50 Surprising Pieces of Pub Trivia

Looking to host a pub trivia night with a great balance of accessible and obscure questions? This collection of 50 surprising, fact-checked, trivia questions and answers covers a wide range of topics to keep teams engaged and challenged. Whether you’re a quizmaster or a trivia lover, this set will entertain and stump in equal measure. Feel free to mix and match as necessary, to keep the night entertaining. Best of luck!

General Knowledge

Q: What is the only country that is also a continent?
A: Australia
Q: What is the capital of Canada?
A: Ottawa
Q: What is the rarest blood type?
A: AB negative
Q: In what year did the Berlin Wall fall?
A: 1989
Q: What is the smallest country in the world by land area?
A: Vatican City

History

Q: Which U.S. president was in office during the moon landing in 1969?
A: Richard Nixon
Q: What was the name of the ship on which the Pilgrims traveled to North America in 1620?
A: Mayflower
Q: Who was the British Prime Minister before Winston Churchill?
A: Neville Chamberlain
Q: What year did the Titanic sink?
A: 1912
Q: Who was the first Emperor of a unified China?
A: Qin Shi Huang

Pop Culture

Q: Which artist painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?
A: Michelangelo
Q: What is the name of the fictional town in Stranger Things?
A: Hawkins
Q: Who won the first season of Australian Idol?
A: Guy Sebastian
Q: What year was Star Wars: A New Hope released?
A: 1977
Q: Which Beatle was barefoot on the Abbey Road album cover?
A: Paul McCartney

Science & Nature

Q: What planet is known as the Morning Star?
A: Venus
Q: How many bones are there in the adult human body?
A: 206
Q: What gas do plants absorb from the atmosphere?
A: Carbon dioxide
Q: Which part of the brain is responsible for regulating breathing and heart rate?
A: Brainstem
Q: What element has the atomic number 1?
A: Hydrogen

Geography

Q: Which river is the longest in South America?
A: Amazon River
Q: What is the capital of Iceland?
A: Reykjavik
Q: Mount Kilimanjaro is located in which country?
A: Tanzania
Q: Which country has the most natural lakes?
A: Canada
Q: Which U.S. state is closest to Africa?
A: Maine

Sport

Q: Who has won the most men’s Grand Slam tennis titles?
A: Novak Djokovic
Q: Which country won the first FIFA World Cup in 1930?
A: Uruguay
Q: What year did Cathy Freeman win Olympic gold?
A: 2000
Q: How many players are there on a rugby union team?
A: 15
Q: Which country hosts the Tour de France?
A: France

Literature

Q: Who wrote Pride and Prejudice?
A: Jane Austen
Q: What is the name of the wizarding school in Harry Potter?
A: Hogwarts
Q: What is the first book of the Bible?
A: Genesis
Q: Who wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray?
A: Oscar Wilde
Q: Which Shakespeare play features the line “To be or not to be”?
A: Hamlet

Food & Drink

Q: What is the main ingredient in traditional Japanese miso soup?
A: Fermented soybean paste
Q: Which fruit has its seeds on the outside?
A: Strawberry
Q: Which alcoholic spirit is made from juniper berries?
A: Gin
Q: What country is the origin of brie cheese?
A: France
Q: What’s the traditional spirit in a mojito cocktail?
A: White rum

Film & TV

Q: Who directed Jaws?
A: Steven Spielberg
Q: What is the name of the motel in Psycho?
A: Bates Motel
Q: Who played Jack Dawson in Titanic?
A: Leonardo DiCaprio
Q: What was the first full-length animated feature film?
A: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Q: What 2023 film won the Best Picture Oscar?
A: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Obscure & Oddball

Q: What large, grey animal cannot jump?
A: Elephant
Q: What is the collective noun for a group of flamingos?
A: A flamboyance
Q: In what year was the barcode invented?
A: 1952
Q: What was the first video game character to have a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
A: Sonic the Hedgehog
Q: How long is an Olympic swimming pool?
A: 50 metres

Best of luck hosting your trivia night – may it be filled with laughs, friendly rivalries, and a few pleasantly tricky questions to keep everyone on their toes!