Fifty fresh general knowledge questions, from warm-up easy to properly tricky, each one checked so nobody can argue with the answer sheet. They're free and printable, so you can run them at a quiz night, around the dinner table or in a classroom. Blurt out your answers and see who knows their stuff!
50 General Knowledge Questions and Answers
- What is the capital of Canada?Ottawa
- How many sides does a hexagon have?Six
- Which is the largest planet in our solar system?Jupiter
- What is the national animal of Scotland?The unicornThe unicorn has featured in Scottish royal heraldry since around the 12th century.
- In which country is the city of Marrakesh?Morocco
- Which country has the longest coastline in the world?CanadaCounting its thousands of islands, Canada's coastline is more than 200,000 km long.
- What colour is an aircraft's 'black box' flight recorder?Bright orangeThe bright colour makes it easier to find among wreckage.
- The first two letters of IKEA come from the initials of which person?Ingvar Kamprad, the company's founderThe E and A stand for Elmtaryd, the farm where he grew up, and the nearby village of Agunnaryd.
- Which country has the only national flag that is not a rectangle?NepalIts flag is made of two stacked triangular pennants.
- Strictly speaking, what is 'Big Ben' the name of?The great bell inside the clock towerThe tower itself was renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012.
- Which film won the very first Academy Award for Best Picture?WingsIt remains the only fully silent film to win the top prize.
- What does the Japanese word 'karaoke' literally mean?Empty orchestra
- Counting overseas territories, which country has the most time zones?FranceIts overseas territories give France 12 time zones.
- Before pumpkins, which vegetable was traditionally carved into lanterns in Ireland and Scotland?The turnip
- What is the smallest country in the world by area?Vatican City
- How many players does each team have on the field in a game of soccer?Eleven
- Which artist painted 'The Starry Night'?Vincent van Gogh
- In which city is the Sagrada Família basilica?Barcelona
- How many keys are on a standard modern piano?88
- Which is the largest ocean on Earth?The Pacific Ocean
- Who wrote the novel 'Pride and Prejudice'?Jane Austen
- What is the currency of Japan?The yen
- A concert harp usually has 47 strings and how many pedals?Seven
- What is the capital of New Zealand?Wellington
- Which fictional detective lived at 221B Baker Street?Sherlock Holmes
- How many minutes are there in a day?1,440
- What is the largest desert in the world, counting cold deserts?AntarcticaA desert is defined by low precipitation, not heat; the Sahara is the largest hot desert.
- Which ship carried Charles Darwin on his famous voyage around the world?HMS Beagle
- In which country did the ancient Olympic Games begin?Greece
- Which Shakespeare play features the characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?Hamlet
- What is the main ingredient in guacamole?Avocado
- What is the highest mountain in Africa?Mount Kilimanjaro
- Which chess piece can only move diagonally?The bishop
- Which city hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896?Athens
- Which is the only letter of the alphabet that does not appear in any US state name?Q
- What is the world's largest coral reef system?The Great Barrier Reef
- Which river flows through Cairo?The Nile
- Who wrote and illustrated 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'?Eric Carle
- What is the name of the fairy in 'Peter Pan'?Tinker Bell
- Which is older: the University of Oxford or the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan?The University of OxfordTeaching at Oxford began as early as 1096, while Tenochtitlan was founded in 1325.
- In which sport are the terms 'love', 'deuce' and 'advantage' used?Tennis
- How many squares are there on a chessboard?64
- Which composer wrote the piece now known as the 'Moonlight Sonata'?Ludwig van BeethovenThe 'Moonlight' nickname wasn't Beethoven's; it caught on after critic Ludwig Rellstab compared the music to moonlight.
- What is the capital of Australia?Canberra
- Which city is nicknamed 'The Big Apple'?New York City
- What is a baby kangaroo called?A joey
- In which country is the ancient rock-cut city of Petra?Jordan
- In the NATO phonetic alphabet, which word stands for the letter Q?Quebec
- What is the official language of Brazil?Portuguese
- Which artist painted 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'?Johannes Vermeer
Sources
- What is the national animal of Scotland? (Scotland.org)
- Longest coastline (Guinness World Records)
- 5 fascinating facts about the black box (KLM)
- The story of IKEA (IKEA)
- Flag of Nepal (Wikipedia)
- How did Big Ben get its name? (HISTORY)
- 1929 Academy Awards memorable moments (Oscars.org)
- Karaoke (OUPblog)
- Which country has the most time zones? (timeanddate.com)
- When people carved turnips instead of pumpkins (Smithsonian)
- Oxford University is older than the Aztecs (Smithsonian)
- Piano Sonata No. 14 (Beethoven) (Wikipedia)
Fact-checked 31 Oct 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it in public.
