Wicky
Hard Trivia Questions and Answers
Hard Trivia Questions Part 1
1) What is the name of the variation of lawn tennis played by children on a smaller court?
Answer: Short tennis
2) Who was the author of the book Hunger?
Answer: Knut Hamsun
3) Litmus paper turns blue in alkaline solutions and _______ in acids.
A) Red
B) Yellow
C) Green
D) Purple
E) White
Answer: A
Litmus is an organic dye that is naturally pink in color.
4) Which of the following is not a Windward Island of the Caribbean?
A) Antigua
B) St. Lucia
C) Trinidad
D) Grenada
Answer: A
5) What Belgian city is famous for diamonds?
Answer: Antwerp
6) What is the approximate shape of the moon’s orbit around the earth?
A) Elliptical
B) Circular
C) Oval
Answer: B
7) What is the most widely used coin in circulation?
A) Dime
B) Quarter
C) Penny
Answer: C
The penny is the most widely used coin currently in circulation. In fact, according to the U.S. Mint, it is the most widely used of all U.S. denominations.
8) The main colour of our sun is:
A) Red
B) Yellow
C) Blue
D) White
Answer: B
9) What type of creature produces gossamer?
Answer: The spider
Gossamer is also known as spider silk. The tensile strength of spider silk is comparable to that of high-grade alloy steel! Dragline silks can hold their strength at temperatures below -40oC and as high as 220oC.
10) The measure of how close and how heavy are the particles in an object is called its:
A) Mass
B) Weight
C) Density
Answer: C
11) When did Margaret Thatcher become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom?
Answer: 1979
12) Distillation is a process used to separate mixtures. It is a combination of the two processes:
A) Evaporation and condensation
B) Dissolving and evaporation
C) Freezing and melting
Answer: A
13) The study of the relationships between words and their meanings is called:
A) Structuralism
B) Semiotics
C) Syntax
D) Syllogism
E) Semantics
Answer: E
By extension, semantics explores the influence words have on behavior.
14) Animals with a constant body temperature are:
A) Birds and mammals
B) Mammals and fish
C) Fish and amphibians
Answer: A
15) Called “Poisson d’Avril” in France, what day in the spring is celebrated in the United States by playing practical jokes?
Answer: April Fools’ Day
Hard Trivia Questions Part 2
16) What composer was supported most of his career by a wealthy female patron whom he never met?
Answer: Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky
17) According to a common phrase, if you are very sure of something, you can “bet your bottom” what?
A) Layer
B) Bunk
C) Dollar
D) Feeder
Answer: C
18) “Lutz” is a term used in which sport?
Answer: Skating
19) Something said to be extant is:
A) Lost
B) Destroyed
C) In existence
D) Valuable
E) Extinct
Answer: C
The term is often used in conjunction with literary manuscripts.
20) Which of the following areas was NOT one of the earliest civilizations to develop?
A) Northeastern Africa
B) West Africa
C) Northwestern India
D) Middle East
E) Northern China
Answer: B
21) He helped develop vector analysis and formulated the concept of chemical potential:
A) Luigi Galvani
B) Josiah Willard Gibbs
C) John Metcalf
D) T.H. Huxley
E) Paul Kammerer
Answer: B
His studies had a profound effect on industry, notably in the production of ammonia.
22) Which botanist had a wild pepper, a piece of seaweed and a red spider flower named after him?
Answer: Sir Joseph Banks
23) What was the name of the German school of architecture and design founded by Walter Gropius in 1919?
Answer: Bauhaus
24) Near which city is the Taj Mahal?
Answer: Agra
25) Who was the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize?
Answer: Ralph Bunche
Fourteen years before Martin Luther King, Jr. won the honor, African-American Ralph Bunche received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950. Bunche earned the honor for his work as a mediator in Palestine while serving as the director of the United Nations Division of Trusteeship.
26) Tomatoes and potatoes grow on plants belonging to the same family as deadly nightshade.
A) True
B) False
Answer: A
27) There has never been a UN secretary-general from which continent, Africa or North America?
Answer: North America
28) What do you call a grouping of elephant Seals?
Answer: a pod
29) Among the many notable sights of ________, the capital of Switzerland, are the bear pits, which house live bears for public viewing.
A) Zurich
B) Geneva
C) Basel
D) Bern
Answer: D
The bear is the emblem of Switzerland’s capital city, Bern, and a bear pit has been maintained in the city since 1513. Bern is also notable for its fine collection of gothic architecture and alpine scenery.
30) Who was the only president to never have an occupation outside of politics?
Answer: John F. Kennedy
Hard Trivia Questions Part 3
31) How many angels were there in total on Charlie’s Angels?
Answer: Six
32) FedEx Field, the largest pro football stadium, is in what state?
Answer: Maryland; it is home to the Washington Redskins.
33) Which is not a fruit?
A) Quince
B) Marengo
C) Pomegranate
D) Loquat
E) Persimmon
Answer: B
Marengo is a chicked dish named after one of Napoleon’s battles.
34) What material is fired between copper wires on a copper base to produce cloisonne?
A) Enamel
B) Amber
C) Tin
Answer: A
35) Which Oscar-nominated actor interviewed President Clinton for an Earth Day 2000 network TV special?
Answer: Leonardo DiCaprio
36) How many years did Nelson Mandela spend in prison before his release in 1990?
Answer:27
37) Which father and daughter combination had a Top 40 hit singing a duet?
Answer: Only one father and daughter combination qualifies as producing a solid Top 40 hit singing a duet: Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra had a big hit in 1967, “Something Stupid.” There are two other recordings that could be considered, however. In 1960, Carla Thomas and her father Rufus Thomas recorded a song that was a hit in the Memphis area, “Cause I Love You.” And in 1991, Natalie Cole sang a tribute “duet” with her late father, Nat “King” Cole, by recording her voice track with his original recording of “Unforgettable.”
38) Which creature has species called white, tiger, hammerhead and basking?
Answer: Shark
39) Which element listed has the highest melting point?
A) Carbon
B) Hydrogen
C) Uranium
D) Tungsten
E) Magnesium
Answer: A
Carbon melts at 3550 Celsius. Tungsten is next at 3410 Celsius.
40) What bay does the Ganges empty into?
Answer: The Bay of Bengal
41) In the Earth’s sky, which appears larger?
A) The Sun
B) The Moon
C) Neither. In an amazing coincidence, the Sun and Moon appear to be the same size in the Earth’s sky!
Answer: C
In an amazing coincidence, the Sun and the Moon both appear to be the same size in the Earth’s sky. The Sun’s diameter is about 400 times that of the Moon, but it is nearly 400 times farther away. The effect is that their disks appear to be the same size in the Earth’s sky. Because of this amazing coincidence, during a total solar eclipse, the Moon can appear to cover up the Sun exactly.
42) Why do animals in the desert have large ears?
Answer: Thermoregulation. Blood flows through the tissue in the ears and allows heat to escape. Additionally, larger ears significantly enhance the hearing capabilities of these animals.
43) Who was U.S. Vice President under President Dwight D Eisenhower?
Answer: Richard Nixon
44) Which is considered a spice rather than an herb?
A) Thyme
B) Rosemary
C) Sage
D) Cinnamon
E) Dill
Answer: D
Herbs come from non-woody plants and spices from trees. Cinnamon is taken from bark.
45) Who was the most recent U.S. president to have served in World War II?
Answer: George H. W. Bush
46) Members of a “color guard” traditionally are responsible for which of these items?
A) Drums
B) Shields
C) Flags
D) Bows and arrows
Answer: C
47) Which ailment results from kidney failure?
A) Cirrhosis
B) Jaundice
C) Uremia
D) Myocarditis
E) Goiter
Answer: C
A rise in blood urea is the most basic symptom.
48) Which is not one of the women’s colleges known as the “Seven Sisters”?
A) Radcliffe
B) Smith
C) Wellesley
D) Brown
E) Vassar
Answer: D
Brown University is a member of the Ivy League Eight.
49) To which famous French art gallery was a glass pyramid added in 1989?
Answer: The Louvre
50) What is a Spinning Jenny?
A) A hand-powered machine able to spin numerous threads simultaneously
B) The Australian term for a Tasmanian devil
C) A member of a religious sect that achieves a transcendental state by constantly spinning
D) A revolving tray for food or condiments
Answer: A
In 1764, Englishman James Hargreaves invented a hand-powered machine, which, by adding spindles to the spinning wheel, was able to spin numerous threads simultaneously. This increased yarn production many times over. He named the machine for his daughter, Jenny.
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