Fun Trivia Questions for High School StudentsHow many number of musicians constitute a big band? - tenWhat is the meaning of the Italian word ‘adagio’? - slowWhich is the top selling album to sell more than 10 million copies of the album? - Garth BrooksWhich is the largest state in the United States of America? - AlaskaWhich Beatles song lasted longest on the charts for 19 weeks? - Hey JudeWhich famous document starts with ‘When in the course of human events…’? - Declaration of IndependenceWho said these words - ‘I am the president of United States and I am not going to eat any more broccoli’. - George BushWith what more is the gladiator armed along with a dagger and spear? - NetWhich single name is applied to Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Great? - CharlemagneWhich 20th century war was dubbed as ‘forgotten war’, even after 54,246 U.S. deaths? - Korean WarRead more on history about the Korean war.Dover is the capital of which state? - DelawareWhich Soviet dictator was training to be a priest when he turned to Marxism? - Joseph StalinWhich were the two most popular rock operas of 1969? - Hair and TommyWhich civil rights leader did Dorothy Parker leave her bulk of estate to? - Martin Luther King JrRead more on Dorothy Parker Biography.Which nation issued the five dollar bill which was found in the pocket of Abraham Lincoln, when he was shot? - The Confederate States of AmericaWhich Junior High School musical was canceled in 1994 when Shinnecock Indians objected to the ‘Ug-a-wug’ song? - Peter PanWhich Michael Jackson album spawned five chart-topping singles? - BadWhich fruit was forbidden for Hawaiian women to eat by law? - CoconutWhich vehicle was invented to circumvent trench warfare? - TankWhich jazz musician had got his pet name by shortening the name ‘Satchel Mouth’? - Louis ArmstrongWhat is the unit of measurement used to measure the height of horse? - Hands (1 Hand is equal to 4 inches)Which is the highest waterfall in the world? - Angel Waterfall (around 1000 m)Where was the sky city concept introduced for the first time? - JapanLake Tahoe has only one outlet, name the outlet? - Truckee RiverWhich is the world’s first national park? - Yellowstone National Park, USA What is Alaska’s second most populous city? - FairbanksWhich U.S city is at the highest altitude above the sea level? - Santa FeWhich is the lowest point on the land of the United States continent? - Death valley (California)

SLR is the abbreviation of what in the field of photography? - Single Lens Reflex cameraWhich company is the largest producer of computer software for personal computers? - MicrosoftWhat does the abbreviation GUI stand for? - Graphical User InterfaceWhich element was discovered by the French chemists Marie Curie and Pierre Curie? – Radium

Geometry Word Problems Involving PerimeterExample 1:A triangle has a perimeter of 50. If 2 of its sides are equal and the third side is 5 more than the equal sides, what is the length of the third side?Solution:Step 1: Assign variables:Let x = length of the equal side Sketch the figureStep 2: Write out the formula for perimeter of triangle.P = sum of the three sidesStep 3: Plug in the values from the question and from the sketch.50 = x + x + x+ 5Combine like terms 50 = 3x + 5Isolate variable x3x = 50 – 5 3x = 45x =15Be careful! The question requires the length of the third side.The length of third side = 15 + 5 =20Answer: The length of third side is 20

Geometry Word Problems Involving AreaExample 1:A rectangle is 4 times as long as it is wide. If the length is increased by 4 inches and the width is decreased by 1 inch, the area will be 60 square inches. What were the dimensions of the original rectangle?Solution:Step 1: Assign variables:Let x = original width of rectangleSketch the figureStep 2: Write out the formula for area of rectangle.A = lwStep 3: Plug in the values from the question and from the sketch.60 = (4x + 4)(x –1)Use distributive property to remove brackets

60 = 4x2 – 4x + 4x – 4Put in Quadratic Form4x2 – 4 – 60 = 04x2 – 64 = 0This quadratic can be rewritten as a difference of two squares(2x)2 – (8)2 = 0Factorize difference of two squares(2x)2 – (8)2 = 0(2x – 8)(2x + 8) = 0We get two values for x.Since x is a dimension, it would be positive. So, we take x = 4The question requires the dimensions of the original rectangle.The width of the original rectangle is 4.The length is 4 times the width = 4 × 4 = 16Answer: The dimensions of the original rectangle are 4 and 16.

Geometry Word Problems involving AnglesExample 1:In a quadrilateral two angles are equal. The third angle is equal to the sum of the two equal angles. The fourth angle is 60° less than twice the sum of the other three angles. Find the measures of the angles in the quadrilateral.Solution:Step 1: Assign variables:Let x = size of one of the two equal angles Sketch the figureStep 2: Write down the sum of angles in quadrilateral.The sum of angles in a quadrilateral is 360°Step 3: Plug in the values from the question and from the sketch.360 = x + x + (x + x) + 2(x + x + x + x) – 60Combine like terms 360 = 4x + 2(4x) – 60 360 = 4x + 8x – 60 360 = 12x – 60Isolate variable x12x = 420x = 35The question requires the values of all the angles.Substituting x for 35, you will get: 35, 35, 70, 220Answer: The values of the angles are 35°, 35°, 70° and 220°Protons, Neutrons and ElectronsAtoms are incredibly small and are mostly empty space. Each atom consists of a nucleus and a cloud of particles called electrons that fly around the nucleus. The nucleus is a cluster of two kinds of particles, protons and neutrons.

All the particles in an atom are very light. Their mass is measured in atomic mass units. Protons and electrons have an electric charge, whereas neutrons do not have an electric charge.Particle in atomMassChargeProton1 unitpositive charge (1 +)Neutron1 unitnoneElectronalmost nothingnegative charge (1 -)Atomic NumberThe number of protons in an atom can be used to identify the atom.Every other atom has a different number of protons. For example, since only a sodium atom has 11 protons then any atom with 11 protons would be a sodium atom.The number of protons in an atom is called its atomic number or proton number. For example, the atomic number of sodium is 11.Number of ElectronsEvery neutral atom has an equal number of protons and electrons.This means that the total charge on the protons cancels out the total charge on the electrons and the atom has no overall charge. For example, the sodium atom has 11 protons and 11 electrons and there is no overall charge.Nucleon NumberProtons and neutrons, also called nucleons, are located in the nucleus of the atom. The total number of protons and neutrons in an atom is called its nucleon number. For example, the sodium atom has 11 protons and 12 neutrons. The nucleon number for the sodium atom is 11 + 12 = 23.IsotopesIsotopes are atoms of the same element, with different numbers of neutrons.For example, all carbon atoms have 6 protons but some carbon atoms have more neutrons than others.Carbon-12 has 6 protons, 6 electrons and 6 neutrons.Carbon-13 has 6 protons, 6 electrons and 7 neutrons.Carbon-14 has 6 protons, 6 electrons and 8 neutrons.Carbon-12, Carbon-13 and Carbon-14 are called isotopes of carbon.

ScienceA diamond will not dissolve in acid. The only thing that can destroy it is intense heat.A lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court.Absolutely pure gold is so soft that it can be molded with the hands.An ounce of gold can be stretched into a wire 50 miles long.Colored diamonds are caused by impurities such as nitrogen (yellow), boron (blue). With red diamonds being due to deformities in the structure of the stone, and green ones being the result of irradiation.Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance, and is also one of the most valuable natural substances. Diamonds are crystals formed almost entirely of carbon. Because of its hardness, the diamond is the most enduring of all gemstones. They are among the most costly jewels in the world, partly because they are rare, Only four important diamond fields have been found - in Africa, South America, India, and the Soviet Union.In 1957, the Shipping port Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, the first nuclear facility to generate electricity in the United States, went on line. (It was taken out of service in 1982.)In 1982, in the first operation of its kind, doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center implanted a permanent artificial heart in the chest of retired dentist Dr. Barney Clark, who lived 112 days with the device.Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature.Mineral deposits in caves: The ones growing upward are stalagmites, the ones growing downward are stalactites.Natural gas has no odor. The smell is added artificially so that leaks can be detected.Prussic acid, in a crystalline powder called Zyklon B, was used to kill in Germany's gas chambers. The gas would paralyze the victim's lungs, causing them to suffocate.Sea water, loaded with mineral salts, weighs about a pound and a half more per cubic foot than fresh water at the same temperature.Ten per cent of the salt mined in the world each year is used to de-ice the roads in America.The air we breathe is 78% nitrogen, 21.5% oxygen, .5% argon and other gases.The Chinese were using aluminum to make things as early as 300 AD Western civilization didn't rediscover aluminum until 1827.The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality diamond ever discovered. Found in 1905, the original 3,100 carats were cut to make jewels for the British Crown Jewels and the British Royal family's collection.The largest gold nugget ever found weighed 172 lbs., 13 oz.The largest hailstone ever recorded was 17.5 inches in diameter - bigger than a basketball.The most abundant metal in the Earth's crust is aluminum.

The only rock that floats in water is pumice.The three most common elements in the universe are 1) hydrogen; 2) helium; 3) oxygen.The United States government keeps its supply of silver at the US Military Academy at West Point, NY.

Fun Trivia questions and answers - Science, astronomy, planets, solar system, minerals, atomic number, human brain, DNA.What was the original purpose of ENIAC, the world's first "modern" computer?A: To compute ballistic trajectories for artillery shells. ENIAC--an acronym for Electronic numerical integrator and Calculator --was introduced in 1946.What gives the mineral turquoise its distinctive color?A: Traces of copper.What percentage of the average human brain is water?A: 80 percent.What does eccentricity mean to an astronomer?A: The degree to which an orbit deviates from a circle. The eccentricity of Earth's orbit is 0.07.

Fun Trivia questions and answers - Science, astronomy, planets, solar system, minerals, atomic number, human brain, DNA.What was the original purpose of ENIAC, the world's first "modern" computer?A: To compute ballistic trajectories for artillery shells. ENIAC--an acronym for Electronic numerical integrator and Calculator --was introduced in 1946.What gives the mineral turquoise its distinctive color?A: Traces of copper.What percentage of the average human brain is water?A: 80 percent.What does eccentricity mean to an astronomer?A: The degree to which an orbit deviates from a circle. The eccentricity of Earth's orbit is 0.07.What is alloyed with steel to make it stainless?A: Chromium.Which planet weighs over twice as much as all the other known planets combined?A: Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system.How fast--in miles per hour---do the fastest messages transmitted by the human nervous system travel?A: 180 to 200 miles per hour.How many frames --or pictures -- per second are transmitted over American television?A: 30.In years past what was used as transmission oil in Rolls-Royce automobiles?A: Spermaceti oil--from the sperm whale.

How many pointers were there on the first clocks with hands--made in the fourteenth century?A: Only one, the hour hand.What temperature does the tungsten filament in an electric light reach when the light is turned on?A: 2,577 Degrees C, or 4,664 degrees F.Why did German scientist Wilhelm Roentgen name the invisible rays he discovered X-rays?A: Because he had no idea what the mysterious rays were.Who, long before Columbus, claimed the world was round, reasoning that if it were flat all the stars would be visible from all points on its surface?A: Aristotle, who offered as added proof the fact that the earth casts a spherical shadow on the moon during an eclipse.When did American sales of cassette recordings surpass those of long-playing records?A: In 1983.What product was originally called the Sound about when it was introduced in the U.S. in 1970?A: The Sony Walkman.What do the letters represent in the acronym DNA -- the protein substance inside each cell that transmits genetic information from parent to child?A: Deoxyribonucleic acid.How long does a nanosecond last?A: one billionth of a second.How many different chemical reactions occur in the normal human brain every second?A: At least 100,000.In mathematics, what is the meaning of the term googol?A: It represents the number 1 followed by 100 zeroes.What word defines sounds too low for human hearing?A: Infrasonic.How did the element strontium--also known by the symbol SR and the atomic number 38--get its name?A: From Strontian, the Scottish mining village in which it was discovered.What reply did newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst receive when he sent a telegram to a leading astronomer asking "Is there life on Mars? Please cable on thousand words"?A: "Nobody Knows" repeated 500 times.How many pounds of lunar rock and soil were collected and brought back to Earth from America's six-expeditions to the moon?A: 841.6.What planet is most like earth in size, mass, density and gravity?A: Venus.

What is the name of the computer program developed by the Los Angeles Police Department to help solve homicides?A: HITMAN--for Homicide Information Tracking Management Automation Network.What heavenly bodies have astronomers named after Brahms, Beethoven, Bach, the four Beatles and Eric Clapton--among others?A: Asteroids.

Fun sports trivia questions and answers - Ty Cobb, the Olympics, little league baseball, Boxing, Tennis, Cross Country Bike RacingWhat is the distance between bases on a little league baseball field?A: 60 feet.What college once had 22 members of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society on its football team?A: Dartmouth, in 1925.What was the first sport in which women were invited to compete at the Olympics? A: Tennis, at the 1900 games in Paris. Charlotte Cooper of Great Britain was the first gold medalist.

SportsFun sports trivia questions and answers - Ty Cobb, the Olympics, little league baseball, Boxing, Tennis, Cross Country Bike RacingWhat is the distance between bases on a little league baseball field?A: 60 feet.What college once had 22 members of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society on its football team?A: Dartmouth, in 1925.What was the first sport in which women were invited to compete at the Olympics? A: Tennis, at the 1900 games in Paris. Charlotte Cooper of Great Britain was the first gold medalist.What sport was the first to be filmed---and who filmed it?A: The sport was boxing; the man who did the filming, Thomas A. Edison; the year, 1894. Edison filmed a boxing match between Jack Cushing and Mike Leonard in a studio on the grounds of his laboratory complex in West Orange, New Jersey.How many home runs did baseball great Ty Cobb hit in the three world series in which he played?A: None.In cross-country bike racing, what do the initials BMX represent?A: Bicycle moto x (cross).

Under what name did Dr. Joshua Pim of Great Britain enter and win the Wimbledon tennis tournament in 1893?A: Mr. X. Because he feared that revealing his true identity would hurt his medical practice, Pim entered under the mystery name.In 1939, what famous American athlete starred on UCLA's undefeated football team and was the top scorer in the Pacific Coast Conference for Basketball?A: Jackie Robinson, who later gained national fame playing professional baseball. At UCLA, he earned letters in baseball, basketball, football and track.What popular sport did Joe Sobek invent at the Greenwich, Connecticut, MCA in 1950?A: Racquetball. Sobek designed a "strung paddle racquet" and handle, and combined the rules of squash and handball, to create the game he called "paddle rackets."Who was the first Olympic gold medalist to win a professional world boxing title?A: Floyd Patterson, who won the Olympic gold medal as a middleweight in 19+52, and the world championship as a heavyweight in 1956.What sports activity was originally known in England as "plank-gliding"?A: Waterskiing. The first recorded mention of the sport in England was in 1914.Which was the first sport to have its top players named to an All-American team?A: Football, in 1889. The idea originated with famed football authority Walter Camp, who picked 36 All-American teams until his death in 1925.What was golfing great Ben Hogan's famous reply when he was asked how to improve one's game?A: "Hit the ball closer to the hole."How many world records did swimmer Mark Spitz set when he won seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympics?A: Seven--one in each of the races in which he competed.After retiring as a player, with what team did baseball great Babe Ruth spend one year as a coach?A: The Brooklyn Dodgers in 1938.In what year's Olympics were electric timing devices and a public-address system used for the first time?A: In 1912, in Stockholm.What is the maximum weight permitted for calves in rodeo calf-roping competition?A: 350 pounds. The minimum is 200 pounds.

HistoryWhich country first tried unsuccessfully to build the Panama Canal?A: France.Which family ruled Florence for three centuries from 1434?A: Medici.

Who were the Celtic-speaking peoples living in France and Belgium during Roman times?A: Gauls.Which king of England had a mother and a son who were both beheaded?A: James I.Which battle of 1746 ended the Jacobite revolution?A: Culloden.What Soviet "man of steel" was educated for the priesthood but was expelled from the seminary?A: Joseph Stalin.In which year did Brunei gain independence fro Britain?A: 1984.What country sold land including the present-day states of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma to the USA in 1803?A: France.Which British monarch married Anne of Denmark?A: James I.In which year did Dublin's Easter Rising take place?A: 1816.Which US president was shot five days after the end of the American Civil War?A: Abraham Lincoln.In which battle did Harold II, the last Saxon king, lose his life?A: Battle of Hastings."What was the name of the Austrian-born dictator who succeeded Hindenburg as Germany's head of state?A: Adolf Hitler.Who was the black educationist who was born a slave but became a leader in the search for civil rights in the early 1900s?A: Booker T. Washington.Which French revolutionary was nicknamed "the Incorruptible"?A: Robespierre.Where did Florence Nightingale establish a hospital to treat casualties of the Crimean War?A: Scutari.Which rebellion was effectively ended by the Battle of Culloden?A: Jacobite rebellion.What was the first permanent English settlement in the New World, now in ruins?A: Jamestown.Who was the first president of independent Kenya?|A: Jomo Kenyatta.Who proclaimed the People's Republic of China in 1949?A: Mao Zedong.Which country was ruled by the Romanov dynasty 1613-1917?A: Russia.

Which country's liberalization program was halted by the invasion of 600,000 Soviet troops in 1968?A: Czechoslovakia.Which Axis Power changed sides during World War II, declaring war on Germany in October 1943?A: Italy.Who was the first democratically elected Marxist head of state?A: Salvador Allende.What was the name of the basalt slab that became the key for deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics?A: Rosetta Stone.What title did Charlemagne, already king of the Franks, acquire in 800?A: Holy Roman Emperor.In which industrial process was the inventor Joseph Arkwright responsible for an important breakthrough in 1768?A: Spinning Cotton.What is the name of the British political regime 1649-60 established by Oliver Cromwell?A: The Commonwealth.Which wife of Henry VIII had already married twice before she became queen, and married for a fourth time after Henry's death?A: Catherine Parr.What was the name of the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, fought in 1485?A: Battle of Bosworth.Who was the prime minister of South Africa who was assassinated in 1966?A: Hendrik Verwoerd.Which 17th-century king of Sweden was known as the "Lion of the North"?A: GustavusAdolphus.

WorldFun trivia questions and answers - World stuff from countries like France, Peru, Sumatra, and the United Nations.Where is Rock English spoken?A: On Gibraltar; which is commonly known as the Rock. It is a mixed patois of Spanish and English spoken by the natives of the strategic Mediterranean island.Where in the world is there a place called Disko Island?A: In Greenland. Although it's been renamed Qeqertarsuup, it is still widely known by its old name.What recreational activity did Joseph Merlin of Belgium demonstrate for the first time in 1760 at a London Masquerade party?A: Roller skating.

What great thinker proved a lunar eclipse is the circular shadow of the earth on the moon?A: Aristotle.What is the longest strait in the world?A: The Strait of Malacca, between the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra. It's about 500 miles long and connects the Andaman and South China seas.In what country is the most remote weather station in the world located?A: Canada. Its Eureka weather station is 600 miles from the North Pole.How many members did the United Nations have when it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1995?A: 185. The last to join was the Pacific island chain of Palau in December 1994.How many loincloths did archaeologists find in King Tut's tomb after it was discovered in 1922?A: 145. The loincloths have been in storage in the Cairo Museum since 1939, along with Tut's jewel-encrusted sandals, beaded tunics, leopard skins and other items of apparel.What percentage of the earth's land has a temperate climate?A: Seven percent. But nearly half the earth's population lives in temperate zones.Which European country has two elements on the periodic Table named after it?A: France. The elements are No. 31, gallium (Ga), and No. 87, Francium (Fr). The name gallium is derived from Gallia, the Latin name for almost all the region we now now as France.The capitals of what two South American countries are located on the mouth of the same river--the Rio de la Plata?A: Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires; and Uruguay's capital, Montevideo.What famous geological feature was named for the man who headed the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in the first half of the nineteenth century?A: Mount Everest, which was named for Sir George Everest.What country produces the world's largest crop of soybeans?A: The United States. China is the second largest.Why did the English call their gold coins guineas?A: The gold used for the coins was originally mined in Guinea, in West Africa. Although the coins haven't been minted since 1813, the term guinea is still used to denote a value of 21 schillings.In what country did the automat originate?A: In Sweden. There had been automats there for half a century before Horn &Hardart opened the first U.S. automat in Philadelphia in 1902.What floral symbol do the state of Kansas and the country of Peru have in common?A: The sunflower.What famous statesman was known as Dizzy to his supporters?A: Benjamin Disraeli, Queen Victoria's favorite prime minister.

Why did the rulers of ancient Sparta mint large k, unwieldy iron coins?A: To make it difficult for citizens to take the coins with them when they left the country.

ReligionReligious Beliefs and Ideas - Trivia questions with answersWhich religion supports the caste system?A: Hinduism.Who is the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Zeus?A: Jupiter.Who is the exiled leader of Tibet?A: Dali Lama.What is the alternative name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?A: The Mormon church.Who was the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire?A: Charlemagne.he members of which Christian sect have no ministers or priests, and gather for worship in a Meeting House?A: Quakers / Society of Friends.Who was the Egyptian god of the underworld?A: Osiris.In which Christian creed is the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity spelt out?A: Which ancient Greek philosopher thought that knowledge emerges through dialogue and systematic questioning?A: Socrates.What is the stage before full sainthood?A: Beatification.Where did St. Bernadette experience a vision of the Virgin Mary in 1858?A: Lourdes.Which Christian religious order was founded by Ignatius Loyola?A: Jesuits.Which American politician defined the Four Freedoms?A: Franklin D. Roosevelt.The Digambaras and the Swetambaras are the main sects of which religion?A: Jainism.Who is known as the 'Black Pope'?A: The head of the Jesuits.What event does the Jewish festival Hanukkah celebrate?A: The recapture and rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem.Which archbishop holds the official title 'Primate of England'?A: Archbishop of York.Who was the son of Jesse, father of Solomon and second king of Israel?A: David.

What was the name of King Arthur's seat?A: Camelot.Who was the Norse god of thunder?A: Thor.What was the language spoken 2,000 years ago in Palestine?A: Aramaic.Which of Jesus' disciples was the treasurer?A: Judas Iscariot.How many Noble Truths does Buddhism recognize?A: Four.What is the name for the slender tower from which Moslems are called to prayer?A: Minaret.To which religion is the Ganges the most sacred river?A: Hindu.In which religion do men take the last name 'Singh' and women 'Kaur'?A: Sikhism.The followers of which religion observe the Sabbath from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday?A: Judaism.In which religion did the sect the Digambaras originally go about naked?A: Jainism.In Buddhism, what is the name for the attainment of perfect serenity, achieved when all desires are eradicated?A: Nirvana.In which far Eastern country was the Unification Church (Moonies) founded in 1954?A: Korea.In Eastern systems of teaching what is the opposite principle of nature to Yin?A: Yang.What is the highest title in the Shi'ite sect of Islam?A: Ayatollah.What, in Hinduism, is the sum of a person's actions, which affects his or her fate in their next life?A: Karma.In Greek mythology, who was the nymph who pined away until only her voice remained?A: Echo.What was the name of the prophet on whose book Joseph Smith founded the Church of Latter-day Saints?A: Mormon.In the Old Testament, who married his cousins Leah and Rachel?A: Jacob.Who put forward the theory of the 'collective unconscious'?A: Carl Gustav Jung.

LiteratureWhat was the pen-name of the Mississippi river-boat pilot who created the fictional characters of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn?A: Mark Twain.What was the title of Tolkien's sequel to The Hobbit?A: The Lord of the Rings.What sort of animals did Richard Adams write about in Watership Down?A: Rabbits.What was the name of the Onondaga chief about whom Longfellow wrote and epic poem?A: Hiawatha.Which English poet became poet laureate in 1843?A: Wordsworth.Whose fan did Oscar Wilde write of?A: Lady Windermere's.Which Roman writer was famous for his Satires and ArsPoetica?A: Horace.Whose novels include The Aunt's Story and The Tree of Man?A: Patrick White.Which famous writer was prime minister at the Weimar court from 1775-85?A: Goethe.Which of King Lear's three daughters was murdered?A: Cordelia.Who wrote The Alchemist?A: Ben Jonson.Which of Tolkien's fantasy characters inhabit the world of Middle Earth?A: The Hobbits.As a creator of which type of novels was Zane Grey a pioneer?A: Westerns.Which magic land did C S Lewis write of?A: Narnia.What is a three-line, 17-syllable Japanese verse-form?A: Haiku.Who wrote the 1988 novel Foucault's Pendulum?A: Umberto Eco.Which English prime minister wrote Coningsby and Sybil?A: Disraeli.Whose work Parallel Lives inspired Shakespeare's Roman plays?A: Plutarch.Complete the Beatrix Potter book title: The Heart of...A: Gloucester.Which French writer won the Nobel Prize in 1947?A: Andre Gide.

What happened one night to the central character of Kafka's Metamorphosis?A: He turned into an insect.Who did Jane Eyre marry after working for him?A: Mr. Rochester.Who wrote The Book of Nonsense?A: Edward Lear.Which great book was started in Bedford Jail in 1675?A: The Pilgrim's Progress.Which annual British literary prize has been won by Salman Rushdie, Kingsley Amis and Anita Brookner?A: Booker Prize.Who wrote the 18th-century novels The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle and The Adventures of Roderick Random?A: Tobias Smollett.Which Dickens novel was left unfinished at the time of his death?A: Edwin Drood.Whose letters describe the eruption of Vesuvius and the death of his historian uncle?A: Pliny the Younger.Who wrote Boris Godunov?A: Pushkin.Who recited The Gift Outright' at President Kennedy's inauguration?A: Robert Frost.Which English poet was the Latin secretary to Oliver Cromwell's Council of state during the Commonwealth period?A: John Milton.Which phrase refers to the group of British writers that included Colin Wilson, Kingsley Amis, John Braine and Alan Sillitoe?A: Angry Young Men.What is the name of Don Quixote's servant in the novel by Cervantes?A: Sancho Panza.Which French author, the son of one of Napoleon's generals, spent 19 years exiled in Guernsey?A: Victor Hugo.Which title is held by the character Edmund Dantes in a novel by Alexander Dumas?A: The Count of Monte Cristo.Who wrote Of Human Bondage?A: Somerset Maugham.Who led the crew of the Argo in their search for the Golden Fleece?A: Jason.Who created the detective Father Brown?A: O K Chesterton.

Music trivia questions and answers.Who invented the saxophone?A: Adolphe Sax--he patented it in 1846.What is Fats Domino's real first name?A: Antoine.What famous opera was inspired by a short story written in 1898 by Philadelphia lawyer John Luther Long?A: Madame Butterfly, by Puccini.What record album was the first ever to be taken directly from a film's musical soundtrack?A: Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in 1937.What sticker message did Capitol Records added to a recording of Delibes' opera Lakme in 1988 in a bid to boost sales among buyers not ordinarily interested in classical music?A: "Includes the Flower Duet from the British Airways TV commercial."Who wrote Yale's "Bulldog" song?A: Cole Porter, in 1911, when he was a student there.How many of the 107 musicians in the new York Philharmonic Orchestra play second violin?A: 16.What singer--called Clara Ann Fowler at birth-- adopted the name of the milk company that sponsored her first radio show?A: Patti Page. The company was the Page Milk Company of Tulsa, Oklahoma.What recipe is recited in the play Cyrano de Bergerac?A: The recipe for tart almandine--it's recited by Ragueneau.Which of U2's songs is a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.?A: Pride (In the Name Love).What is the only sound heard on the record The Best of Marcel Marceau?A: Clapping, after 40 minutes of silence.What popular band is named for a hallucinogenic treat made by a member's grandmother?A: Pearl Jam. It's named for lead singer Eddie Vedder's grandmother Pearl and the hallucinogenic preserves she made from peyote.What led jazz great Dizzy Gillespie to redesign his trumpet so it had an upturned bell?A: He liked the slightly muted sound of his trumpet after comic James "Stump" Cross fell on it, bending the bell to a 45 degree angle. After the accident, Gillespie had his trumpet custom made--with an upturned bell.What stringed instrument was the first to have a keyboard?A: The clavichord, which was developed around 1400.When he was six years old, what did country singer Chet Atkins use to string his first musical instrument--an old, discarded ukulele?A: Wire from a screen door.

What was American rock star Eddie Money's surname at birth?A: Mahoney. He changed it in hopes the name Money would bring him fame and fortune.Who was the first person ever awarded a gold record?A: Glenn Miller, for "Chattanooga Choo-Choo.Bing Crosby's recording of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" is the best-selling pop record of all time. What rock 'n' roll single is in second place?A: "Rock Around the Clock," by Bill Haley and the Comets. The 1954 hit has sold 25 million copies to Crosby's 170 million plus.What instrument did "King of Jazz" orchestra leader Paul Whiteman play when he launched his musical career with the Denver Symphony?A: The viola.

Fun trivia questions and answers - Language, words, bedlam, hocus pocus, oxymoron.What are you afraid of if you have pogonophobia?A: Beards, or men wearing beards.What is the meaning of the oft-quoted Latin phrase "O tempora! O mores!"?A: "What times! What manners!"--suggesting that both have changed for the worse. The line is from Cicero's "In Catilinam".Where does the expression "out of the mouths of babes" come from?A: The Bible, Psalms 8.2, which begins: "Out of the mouth of babes..."What word originated as the nickname for an English insane asylum?A: Bedlam. It was the nickname for the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem in London.In Gaelic, what is the literal meaning of the name Campbell?A: "Crooked Mouth".What is the origin of the word hoax?A: It's believed to be a contraction of "hocus," from the expression hocus pocus.What is the meaning of the Latin word veto?A: "I forbid".What do we call a phrase that combines two contradictory words--such as pretty ugly, jumbo shrimp or unbiased opinion?A: An oxymoron.When truck drivers talk about green stamp, what are they discussing?A: Speeding tickets.What are you suffering from if you have ozostomia?A: Halitosis--or bad breath.What are you studying if you're into oology?A: Birds' eggs.What do the letters in the computer world acronym BASIC represent?A: Beginner's all-purpose symbolic instruction code.What do the letters in the acronym LED stand for?A: Light Emitting Diode.

In computerese, what are pixels?A: More formally known as picture, or pix, elements (pix-els), they are the individual dots on a computer monitor.What was the original meaning of the Latin word musculus, meaning muscle?A: Little mouse.What language gave us the word honcho, for big shot or boss?A: Japanese. Hancho means "squad commander" in Japanese.What does the name Jonah mean when translated from Hebrew?A: Dove.How did April get its name?A: From the Latin name of the month, Aprilis--derived from the verb aperire, "to open," signifying the time of the year buds begin to open.What flower's name means nose-twitching in Latin--a name bestowed on it because of its pungent aroma?A: The nasturtium.What is the name of the international association of women helicopter pilots?A: Whirly-Girls.A bibliophile is a collector of rare books. What is a bibliopole?A: A seller of rare books.How did the paisley fabric design get its name?A: From the Scottish manufacturing town of Paisley, where copies were made of shawls sent home by soldiers serving in India.How did the air gun known as the BB gun get its name?A: From the ball bearing pellets if fires.What was the original meaning of the word clue?A: A ball of thread or yarn-- which makes the concept of unraveling a clue all the more meaningful.What do the letters in the abbreviation e.g. stand for?A: Exempli gratia--which in Latin means "for example."What is the origin of the expression "on the Q.T."?A: The word quiet--from which it takes the first and last letters.What is the origin of the word Thursday?A: It is the day of Thor, the god of thunder in Norse mythology. In the past it was sometimes called thunder day. Free science trivia questions and answers including earth, mars, x-rays, the human brain and more.

Fun Trivia questions and answers - Science, astronomy, planets, solar system, minerals, atomic number, human brain, DNA.What was the original purpose of ENIAC, the world's first "modern" computer?A: To compute ballistic trajectories for artillery shells. ENIAC--an acronym for Electronic numerical integrator and Calculator --was introduced in 1946.What gives the mineral turquoise its distinctive color?A: Traces of copper.

What percentage of the average human brain is water?A: 80 percent.What does eccentricity mean to an astronomer?A: The degree to which an orbit deviates from a circle. The eccentricity of Earth's orbit is 0.07.What is alloyed with steel to make it stainless?A: Chromium.Which planet weighs over twice as much as all the other known planets combined?A: Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system.How fast--in miles per hour---do the fastest messages transmitted by the human nervous system travel?A: 180 to 200 miles per hour.How many frames --or pictures -- per second are transmitted over American television?A: 30.In years past what was used as transmission oil in Rolls-Royce automobiles?A: Spermaceti oil--from the sperm whale.How many pointers were there on the first clocks with hands--made in the fourteenth century?A: Only one, the hour hand.What temperature does the tungsten filament in an electric light reach when the light is turned on?A: 2,577 Degrees C, or 4,664 degrees F.Why did German scientist Wilhelm Roentgen name the invisible rays he discovered X-rays?A: Because he had no idea what the mysterious rays were.Who, long before Columbus, claimed the world was round, reasoning that if it were flat all the stars would be visible from all points on its surface?A: Aristotle, who offered as added proof the fact that the earth casts a spherical shadow on the moon during an eclipse.When did American sales of cassette recordings surpass those of long-playing records?A: In 1983.What product was originally called the Soundabout when it was introduced in the U.S. in 1970?A: The Sony Walkman.What do the letters represent in the acronym DNA -- the protein substance inside each cell that transmits genetic information from parent to child?A: Deoxyribonucleic acid.How long does a nanosecond last?A: one billionth of a second.

How many different chemical reactions occur in the normal human brain every second?A: At least 100,000.In mathematics, what is the meaning of the term googol?A: It represents the number 1 followed by 100 zeroes.What word defines sounds too low for human hearing?A: Infrasonic.How did the element strontium--also known by the symbol SR and the atomic number 38--get its name?A: From Strontian, the Scottish mining village in which it was discovered.What reply did newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst receive when he sent a telegram to a leading astronomer asking "Is there life on Mars? Please cable on thousand words"?A: "Nobody Knows" repeated 500 times.How many pounds of lunar rock and soil were collected and brought back to Earth from America's six-expeditions to the moon?A: 841.6.What planet is most like earth in size, mass, density and gravity?A: Venus.What is the name of the computer program developed by the Los Angeles Police Department to help solve homicides?A: HITMAN--for Homicide Information Tracking Management Automation Network.What heavenly bodies have astronomers named after Brahms, Beethoven, Bach, the four Beatles and Eric Clapton--among others?A Asteroids.What is the distance between bases on a little league baseball field?A: 60 feet.What college once had 22 members of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society on its football team?A: Dartmouth, in 1925.What was the first sport in which women were invited to compete at the Olympics? A: Tennis, at the 1900 games in Paris. Charlotte Cooper of Great Britain was the first gold medalist.What sport was the first to be filmed---and who filmed it?A: The sport was boxing; the man who did the filming, Thomas A. Edison; the year, 1894. Edison filmed a boxing match between Jack Cushing and Mike Leonard in a studio on the grounds of his laboratory complex in West Orange, New Jersey.How many home runs did baseball great Ty Cobb hit in the three world series in which he played?A: None.In cross-country bike racing, what do the initials BMX represent?A: Bicycle moto x (cross).

Under what name did Dr. Joshua Pim of Great Britain enter and win the Wimbledon tennis tournament in 1893?A: Mr. X. Because he feared that revealing his true identity would hurt his medical practice, Pim entered under the mystery name.In 1939, what famous American athlete starred on UCLA's undefeated football team and was the top scorer in the Pacific Coast Conference for Basketball?A: Jackie Robinson, who later gained national fame playing professional baseball. At UCLA, he earned letters in baseball, basketball, football and track.What popular sport did Joe Sobek invent at the Greenwich, Connecticut, MCA in 1950?A: Racquetball. Sobek designed a "strung paddle racquet" and handle, and combined the rules of squash and handball, to create the game he called "paddle rackets."Who was the first Olympic gold medalist to win a professional world boxing title?A: Floyd Patterson, who won the Olympic gold medal as a middleweight in 19+52, and the world championship as a heavyweight in 1956.What sports activity was originally known in England as "plank-gliding"?A: Waterskiing. The first recorded mention of the sport in England was in 1914.Which was the first sport to have its top players named to an All-American team?A: Football, in 1889. The idea originated with famed football authority Walter Camp, who picked 36 All-American teams until his death in 1925.What was golfing great Ben Hogan's famous reply when he was asked how to improve one's game?A: "Hit the ball closer to the hole."How many world records did swimmer Mark Spitz set when he won seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympics?A: Seven--one in each of the races in which he competed.After retiring as a player, with what team did baseball great Babe Ruth spend one year as a coach?A: The Brooklyn Dodgers in 1938.In what year's Olympics were electric timing devices and a public-address system used for the first time?A: In 1912, in Stockholm.What is the maximum weight permitted for calves in rodeo calf-roping competition?A: 350 pounds. The minimum is 200 pounds.