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General Trivia Questions and Answers
General Trivia Questions Part 1
1) Where did General Robert E. Lee surrender to General Ulysses S. Grant to end the U.S. Civil War?
Answer: Appomattox
The Battle of Appomattox Court House was one of the last battles of the American Civil War. It took place in Appomattox County, Virginia on April 9, 1865.
2) Agronomy is a branch of this science:
A) Physics
B) Archaeology
C) Paleontology
D) Psychology
E) Agriculture
Answer: E
Agronomy is the science and technology of food, fuel, fiber, recreation, and land restoration. Plants are the center of our lives, so it’s no surprise that agronomy has come to cover every facet of living with them. Plant genetics (or how plants evolve), plant physiology (how plants grow), meteorology (what the weather does to plants), and soil science (the nutrient-holding part of the ground) are all essential aspects of agronomy.
3) Who invented the cotton gin?
Answer: Eli Whitney
Eli Whitney Jr. was an American inventor and businessman, best known for inventing the cotton gin — one of the important inventions of the Industrial Revolution.
4) Which of these Spanish explorers sought the fabled “Seven Cities of Gold”?
A) Ponce de Leon
B) Balboa
C) Magellan
D) Coronado
Answer: D
Coronado was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who led a large expedition from what is now Mexico to present-day Kansas. It was during his 1540-1542 expedition that he discovered the southwestern United States, including parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, and Kansas.
5) All of these containers were designed to hold a dead body except:
A) Coffin
B) Bier
C) Casket
D) Sarcophagus
E) Monstrance
Answer: E
A monstrance is a receptacle used by Catholics to hold the consecrated host. They are often elaborately decorated, and they are usually used in solemn processions.
6) April Fools’ Day came from _______ when the Gregorian calendar was adopted.
A) Spain
B) Italy
C) China
D) Brazil
E) France
Answer: E
The Gregorian Calendar is the one most used in the world. Introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, it reduces the average year from 365.25 days to 365.2425, and adjusts for the drift in the tropical or solar year that inaccuracy had caused over the past few centuries. The new calendar changed New Year’s Day from April 1 to January 1.
7) Which U.S. President laid the cornerstone for the U.S. Capitol Building in 1793?
Answer: George Washington (1789-1797)
The Capitol building is the seat of the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government and home to Congress. It was designed by architects who wanted to make it look like a temple and also like the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.
8) According to Freud, the id, the ego, and what third component make up the human personality?
Answer: the superego
Freud argued that the superego is composed of ideals that were learned from parents and society. The superego works to suppress the urges of the id and tries to make an ego act morally. It censors what the ego does.
9) A former logging center, ________ was chosen as the capital of Canada partly because it was considered safe from an American attack.
A) Montreal
B) Toronto
C) Ottawa
D) Vancouver
Answer: C
The city of Ottawa was made the capital of Canada in 1857, and it’s what makes this city so distinct. One of the key reasons for this choice is because it was believed to be a safe site from an American attack. When the Dominion of Canada was formed in 1867, Ottawa became the capital city.
10) Which famous person listed was not a vegetarian?
A) Henry Thoreau
B) Pythagoras
C) Adolf Hitler
D) Diamond Jim Brady
E) George Bernard Shaw
Answer: D
Diamond Jim was a turn-of-the-century millionaire who had an enormous love of meat. He was famously obese and legendary for his carnivorous eating habits.
General Trivia Questions Part 2
11) What branch of the arts was code inventor Samuel Morse a respected exponent of?
A) Painting
B) Sculpture
C) Pottery
Answer: A
Samuel Finley Breese Morse was an accomplished American inventor and painter. His portrait-painting career led him to invent a single-wire telegraph system that was based on European models, but still unique in its own fashion.
12) Trademarked by DuPont in 1946, which coating is used on cooking utensils to prevent sticking?
Answer: Teflon
Non-stick cookware is generally safe, but it can release toxic fumes at high temperatures. At 570 degrees Fahrenheit or 300 degrees Celsius, Teflon starts to break down, releasing harmful chemicals into the air. Breathing this in can lead to polymer fume fever, also known as the Teflon flu.
13) How many Dalai Lamas have there been?
Answer: 14
Buddhism has been around for some time now, and with it the institution of the Dalai Lama. In the more than 2500 years of Buddhist history, there have been a total of 14 Dalai Lamas, with the first and second being given the title posthumously.
14) Do birds have the sense of smell?
Answer: Scientific studies show that birds have a poor sense of smell, which is surprisingly less developed in most species. A large part of the brain in these animals is connected to sight and balance, which makes flying much easier for them.
15) Which 1993 film finally won Steven Spielberg Oscars for Best Film and Best Director?
Answer: Schindler’s List
Schindler’s List is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. The film is about the true story of Oskar Schindler—a German businessman, the owner of a factory in Kraków, Poland, who saved about 1100 mostly Jewish refugees during World War II by employing them in his factories.
16) A protein which catalyses one specific chemical reaction is a/an:
A) Amino acid
B) Enzyme
C) Hormone
D) Prostaglandin
E) Collagen
Answer: B
Enzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts. They speed up reactions. The molecules they can act upon are called substrates, and the enzyme turns them into products.
17) What Australian monolith and tourist attraction stands 335 meters high?
Answer: Ayers Rock
Ayers Rock or Uluru is a sacred site for indigenous Australians, though it’s 450 kilometers from the nearest town. It’s a massive sandstone monolith that has been around for 550 million years.
18) How many constellations are there in the sky?
A) 12
B) 43
C) 88
Answer: C
There are 88 constellations in the sky, named after mythical, religious, and even earthly objects. Astronomers have been observing them since ancient times.
19) The skin of which aquatic animal is covered with denticles?
Answer: The shark
With its unique skin, the shark is able to swim faster and more quietly than other fish. Dermal denticles, which are like teeth instead of scales, reduce drag and turbulence.
20) What emotion is an apoplectic person displaying?
A) Remorse
B) Rage
C) Envy
D) Lust
E) Depression
Answer: B
It describes someone who looks like they have apoplexy, a disease that makes the face red.
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