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60 hard trivia questions

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60 questions · Hard trivia questions · answers included

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Hard trivia questions

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Space shows the answer, then the next card. Arrow keys move. With scores on, keys 1 to 6 add a team point. F fills the screen. Escape closes play.

History

  1. 1

    During which dynasty of ancient Egypt were the pyramids at Giza built?

    hard

    Answer

    The Fourth Dynasty

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

  2. 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. 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. 4

    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. 5

    Who joined the Ghostbusters as their fourth member?

    hard

    Answer

    Winston Zeddemore

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

  3. 6

    At the end of Casablanca, Rick puts Ilsa on a plane to which city?

    hard

    Answer

    Lisbon

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

  4. 7

    The Jazz Singer (1927) was the first feature-length film with what?

    hard

    Answer

    Synchronized recorded music and lip-synchronous singing and speech

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

Music

  1. 8

    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. 9

    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. 10

    What is a short musical phrase called that returns with a particular character, place or idea?

    hard

    Answer

    A leitmotif

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

  4. 11

    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. 12

    Which country hosted and won the first FIFA World Cup?

    hard

    Answer

    Uruguay

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_FIFA_World_Cup?oldid=1365518068

  2. 13

    In which year was the America’s Cup sailing race first held?

    hard

    Answer

    1851, around the Isle of Wight

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America's_Cup?oldid=1360042767#History

  3. 14

    Which country won the first Rugby World Cup in 1987?

    hard

    Answer

    New Zealand

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987_Rugby_World_Cup?oldid=1364982692

Food and drink

  1. 15

    Which French cooking term means everything in its place?

    hard

    Answer

    Mise en place

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_place?oldid=1354582677

  2. 16

    How does ceviche change raw fish without heat?

    hard

    Answer

    Citric acid

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceviche?oldid=1364127418#Preparation_and_variants

  3. 17

    What creates the holes in Swiss-type cheeses such as Emmental?

    hard

    Answer

    Dust from hay

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss-type_cheeses?oldid=1357036117#Cheesemaking

Animals and nature

  1. 18

    Is a camel's hump full of water?

    hard

    Answer

    No: a series of physiological adaptations, not a water tank, lets camels go long periods without water

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel?oldid=1365443029#Ecological_and_behavioral_adaptations

  2. 19

    What kind of organism is a lichen?

    hard

    Answer

    A composite organism

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichen?oldid=1365018936#Symbiotic_relation

  3. 20

    Which bird has the greatest wingspan among living birds?

    hard

    Answer

    The snowy albatross

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_albatross?oldid=1360252723#Size

  4. 21

    What is the camouflage called when an animal is darker on top and lighter underneath?

    hard

    Answer

    Countershading

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countershading?oldid=1352876025

Space and astronomy

  1. 22

    Astronauts in orbit still feel Earth's gravity. Why do they float?

    hard

    Answer

    They are in free fall, falling around Earth together with their craft

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weightlessness?oldid=1362025557#Weightlessness_in_Newtonian_mechanics

  2. 23

    How many people have walked on the Moon?

    hard

    Answer

    Twelve

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Apollo_astronauts?oldid=1365496880#Apollo_astronauts_who_walked_on_the_Moon

  3. 24

    What are stars like the Sun expected to become later in their evolution?

    hard

    Answer

    White dwarf stars

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_dwarf?oldid=1366046603

  4. 25

    What happens to a moon held together only by its own gravity if it strays inside its planet's Roche limit?

    hard

    Answer

    It will disintegrate, torn apart by the planet's tidal forces

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roche_limit?oldid=1357619363

  5. 26

    Measuring how much the light of distant galaxies is redshifted tells astronomers about the history of what?

    hard

    Answer

    The expansion history of the universe

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshift?oldid=1363906266#Extragalactic_observations

Language and words

  1. 27

    What process creates a verb from a noun, adjective, or other word?

    hard

    Answer

    Verbification

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_(word_formation)?oldid=1350823278#Verbification

  2. 28

    When was Esperanto created?

    hard

    Answer

    The late 1870s and early 1880s

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto?oldid=1364848530#Creation

  3. 29

    Which language family includes English, Hindi, Greek, and Spanish?

    hard

    Answer

    Indo-European

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languages?oldid=1365487373

  4. 30

    What can be created when someone mishears a poem or song and substitutes similar-sounding words?

    hard

    Answer

    Mondegreens

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen?oldid=1364231388

  5. 31

    What does the linguistic term schwa describe?

    hard

    Answer

    A reduced mid central vowel

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_central_vowel?oldid=1360793361

  6. 32

    Which change in English pronunciation is the main reason spellings often no longer match how words sound?

    hard

    Answer

    The Great Vowel Shift

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift?oldid=1360537139

Inventions and discovery

  1. 33

    At sea, which navigation problem did the marine chronometer help sailors solve?

    hard

    Answer

    Calculating longitude

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_chronometer?oldid=1347030045#History

  2. 34

    How does a gyroscope help a vehicle navigate?

    hard

    Answer

    Measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyroscope?oldid=1360681379

  3. 35

    What did Ada Lovelace describe for Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine?

    hard

    Answer

    The algorithm in Note G

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace?oldid=1360639004#First_published_computer_program

  4. 36

    What principle allows a hydraulic press to multiply force?

    hard

    Answer

    Pascal's principle

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal's_law?oldid=1363145553#Applications

  5. 37

    Why did the Haber-Bosch process transform agriculture?

    hard

    Answer

    Increase the productivity of agricultural land

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

Art

  1. 38

    What does chiaroscuro emphasize?

    hard

    Answer

    Strong contrasts between light and dark

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiaroscuro?oldid=1357000630

  2. 39

    Which 60-panel work brought Lawrence national recognition?

    hard

    Answer

    The Migration Series

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Lawrence?oldid=1364546214

  3. 40

    What is a carving called that stands out only slightly from a flat background, as on a coin?

    hard

    Answer

    A low relief, or bas-relief

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relief?oldid=1363347696#Low_relief_or_bas-relief

  4. 41

    Which Bauhaus teacher wrote Concerning the Spiritual in Art?

    hard

    Answer

    Kandinsky

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky?oldid=1362559902#Artistic_periods

Mythology

  1. 42

    Which feathered serpent deity was worshipped by the Aztecs?

    hard

    Answer

    Quetzalcoatl

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalc%C5%8D%C4%81tl?oldid=1365008648#In_Aztec_culture

  2. 43

    What did Odin sacrifice for wisdom at Mimir’s well?

    hard

    Answer

    One of his eyes

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%ADmisbrunnr?oldid=1337804880#Poetic_Edda

  3. 44

    Why did Minerva transform Arachne into a spider in Ovid’s account?

    hard

    Answer

    Out of pity

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachne?oldid=1364728712

Geography

  1. 45

    How many regions constitute Italy?

    hard

    Answer

    20 regions

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy?oldid=1365858575#Administrative_divisions

  2. 46

    How many countries does the Danube flow through or border?

    hard

    Answer

    Ten

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube?oldid=1364618141

  3. 47

    From which great African lake does the White Nile flow?

    hard

    Answer

    Lake Victoria

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Nile?oldid=1360314011#In_Uganda

  4. 48

    Which point on Earth is farthest from its center because of the equatorial bulge?

    hard

    Answer

    The summit of Chimborazo

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimborazo?oldid=1363739878#Farthest_point_from_Earth's_center

  5. 49

    The Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles link the Mediterranean to which sea?

    hard

    Answer

    The Black Sea

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Straits?oldid=1364644043

General knowledge

  1. 50

    Did SOS originally stand for a phrase?

    hard

    Answer

    Was initially not an abbreviation

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOS?oldid=1346960186

  2. 51

    Sixty seconds to a minute, 60 minutes to an hour, and 360 degrees in a circle all reflect which number base?

    hard

    Answer

    Base 60

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagesimal?oldid=1365865067

  3. 52

    Benford's law says that in many real lists of numbers, the first digit is most likely to be large or small?

    hard

    Answer

    Small (1 is the most common first digit)

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benford's_law?oldid=1363676039

Chemistry

  1. 53

    How does a catalyst change a chemical reaction?

    hard

    Answer

    An alternative reaction mechanism

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalysis?oldid=1358271976#Catalytic_reaction_mechanisms

  2. 54

    What is exchanged when a Brønsted-Lowry acid reacts with a base?

    hard

    Answer

    A proton

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%B8nsted%E2%80%93Lowry_acid%E2%80%93base_theory?oldid=1364155633

  3. 55

    How does a buffer solution respond to dilution or a small acid or base addition?

    hard

    Answer

    The pH does not change significantly

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_solution?oldid=1357017702

  4. 56

    What word describes a compound that can act both as an acid and as a base?

    hard

    Answer

    Amphoteric

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphoterism?oldid=1360318972

U.S. states

  1. 57

    What separates Michigan into two large peninsulas?

    hard

    Answer

    The Straits of Mackinac

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan?oldid=1364551699#Geography

  2. 58

    Which Minnesota lake is the headwater of the Mississippi River?

    hard

    Answer

    Lake Itasca

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Itasca?oldid=1363013883

  3. 59

    Which four states use commonwealth in their full official names?

    hard

    Answer

    Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_(U.S._state)?oldid=1364644778

  4. 60

    Which state borders Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri?

    hard

    Answer

    Tennessee

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee?oldid=1365485346

Timer 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's turn

Team Lime: 0

Team Violet: 0

Use this set with a group

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