MadBright
Search games/

Games and printables

Find a game

See every game

60 hard trivia questions

Reveal an answer when you are ready. Print this selection with every answer and its source.

Updated · 60 questions

60 questions · Hard trivia questions · answers included

Hard trivia questions

Choose a score button to add a point. Scores last for this page visit.

Space shows the answer. Arrow keys move. Keys 1 to 6 add a team point. F fills the screen. Escape closes play.

DifficultyWhat the difficulty bands mean

Showing 60 of 60

History

  1. During which dynasty were the pyramids at Giza built?

    hard

    Answer

    The Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giza_pyramid_complex?oldid=1365733545

  2. What numbered amendment gave women the right to vote across the United States?

    hard

    Answer

    The Nineteenth Amendment

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution?oldid=1358314605

  3. Who became the first female Olympic victor as a chariot owner?

    hard

    Answer

    Cynisca

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Olympic_Games?oldid=1361027575#Equestrian_events

Film and television

  1. When was Frozen released theatrically in the United States?

    hard

    Answer

    November 27, 2013

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frozen_(2013_film)?oldid=1365745263#Release

  2. Who joined the Ghostbusters as their fourth member?

    hard

    Answer

    Winston Zeddemore

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters?oldid=1365340202#Plot

  3. Where does Rick make Ilsa board a plane with Laszlo?

    hard

    Answer

    Lisbon

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca_(film)?oldid=1364297980#Plot

  4. What sound-film first is The Jazz Singer known for?

    hard

    Answer

    The first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music and lip-synchronous singing and speech

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jazz_Singer?oldid=1363547582

Music

  1. When did five-line musical staves appear in Italy?

    hard

    Answer

    The 13th century

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staff_(music)?oldid=1365949333#History

  2. Where does the direction da capo tell a performer to resume?

    hard

    Answer

    From the beginning

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_capo?oldid=1250876939

  3. What is a leitmotif in film or opera music?

    hard

    Answer

    Short, recurring musical phrase

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitmotif?oldid=1365638282

  4. What musical term means a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in one voice?

    hard

    Answer

    Ostinato

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostinato?oldid=1354202678

Sport

  1. In which lane does Franklin Field achieve the 400 metre distance?

    hard

    Answer

    Lane 4

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_track?oldid=1308237043#Measurement_of_a_track

  2. How many strokes under par is an albatross on a par-five hole?

    hard

    Answer

    Three strokes fewer than par

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Par_(score)?oldid=1341770659#Albatross

  3. Why is the boxing area called a ring even though it is square?

    hard

    Answer

    Contests were fought in a roughly drawn circle on the ground

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_ring?oldid=1363976079#History_and_terminology

Food and drink

  1. By the 1800s, what drink had changed from an elite indulgence to one for the masses?

    hard

    Answer

    Coffee

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_coffee?oldid=1364415380#Production

  2. Which bean is used in traditional refried beans?

    hard

    Answer

    Pinto beans

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refried_beans?oldid=1356790857#Ingredients_and_preparation

  3. What does a Mexican mole sauce generally contain?

    hard

    Answer

    Fruits, nuts, chili peppers, and spices

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_(sauce)?oldid=1361623825

Animals and nature

  1. Which rainforest layer contains trees that grow above the general canopy?

    hard

    Answer

    The emergent layer

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainforest?oldid=1351535519#Emergent_layer

  2. What is one hypothesized cue sea turtles use to find their hatching region?

    hard

    Answer

    The Earth's magnetic field

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_turtle_migration?oldid=1344243328

  3. How can wood frogs survive partial freezing in winter?

    hard

    Answer

    Urea and glucose act as cryoprotectants

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_frog?oldid=1351167031#Cold_tolerance

  4. Where do migratory monarchs originate?

    hard

    Answer

    Southern Canada and the northern United States

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly_migration?oldid=1364460333

  5. When do plants using CAM open their stomata?

    hard

    Answer

    At night, when temperatures are low

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crassulacean_acid_metabolism?oldid=1362788518#Biochemistry

Space and astronomy

  1. What links Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto?

    hard

    Answer

    The four largest moons of Jupiter

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galilean_moons?oldid=1359245208

  2. What is the nearest point in an orbit around Earth called?

    hard

    Answer

    Perigee

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apsis?oldid=1365739280

  3. Which moon has an atmosphere made mainly of nitrogen and methane?

    hard

    Answer

    Titan

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_(moon)?oldid=1364908527

  4. What is the cosmic microwave background?

    hard

    Answer

    Microwave radiation that fills all space in the observable universe

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_microwave_background?oldid=1365825568

  5. Why does a neutron star resist collapse under ordinary conditions?

    hard

    Answer

    A combination of strong force repulsion and neutron degeneracy pressure

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_star?oldid=1365590699#Formation

Language and words

  1. Which Romance language belongs to the Indo-European family?

    hard

    Answer

    French

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language?oldid=1365270290#History

  2. What is the smallest meaningful unit in language?

    hard

    Answer

    A morpheme

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morpheme?oldid=1357066498#Changing_definitions

  3. How does an abjad differ from an alphabet?

    hard

    Answer

    Only consonants are represented by letter signs

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abjad?oldid=1365309583

  4. Which sound change swaps sounds within a word, as in ask becoming aks?

    hard

    Answer

    Metathesis

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metathesis_(linguistics)?oldid=1363267691

  5. What is reduplication in word formation?

    hard

    Answer

    A morphological process in which the root or stem of a word, part of that, or the whole word is repeated exactly or with a slight change

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduplication?oldid=1365132222

Inventions and discovery

  1. Which engineer’s improved engine used a separate condenser to save fuel?

    hard

    Answer

    Watt

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Watt?oldid=1364471942

  2. Which physicist shared the 1903 Nobel Prize for discovering radioactivity?

    hard

    Answer

    Henri Becquerel

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Becquerel?oldid=1361409560

  3. What kind of traffic signal did Garrett Morgan design?

    hard

    Answer

    A manually operated traffic signal

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrett_Morgan?oldid=1361168428#Traffic_signal

  4. What was the first synthetic plastic called?

    hard

    Answer

    Bakelite

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakelite?oldid=1365791986

  5. Which two inventors independently created the first AC commutator-free polyphase induction motors?

    hard

    Answer

    Galileo Ferraris and Nikola Tesla

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_motor?oldid=1357672203#History

Art

  1. What type of paint uses egg yolk as a traditional binder?

    hard

    Answer

    Egg tempera

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempera?oldid=1360385238

  2. Why does watercolor paint look transparent on paper?

    hard

    Answer

    The paper being visible between the particles

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watercolor_painting?oldid=1362548745#Transparency

  3. Which architect designed the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao?

    hard

    Answer

    Frank Gehry

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guggenheim_Museum_Bilbao?oldid=1363487739#Architecture

  4. How is a figure’s weight distributed in contrapposto?

    hard

    Answer

    Most of its weight on one foot

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrapposto?oldid=1365307695

Mythology

  1. Which Japanese sun goddess hid in a cave?

    hard

    Answer

    Amaterasu

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaterasu?oldid=1357168278#The_Heavenly_Rock_Cave

  2. Who also ferried the living mortals Heracles and Aeneas to the underworld and back?

    hard

    Answer

    Charon

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charon?oldid=1363472473

  3. In Irish mythology, how is Cú Chulainn’s battle state described?

    hard

    Answer

    Terrifying battle frenzy

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%BA_Chulainn?oldid=1361809919

  4. Which Egyptian god guides the weighing of a heart against a feather?

    hard

    Answer

    Anubis

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weighing_of_souls?oldid=1356649228#Ancient_Egyptian_religion

Geography

  1. How does the length of a degree of longitude change toward the poles?

    hard

    Answer

    The length of a degree of longitude decreases

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude?oldid=1365130151#Length_of_a_degree_of_longitude

  2. Which two countries have traditionally used the 1,668 mm Iberian railway gauge?

    hard

    Answer

    Spain and Portugal

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_Peninsula?oldid=1364035765#Transportation

  3. What is an exclave?

    hard

    Answer

    A portion of a state or district geographically separated from the main part

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enclave_and_exclave?oldid=1361617927

  4. How is an atoll typically formed?

    hard

    Answer

    The sinking of a volcanic island around which a coral fringing reef has formed

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atoll?oldid=1359424551

General knowledge

  1. Why does a mirror reverse left and right only in the way we describe it?

    hard

    Answer

    The third axis (front-back) is reversed

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_image?oldid=1341408793#In_three_dimensions

  2. How does sepia toning change metallic silver?

    hard

    Answer

    The metallic silver in the print is converted to a sulfide compound

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_print_toning?oldid=1359369026#Sepia_toning

  3. Who invented the equals sign in 1557?

    hard

    Answer

    The Welsh mathematician Robert Recorde

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equals_sign?oldid=1365057023

Chemistry

  1. Which element has a form that becomes ferromagnetic below its Curie point?

    hard

    Answer

    Iron

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron?oldid=1364467036#Magnetic_properties

  2. How many elementary entities are in one mole?

    hard

    Answer

    6.02214076×10^23 elementary entities

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_(unit)?oldid=1363520051

  3. What is the solid formed during precipitation called?

    hard

    Answer

    The precipitate

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precipitation_(chemistry)?oldid=1349299573

  4. What chemical does the Haber process produce industrially?

    hard

    Answer

    Ammonia

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haber_process?oldid=1352979226

U.S. states

  1. Which four states meet at the Four Corners?

    hard

    Answer

    Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Corners?oldid=1358355445#Politics

  2. Which state's legislature is the only unicameral one in the United States?

    hard

    Answer

    The Nebraska Legislature

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_Legislature?oldid=1356932612

  3. How is Alaska divided at county-equivalent level?

    hard

    Answer

    19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_boroughs_and_census_areas_in_Alaska?oldid=1353103607

  4. How did Arkansas's legislature say the final s in the state's name should be pronounced?

    hard

    Answer

    The final "s" be silent

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas?oldid=1364444540

Plan the round and team scores

8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.

60

Pause whenever the group needs more time.

Team Lime is acting

Team Lime: 0

Team Violet: 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.