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines?Answer: Kristanna Loken. Kristanna Loken played the advanced T-X opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger.
19. Which Narnia book introduces the Pevensies’ grumpy cousin Eustace Scrubb?Answer: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Eustace is pulled into Narnia with Edmund and Lucy and is turned into a dragon.
20. Who played Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games films?Answer: Woody Harrelson. Woody Harrelson played the hard-drinking District 12 mentor of Katniss and Peeta.

Broadway trivia

1. Who composed the music for the musical Ragtime?Answer: Stephen Flaherty. Stephen Flaherty wrote Ragtime’s music, with lyrics by his longtime partner Lynn Ahrens.
2. Which jukebox musical is built on 1980s rock hits like “Don’t Stop Believin’”?Answer: Rock of Ages. Rock of Ages strings together 1980s rock and hair-metal hits, with “Don’t Stop Believin’” as its big finale.
3. Which Motown founder wrote the book for Motown: The Musical?Answer: Berry Gordy. Berry Gordy based Motown: The Musical on his own memoir.
4. Which two-time Pulitzer winner wrote the book for MJ, the Michael Jackson musical?Answer: Lynn Nottage. Playwright Lynn Nottage, who won Pulitzers for Ruined and Sweat, wrote MJ’s book.
5. Who won a Tony for playing Tina Turner in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical?Answer: Adrienne Warren. Adrienne Warren won Best Actress in a Musical for playing Tina Turner.
6. & Juliet is built on pop hits written by which songwriter-producer?Answer: Max Martin. & Juliet uses songs Max Martin wrote for stars like Britney Spears, Katy Perry and the Backstreet Boys.
7. Which musical comedy is about a farm town whose corn crop starts to fail?Answer: Shucked. Shucked follows the people of Cobb County as they try to save their corn.
8. Shaina Taub’s musical Suffs is about the fight for what?Answer: Women’s right to vote. Suffs follows the suffragists who fought for the 19th Amendment.
9. Hell’s Kitchen is built on the songs of which singer, who grew up in that Manhattan neighborhood?Answer: Alicia Keys. Alicia Keys drew on her own teenage years in Hell’s Kitchen for the musical.
10. Cole Escola’s comedy Oh, Mary! imagines the life of which first lady?Answer: Mary Todd Lincoln. Oh, Mary! is a wild comic take on Mary Todd Lincoln before Ford’s Theatre.
11. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child picks up how many years after the end of the final book’s main story?Answer: 19. The play begins at the “Nineteen Years Later” epilogue of Deathly Hallows.
12. The Book of Mormon plays at the Broadway theatre named after which playwright?Answer: Eugene O’Neill. The Book of Mormon has played at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre since it opened.
13. The long-running revival of Chicago has played for decades at which Broadway theatre?Answer: The Ambassador. Chicago moved to the Ambassador Theatre in 2003 and has played there ever since.
14. What was the first Broadway musical with both music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim?Answer: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Sondheim had written only lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy; Forum was the first with his music too.
15. “Any Dream Will Do” comes from which Andrew Lloyd Webber musical?Answer: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Joseph sings “Any Dream Will Do” at the start and end of the show.
16. Which singer of “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” wrote The Mystery of Edwin Drood?Answer: Rupert Holmes. Rupert Holmes wrote Drood’s book, music and lyrics, winning Tonys for both book and score.
17. Kristin Chenoweth won her Tony playing which Peanuts character?Answer: Sally Brown. Chenoweth won for playing Sally Brown in the revival of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
18. Hugh Jackman won a Tony playing which singer-songwriter in The Boy from Oz?Answer: Peter Allen. The Boy from Oz tells the life of Australian entertainer Peter Allen.
19. What is shown on the Tony Award medallion?Answer: The masks of comedy and tragedy. The medallion bears the masks of comedy and tragedy, with Antoinette Perry’s profile on the other side.
20. In A Strange Loop, the hero, Usher, works as an usher at which Broadway show?Answer: The Lion King. Usher works at The Lion King while writing a musical about a man writing a musical.

U.S. History trivia

1. Which inventor patented a revolver in 1836 and later built a famous arms factory in Hartford, Connecticut?Answer: Samuel Colt. Samuel Colt’s revolving pistol made his name a byword for the six-shooter.
2. Which Virginia city did Grant’s armies besiege for about nine months in 1864–65?Answer: Petersburg. The Siege of Petersburg lasted about nine and a half months, and Richmond fell as soon as it ended.
3. Which 1795 treaty with Spain gave Americans free use of the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans?Answer: Pinckney’s Treaty. Pinckney’s Treaty, also called the Treaty of San Lorenzo, also settled the border with Spanish Florida.
4. Which sculptor led the carving of Mount Rushmore?Answer: Gutzon Borglum. Gutzon Borglum directed the work until his death, and his son Lincoln finished it.
5. What was the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, launched by the U.S. Navy in 1954?Answer: USS Nautilus. The Nautilus later became the first vessel to pass under the North Pole.
6. Which reporter faked insanity in 1887 to expose conditions inside a New York asylum?Answer: Nellie Bly. Her exposé of the Blackwell’s Island asylum was published as Ten Days in a Mad-House.
7. Whose 1890 book How the Other Half Lives exposed life in New York’s tenements?Answer: Jacob Riis. Jacob Riis, a Danish-born reporter, used flash photography to show crowded tenement life.
8. Which photographer took the 1936 Depression-era picture known as Migrant Mother?Answer: Dorothea Lange. Dorothea Lange photographed Florence Owens Thompson at a pea pickers’ camp in California.
9. Who was the first Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives?Answer: Frederick Muhlenberg. Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania, a Lutheran minister turned politician, was the House’s first Speaker.
10. What was the name of the colony Sweden founded along the Delaware River in 1638?Answer: New Sweden. New Sweden’s Fort Christina stood where Wilmington, Delaware, is today; the Dutch took over the colony in 1655.
11. What was the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846?Answer: An uprising by American settlers against Mexican rule in California. Settlers in Sonoma declared a “California Republic” under a flag showing a grizzly bear.
12. Who was America’s top-scoring fighter ace of World War I?Answer: Eddie Rickenbacker. Eddie Rickenbacker, a former race car driver, was credited with 26 aerial victories.
13. What were the first Black military pilots in the U.S. armed forces, trained in Alabama during World War II, called?Answer: Tuskegee Airmen. They trained at Tuskegee, Alabama, and flew with distinction over North Africa and Europe.
14. Who drilled America’s first commercial oil well, in Titusville, Pennsylvania?Answer: Edwin Drake. Edwin Drake’s well struck oil in 1859, launching the American petroleum industry.
15. Which historian argued that the American frontier shaped the nation’s character?Answer: Frederick Jackson Turner. Frederick Jackson Turner’s “frontier thesis” became one of the most debated ideas in American history.
16. Which Polish engineer designed American fortifications at Saratoga and West Point during the Revolution?Answer: Tadeusz Kościuszko. Kościuszko’s defenses helped win at Saratoga, and he later led an uprising in his native Poland.
17. Arlington National Cemetery was established on the estate of which Confederate general’s family?Answer: Robert E. Lee. The Union army took over Arlington, the Lee family home, and began burying soldiers there in 1864.
18. What were the World War II women who flew military aircraft inside the U.S. called?Answer: WASPs. The Women Airforce Service Pilots ferried planes and towed targets, freeing male pilots for combat.
19. Which city was hit by a deadly flood of molasses in 1919?Answer: Boston. A huge storage tank burst in Boston’s North End, sending a wave of molasses through the streets.
20. Who painted the famous 1851 picture Washington Crossing the Delaware?Answer: Emanuel Leutze. German-American artist Emanuel Leutze painted it in Düsseldorf.

U.S. Presidents trivia

1. Which president’s 1840 campaign used a log cabin and hard cider as its symbols?Answer: William Henry Harrison. Supporters of William Henry Harrison turned a jibe about log cabins and hard cider into a campaign theme.
2. Which first lady set up the first permanent White House library?Answer: Abigail Fillmore. Abigail Fillmore, a former teacher, persuaded Congress to fund books for the White House.
3. Which future president broadcast Chicago Cubs games as a radio sportscaster in Iowa?Answer: Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan re-created Cubs games from telegraph reports for WHO radio in Des Moines.
4. Which future president and his wife translated a 16th-century Latin book on mining into English?Answer: Herbert Hoover. Herbert and Lou Hoover published their translation of De re metallica in 1912.
5. Which president was known as “the Gentleman Boss”?Answer: Chester A. Arthur. Chester A. Arthur earned the name as a well-dressed leader of New York’s political machine.
6. Which future president worked a summer as a park ranger in Yellowstone?Answer: Gerald Ford. Gerald Ford spent the summer of 1936 as a ranger in Yellowstone National Park.
7. Who lost three presidential elections, in 1896, 1900 and 1908?Answer: William Jennings Bryan. William Jennings Bryan was the Democratic nominee three times but never won.
8. Whose 1897 inauguration was the first filmed by a motion picture camera?Answer: William McKinley. Film crews recorded William McKinley’s first inauguration in March 1897.
9. Which president captained the Yale baseball team?Answer: George H. W. Bush. George H. W. Bush played first base and captained Yale in his senior season.
10. Which president added a second-floor balcony to the White House’s South Portico?Answer: Harry S. Truman. The Truman Balcony was finished in 1948 despite critics who said it spoiled the building.
11. Which president first put solar panels on the White House roof?Answer: Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter had solar water-heating panels installed in 1979.
12. Which president was nicknamed “the Napoleon of the Stump” for his speaking skill?Answer: James K. Polk. James K. Polk earned the name as a tireless stump speaker in Tennessee.
13. Which future president wrote the 1940 book Why England Slept?Answer: John F. Kennedy. John F. Kennedy expanded his Harvard senior thesis into the bestselling book.
14. Which president wrote the multi-volume history The Winning of the West?Answer: Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt published the four volumes between 1889 and 1896.
15. Which president received the Nobel Peace Prize for 1919?Answer: Woodrow Wilson. Woodrow Wilson was honored for his work founding the League of Nations.
16. Which future president served as Florida’s territorial governor in 1821?Answer: Andrew Jackson. Andrew Jackson briefly governed Florida after the U.S. took it over from Spain.
17. Which future president argued with Nikita Khrushchev in the 1959 “Kitchen Debate”?Answer: Richard Nixon. Vice President Richard Nixon and Khrushchev sparred in a model American kitchen at a Moscow exhibition.
18. Which president was born in Caldwell, New Jersey?Answer: Grover Cleveland. Grover Cleveland is the only president born in New Jersey.
19. Which president was born in New Haven, Connecticut?Answer: George W. Bush. George W. Bush was born there while his father was studying at Yale.
20. Which president’s Texas ranch was called “the Texas White House”?Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson. Lyndon B. Johnson spent much of his presidency at his ranch on the Pedernales River.

Geography trivia

1. What is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina?Answer: Sarajevo. Sarajevo sits in a valley surrounded by mountains.
2. What is the capital of Suriname?Answer: Paramaribo. Paramaribo lies near the mouth of the Suriname River.
3. What is the capital of the United Arab Emirates?Answer: Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is the capital, though Dubai is the largest city.
4. What is the capital of Papua New Guinea?Answer: Port Moresby. Port Moresby lies on the southern coast of the island of New Guinea.
5. Which river flows through Berlin?Answer: Spree. The Spree winds through the city center past Museum Island.
6. Which country’s flag shows a black two-headed eagle on a red field?Answer: Albania. The double-headed eagle has been an Albanian symbol for centuries.
7. Which country’s flag features a Sisserou parrot?Answer: Dominica. The Sisserou parrot, found only on Dominica, is its national bird.
8. Which strait links the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara?Answer: Dardanelles. The Dardanelles runs past the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey.
9. The Ionian Sea separates western Greece from which country?Answer: Italy. The Ionian Sea lies between Greece and the heel and toe of Italy.
10. Which lake is the source of the Blue Nile?Answer: Lake Tana. The Blue Nile flows out of Lake Tana in the Ethiopian Highlands.
11. Which African country is almost entirely surrounded by Senegal?Answer: The Gambia. The Gambia follows the Gambia River inland, with only a short Atlantic coast.
12. Which two countries are the world’s only doubly landlocked countries?Answer: Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan. Each is surrounded only by other landlocked countries.
13. What is the largest island in Europe?Answer: Great Britain. Great Britain is about the ninth-largest island in the world.
14. Which U.S. state is nicknamed the Hawkeye State?Answer: Iowa. Iowa’s nickname is often linked to a character in James Fenimore Cooper’s novels.
15. What is the capital of North Dakota?Answer: Bismarck. Bismarck stands on the Missouri River.
16. Which African country was known as Dahomey until 1975?Answer: Benin. Dahomey took the name Benin, after a historic kingdom and the Bight of Benin.
17. The Darién Gap, a roadless stretch of jungle, lies between Panama and which country?Answer: Colombia. The gap is the only break in the Pan-American Highway.
18. What is the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo?Answer: Kinshasa. Kinshasa faces Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of the Congo, across the Congo River.
19. The Arctic archipelago of Svalbard belongs to which country?Answer: Norway. Svalbard lies far north of mainland Norway and is home to polar bears.
20. Which river forms much of the border between Argentina and Uruguay?Answer: Uruguay. The Uruguay River flows into the Río de la Plata estuary.