General Knowledge

1. What is the name of the Paranoid Android in Douglas Adams’ ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’?

Marvin

2. In a standard UK Monopoly game, the green set consists of Bond Street, Regent Street and which other?

Oxford Street

3. Who created Snoopy?

Charles M. Schulz

4. What does UNESCO stand for?

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

5. After how many years would you celebrate your crystal anniversary?

15

6. Which sign of the zodiac would you be if your birthday was on the 18th October?

Libra

7. Who was the first famous non-royal to appear on a UK postage stamp?

William Shakespeare (in 1964)

8. Which birthstone is associated with the month of May?

Emerald

9. Which measurement of speed is equivalent to one nautical mile per hour?

Knot

10. Of what is semiotics the study?

Signs and symbols

1. Which actress is the now ex-wife of Tennis player John McEnroe?

Tatum O’Neal

2. The Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn are equidistant from the equator, one north and one south. How many degrees (and a half) from the equator is each one?

23 and a half degrees

3. How many main balls are there to choose from in a National Lottery Thunderball game?

39

4. What is the name of the dog in the Tintin comics?

Snowy (Milou in the original French)

5. What is the German word for the number ten?

Zehn

6. Which actress played Margaret Thatcher in the 2012 film ‘The Iron Lady’?

Meryl Streep

7. What does ‘coda’ mark, in a musical piece?

The end/closing section

8. What was the name of the Greek god of war?

Ares

9. What does the ‘AA’ stand for in A.A. Milne’s name?

Alan Alexander

10. What is the currency of Uganda?

Shilling

1. Which member of ‘The Beatles’ also produced Monty Python’s ‘Life of Brian?’

George Harrison

2. Which broadcaster published a biography of Prince Charles in 1996?

Jonathan Dimbleby

3. The month of January is named after the Roman God Janus – but what did he have two of?

Faces

4. What is the name of Larry Hagman’s mother, also famous for acting?

Mary Martin

5. Sir Paul McCartney has always been known by his middle name, but what is his real first name?

James

6. What was held at Crystal Palace in 1851?

The Great Exhibition

7. Which Portuguese explorer gave the Pacific Ocean its name?

Ferdinand Magellan

8. Which prime number is the next highest after 31?

37

9. What is the International Air Transport Association code for Gatwick airport?

LGW

10. What is the monetary unit of Brazil?

Brazilian real

1. What is the name of the German parliament building in Berlin?

The Reichstag

2. The teddy bear was named after which famous person?

Theodore Roosevelt

3. What is the name for a triangle which has three sides of differing lengths?

Scalene

4. How many films are there in the ‘Harry Potter’ series?

8

5. The air we breathe contains numerous elements; which gas is there most of?

Nitrogen

6. Which car logo consists of 3 diamonds which meet in the middle?

Mitsubishi

7. Who wrote the original Mr Men books?

Roger Hargreaves

8. What is the capital of Iceland?

Reykjavik

9. What are the first names of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

Henry (Jekyll) and Edward (Hyde)

10. Name 3 James Bond films which have a title consisting of only one word.

Any three of ‘Octopussy’, ‘Moonraker’, ‘Thunderball’, ‘Goldeneye’, ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘Skyfall’.

1. What can be both a type of monkey and a type of blood?

Rhesus

2. Homerton is a College of which university?

Cambridge

3. How many legs do butterflies have?

6

4. Which country was originally scheduled to host the 1940 summer Olympics, before its cancellation due to the outbreak of the Second World War?

Japan (The games were originally scheduled to be held in Tokyo, they were then changed to Helsinki, and then cancelled due to the war)

5. What is the capital city of Croatia?

Zagreb

6. What is stored in a Bodega?

Sherry

7. The lotus is the national flower of which country?

India

8. Who released the single ‘Stars over 45’ in 1981?

Chas n’ Dave

9. How many sides are there on a dodecahedron?

12

10. What is the correct collective noun for a group of gorillas?

A band

General Knowledge Quiz Questions and Answers

1. ‘People’s car’ is the literal translation of which brand?

Volkswagen

2. In the nursery rhyme ‘Baa baa black sheep’, who were the three bags full of wool for?

‘The master’, ‘the dame’ and ‘the little boy who lives down the lane’.

3. Which word means ‘idiot’ in both Spanish and Italian and was also the name of a famous sidekick?

Tonto

4. Who wrote ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’?

Tennessee Williams

5. What name was taken by Cardinal Joseph Sarto when he became pope?

Pius X

6. The coins of which country are inscribed with the word ‘Helvetia’?

Switzerland

7. ‘Myopia’ is a condition that affects which part of the body?

The eyes

8. What is the national animal of Mauritius?

The dodo

9. What colour is octopus blood?

blue

10. Who was the President of the USA during World War One?

Woodrow Wilson

To download the General Knowledge quiz questions and answers as a PDF question paper for contestants (questions therefore do not need to be read aloud), please click on the link below:

Free General Knowledge Quiz

1. In what year did the London Underground first open?

1863

2. Which actor played James Bond in the 1983 film Octopussy?

Roger Moore

3. What colour is the circle on the Japanese flag?

Red

4. Which planet in our solar system is the biggest?

Jupiter

5. Which actress played Isobel Crawley in the TV series Downton Abbey?

Penelope Wilton

6. Which band has released albums entitled ‘Pablo Honey’ and ‘OK Computer’?

Radiohead

7. Who is CEO and founder of Facebook?

Mark Zuckerberg

8. What is the common name for ascorbic acid?

Vitamin C

9. How many spots are there in total on two dice?

42

 10. What was the name of the cat at 10 Downing Street between 1989 and 1997?

Humphrey

To download the free general knowledge quiz as a contestant question paper (questions therefore do not need to be read aloud), please click on the link below:

1. What colour is zero on a roulette wheel?

Green

2. Which football team are known as the Sky Blues?

Coventry City

3. From which English port did the Titanic set sail on April 10th 1912?

Southampton

4. In Douglas Adams’s book ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy’, what is the answer to the universal question of life, the universe and everything?

42

5. What star sign would you be if you were born on the 1st of May?

Taurus

6. In the film ‘The Sound of Music’, what was the name of the eldest Von Trapp child?

Liesl

7. What is the capital city of Peru?

Lima

8. Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of what?

The number 13

9. What do the Americans call candy floss?

Cotton Candy

10. What colour were ET’s eyes?

blue

1. In maths, what is 4 cubed?

64

2. Who is attributed with the quote “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

Dolly Parton

3. In computing, what does HTML stand for?

Hyper Text Mark Up Language

4. Who wrote the original book of Jurassic Park?

Michael Crichton

5. What are the first five books of the Old Testament collectively called?

The Pentateuch

6. What is the common name for ascorbic acid?

Vitamin C

7. Who won the football World Cup in 1998?

France

8. Who made the catchphrase ‘correctomundo’ famous?

Henry Winkler as ‘The Fonz’ on the TV show Happy Days

9. In which US state was George Michael charged with ‘Lewd Behaviour’ in 1998?

California

10. Which singer’s real name is Vincent Damon Furnier?

Alice Cooper