40 trivia questions for work
General knowledge questions for a quiz break at work or the start of a team meeting, none of them needing specialist knowledge. Ask five at a time, in teams or solo.
Updated
General knowledge
What is the most common pack of playing cards used today?
easy
The standard 52-card deck
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_52-card_deck?oldid=1361841647
Which direction does a compass point halfway between north and east?
easy
Northeast
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Points_of_the_compass?oldid=1364748457
What does a barometer measure?
medium
Atmospheric pressure
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barometer?oldid=1365704103#Mercury_barometers
What is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers?
easy
A prime number
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_number?oldid=1363371252
Which calendar date is known as April Fools’ Day?
easy
The 1st of April
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools'_Day?oldid=1365593059
Inventions and discovery
Which office invention fastens papers with a small bent wire?
easy
A paper clip
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_clip?oldid=1356536849
What links a keyboard, a ribbon, and a carriage return?
easy
A typewriter
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter?oldid=1365428254
What technology was Percy Spencer’s microwave oven based on?
medium
British radar technology
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_oven?oldid=1365212135
Which device turns sunlight directly into electricity?
medium
A solar cell
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cell?oldid=1361196839
History
What did Gutenberg invent a method for mass-producing around 1440?
easy
Movable type
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press?oldid=1364130523
Which writing material gave ancient Egypt the English word paper?
easy
Papyrus
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus?oldid=1364919057
Food and drink
Which spice has a golden yellow color due to curcumin?
medium
Turmeric
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turmeric?oldid=1363742127#Phytochemistry
Which nut is used to make marzipan?
medium
Almond meal
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzipan?oldid=1365875925
Why does bread dough expand while it proves?
medium
Carbon dioxide gas
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proofing_(baking_technique)?oldid=1341505165#Dough_processes
Which five tastes are generally recognized by modern science?
medium
Salt, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste?oldid=1365818554#Functional_structure
What is the main ingredient in guacamole?
easy
Avocado
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guacamole?oldid=1364820069#Composition_and_nutrients
Music
What is the highest female classical singing voice?
medium
Soprano
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soprano?oldid=1352922856
What Italian dynamic marking means "soft"?
medium
Piano
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamics_(music)?oldid=1363925464#Purpose_and_interpretation
How does a cappella singing differ from accompanied singing?
easy
Without any instrumental accompaniment
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_cappella?oldid=1365603117
Sport
What color jersey is worn by the leader of the Tour de France?
medium
Yellow
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_jersey_statistics?oldid=1365978446
How many minutes are played in a standard soccer match before added time?
easy
90 minutes
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football?oldid=1365398893
Which four tournaments make up tennis’s Grand Slam?
medium
Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_(tennis)?oldid=1363991952#Tournaments
How many track and field events make up a decathlon?
easy
10 track and field events
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decathlon?oldid=1365854135
Geography
Which continent contains the Sahara Desert?
easy
Africa
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara?oldid=1362700122
What is the capital of Kenya?
medium
Nairobi
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nairobi?oldid=1365483999
Which country has coastlines on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans?
medium
Canada
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Canada?oldid=1365163186
How does a fjord form?
medium
A glacier cuts a U-shaped valley
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fjord?oldid=1364094600#Formation
Art
How did pointillists build images?
medium
Small, distinct dots of color
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointillism?oldid=1331243871
Which Spanish artist co-founded Cubism with Georges Braque?
easy
Pablo Picasso
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso?oldid=1365390373#Rose_Period%3A_1904%E2%80%931906
Which ancient sculpture was discovered without its arms on the island of Milos?
medium
The Venus de Milo
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_de_Milo?oldid=1362156819#Discovery
Mythology
Which hero completed twelve labors?
easy
Heracles
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labours_of_Hercules?oldid=1365952767#Aftermath
What task was Sisyphus condemned to repeat forever?
easy
Push an immense boulder up a hill
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus?oldid=1363155348
Language and words
What is a group of lines in a poem called?
medium
A stanza
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanza?oldid=1307347128
How does an oxymoron combine ideas?
medium
Concepts with opposite meanings
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxymoron?oldid=1341701285
Chemistry
Which element gives table salt the first half of its chemical name, sodium chloride?
easy
Sodium
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_chloride?oldid=1361150387
Which metal is the primary constituent of bronze?
medium
Copper
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze?oldid=1364724780
Space and astronomy
How long does sunlight take to reach Earth, approximately?
medium
About 8.3 minutes
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight?oldid=1364119502
Which space telescope launched in 1990 and transformed astronomy from low Earth orbit?
easy
The Hubble Space Telescope
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope?oldid=1366001248
U.S. states
Which Great Lake is located fully within the United States?
medium
Lake Michigan
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Michigan?oldid=1365842153
Which state's official motto is Live Free or Die?
easy
New Hampshire
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Free_or_Die?oldid=1365755949
Plan the round and team scores
8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.
60
These are adjustable house rules. Pause whenever the group needs more time.
Team 1: 0
Team 2: 0
Use this set with a group
Read a prompt, allow thinking time, then invite an answer or a pass. For a timed round, choose a turn length before starting. A host can keep the printed answers out of view until the round ends.