Sample pickOn which date did the United Kingdom leave the European Union?
Trivia Questions for Gen Z on the Years They Grew Up In: how it works
You were there for the dress, the ice buckets and the plastic horns of 2010. How much of it stuck? These 100 trivia questions for gen z run from 2005 to 2020: phones and the internet, fads, world events, space news and sport. Tap a choice, press Check answer, and the card names the article the fact was checked on.
Solo, or out loud with friends
Alone, stay in Practice mode: choose a Topic, tap a choice, press Check answer, then Next question. Missed keeps the ones to retry. With friends, one phone reads aloud and teams shout before anyone taps. For a scored round, Exam mode asks 20 questions and totals them by topic, which settles who really remembers 2014. Question of the day hands the group chat one to argue over.
Five topics, 20 questions each
Phones and the internet asks what GIF stands for, which emoji became a word of the year and what two pizzas have to do with digital money. Fads, words and everyday life has the dab, planking, the plastic five pound note and the leap second of 2016. World events runs from Montenegro's independence to the Brexit date. Science has the Pluto flyby and the first black hole image. Sport has the 7-1 semi-final and a tied cricket final.
Tips
Mixed ages in the room? Open with Fads, words and everyday life. Parents remember the ice buckets too, and nobody needs a physics degree.
Most questions give the year and ask for the place, the name or the score, so read the whole card aloud.
For a pub-style night, Print question sheet gives 20 questions with lettered choices. Keep Print answer key face down until the round ends.
Questions and answers
Why are there no questions about shows, songs or apps?
On purpose. Every question is about an event, an invention, a word or a result, so nothing depends on which series you watched or which phone you owned. The era still shows: selfies, hashtags, fidget spinners and hoverboards are here as words and objects.
Will the answers go out of date?
They should not. Record holders, tallest and longest titles and newest models were left out. Each question asks about a dated event, like the day the United Kingdom left the European Union, or a definition, like what NFC stands for. The pack is reread against its sources once a year.
Where do the answers come from?
Each answer was checked on September 19, 2026 against the English Wikipedia article linked under it, by reading the sentence that states the fact. Soccer tournaments carry their official titles in those links only. Levels are an editor's call: 28 easy, 56 medium and 16 hard.
A standard text message has a limit of how many characters?Wikipedia: Text messaging
The first known written use of the word selfie appeared in 2002 on an internet forum in which country?Wikipedia: Selfie
The first publicly available LTE mobile service launched on December 14, 2009 in which two cities?Wikipedia: LTE (telecommunication)
In which year did full-power analog television broadcasting end in most of the United States?Wikipedia: Digital television transition in the United States
In which year was the use of hashtags first proposed, in a short post on a microblogging site?Wikipedia: Hashtag
In which year was the word meme coined, long before internet memes?Wikipedia: Meme
Oxford Dictionaries chose an emoji as its Word of the Year for 2015. Which one?Wikipedia: Face with Tears of Joy emoji
Tapping a phone or card to pay often uses NFC. What does NFC stand for?Wikipedia: Contactless payment
Two-factor authentication asks for two different kinds of evidence. Which pair fits?Wikipedia: Multi-factor authentication
What do the letters GIF stand for?Wikipedia: GIF
What does ransomware do?Wikipedia: Ransomware
What does the G in 4G stand for?Wikipedia: 4G
What is the name for the word or phrase that switches on a voice assistant?Wikipedia: Virtual assistant
What kind of screen gives many e-readers a battery life of several weeks?Wikipedia: E-reader
What was bought in the first known commercial transaction using bitcoin, on 22 May 2010?Wikipedia: Bitcoin
Which name for the # symbol was invented by workers at a telephone laboratory by 1968?Wikipedia: Number sign
Which piece of internet slang did the Oxford English Dictionary first list in March 2011?Wikipedia: LOL
Which technology overlays computer graphics onto a view of the real world?Wikipedia: Augmented reality
Which word did the Oxford English Dictionary announce as its word of the year in November 2013?Wikipedia: Selfie
The word emoji comes from Japanese. What did it originally mean?Wikipedia: Emoji
Fads, words and everyday life 20
A self-balancing scooter with two motorized wheels is better known by which name?Wikipedia: Self-balancing scooter
A transit of Venus across the Sun was seen in June 2012. In which year is the next one due?Wikipedia: Transit of Venus
Canada stopped minting which coin in 2012?Wikipedia: Penny (Canadian coin)
The dab, a move that became a fad in the mid-2010s, looks like a person doing what?Wikipedia: Dab (dance)
Generation Z is typically defined as people born from 1997 to which year?Wikipedia: Generation Z
The Ice Bucket Challenge went viral in July and August 2014. Which disease did it raise money to fight?Wikipedia: Ice Bucket Challenge
In 2015 the internet argued over a photo of a dress. Some people saw blue and black. What did the others see?Wikipedia: The dress
In drone racing, what do pilots often wear to see the live view from the drone's camera?Wikipedia: Drone racing
In September 2016 the Bank of England introduced a five pound note made of what?Wikipedia: Bank of England £5 note
On 31 December 2016, official clocks around the world gained one extra what?Wikipedia: Leap second
Since 2007, daylight saving time in the United States has begun on which day?Wikipedia: Daylight saving time in the United States
Some people believed great events would occur on 21 December 2012. Which calendar's long cycle ended that day?Wikipedia: 2012 phenomenon
What did people do in the Mannequin Challenge videos of November 2016?Wikipedia: Mannequin Challenge
What is a supermoon?Wikipedia: Supermoon
What is the fad called planking?Wikipedia: Planking (fad)
What is the informal nickname for members of Generation Z?Wikipedia: Generation Z
What is the name of the generation that follows Generation Z?Wikipedia: Generation Alpha
Which country first issued modern polymer banknotes, in 1988?Wikipedia: Polymer banknote
Which everyday word did the American Dialect Society choose as its word of the year for 2010?Wikipedia: Word of the year
Which spinning toy rose to widespread popularity in 2017?Wikipedia: Fidget spinner
World events, 2005 to 2020 20
At the end of 2011 Samoa moved to the other side of the International Date Line. Which day did it skip?Wikipedia: Samoa
Before its inauguration, the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai was known by which name?Wikipedia: Burj Khalifa
The Gotthard Base Tunnel, a railway tunnel opened in June 2016, runs under which mountain range?Wikipedia: Gotthard Base Tunnel
In 2010 eruptions of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull disrupted air travel across Western Europe. In which country is it?Wikipedia: 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull
In 2010, 33 miners were trapped 700 metres underground in Chile. After how many days were they all rescued?Wikipedia: 2010 Copiapó mining accident
In 2013 Benedict XVI became the first pope to give up the office since Gregory XII did so in which year?Wikipedia: Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI
In 2018 twelve boys from a junior football team and their assistant coach were rescued from a flooded cave in which country?Wikipedia: Tham Luang cave rescue
In November 2005 which city replaced Yangon as the administrative capital of Myanmar?Wikipedia: Naypyidaw
In the referendum of 18 September 2014, what did voters in Scotland decide?Wikipedia: 2014 Scottish independence referendum
On which date did the United Kingdom leave the European Union?Wikipedia: Brexit
The Paris Agreement, negotiated in 2015, aims to hold the rise in global temperature to well below how many degrees Celsius?Wikipedia: Paris Agreement
Pope Francis, elected in March 2013, was the first pope from which part of the world?Wikipedia: Pope Francis
Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 marked how many years on the throne?Wikipedia: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II
Swaziland changed its official name in April 2018. What is the country called now?Wikipedia: Eswatini
Under the Prespa agreement of June 2018, which country added the word North to its name?Wikipedia: North Macedonia
Which country became independent on 9 July 2011, with Juba as its capital?Wikipedia: South Sudan
Which country became the 28th member state of the European Union on 1 July 2013?Wikipedia: 2013 enlargement of the European Union
Which country declared independence in June 2006 after a referendum, leaving its federation with Serbia?Wikipedia: Montenegro
Which part of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris was destroyed in the fire of 15 April 2019?Wikipedia: Notre-Dame fire
Which short English name for the Czech Republic is registered at the United Nations?Wikipedia: Name of the Czech Republic
Science and space news 20
The 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics honored work on graphene, which was first isolated using graphite and which everyday item?Wikipedia: Graphene
The first gravitational waves ever observed, in September 2015, came from the merger of two what?Wikipedia: First observation of gravitational waves
Fossils of the human relative Homo naledi were discovered in 2013 in a cave system in which country?Wikipedia: Homo naledi
How did the Cassini mission at Saturn end on September 15, 2017?Wikipedia: Cassini–Huygens
In April 2019 astronomers published the first image of a black hole. At the center of which galaxy does it sit?Wikipedia: Event Horizon Telescope
In January 2019 China's Chang'e 4 became the first spacecraft to make a soft landing where?Wikipedia: Chang'e 4
In March 2011 the MESSENGER probe became the first spacecraft to orbit which planet?Wikipedia: MESSENGER
In November 2014 the lander Philae made the first successful landing on what kind of body?Wikipedia: Philae (spacecraft)
In which crater on Mars did the Curiosity rover land in August 2012?Wikipedia: Curiosity (rover)
The Kepler space telescope was launched in 2009 to discover what?Wikipedia: Kepler space telescope
The Large Hadron Collider lies in a 27 km ring tunnel beneath the border between France and which country?Wikipedia: Large Hadron Collider
On 4 July 2012 physicists announced the discovery of a new particle. Which long-sought particle did they suspect it was?Wikipedia: Higgs boson
On August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse crossed which country from its Pacific coast to its Atlantic coast?Wikipedia: Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017
Oumuamua, detected in 2017, was the first confirmed object of which kind seen passing through the Solar System?Wikipedia: 1I/ʻOumuamua
Since 20 May 2019 the kilogram has been defined by fixing the value of which constant?Wikipedia: 2019 revision of the SI
Which dwarf planet, discovered in January 2005, is named after the Greek goddess of strife and discord?Wikipedia: Eris (dwarf planet)
Which element, named in 2016, takes its name from the common Japanese name for Japan?Wikipedia: Nihonium
Which genome editing technique was recognized by the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020?Wikipedia: CRISPR
Which space shuttle flew the final mission of the Space Shuttle program in July 2011?Wikipedia: STS-135
Which spacecraft flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015?Wikipedia: New Horizons
Sport, 2006 to 2021 20
The 2019 Cricket World Cup final was tied, and so was the Super Over. Which rule gave England the title?Wikipedia: 2019 Cricket World Cup
At the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, which two nations paraded together?Wikipedia: 2018 Winter Olympics
France won the 2018 men's soccer World Cup final 4-2 in Moscow. Which team did they beat?Wikipedia: 2018 FIFA World Cup
Golf returned to the Olympic Games in 2016. In which year had it last been played there?Wikipedia: Golf at the Summer Olympics
In 2010 which country became the first African nation to host the men's soccer World Cup?Wikipedia: 2010 FIFA World Cup
In 2012 London became the first city to host the modern Olympics three times. In which years did it host before?Wikipedia: 2012 Summer Olympics
In 2016 which city hosted the first Olympic Games held in South America?Wikipedia: 2016 Summer Olympics
In 2019 the Rugby World Cup was held in Asia for the first time. Which country hosted it?Wikipedia: 2019 Rugby World Cup
In a 2014 men's soccer World Cup semi-final, host nation Brazil lost to Germany by which score?Wikipedia: 2014 FIFA World Cup
In soccer, what do the letters VAR stand for?Wikipedia: Video assistant referee
India won the 2011 Cricket World Cup final by six wickets. Which team did they beat?Wikipedia: 2011 Cricket World Cup
New Zealand hosted the 2011 Rugby World Cup and won the final 8-7. Which team did they beat?Wikipedia: 2011 Rugby World Cup
Rugby sevens was first played at the Olympic Games in 2016. Which country won the first men's tournament?Wikipedia: Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics
The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In which year were they held?Wikipedia: 2020 Summer Olympics
Under which flag did the Refugee Olympic Team compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics?Wikipedia: Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics
What was installed over Wimbledon's Centre Court in 2009 so that play could continue during rain?Wikipedia: Centre Court
Which long horn did fans blow throughout matches at the 2010 men's soccer World Cup?Wikipedia: 2010 FIFA World Cup
Which sport held women's events at the Olympic Games for the first time in London in 2012?Wikipedia: 2012 Summer Olympics
Which team won its first men's soccer World Cup in 2010, beating the Netherlands 1-0 after extra time?Wikipedia: 2010 FIFA World Cup
Which team won the 2011 women's soccer World Cup on penalties, becoming the first Asian team to win a senior soccer World Cup?Wikipedia: 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup
How this list was compiled: Written for this site by the editors; nothing was copied from another list. Every question, wrong choice and explanation is our own wording. Each answer was checked on 2026-09-19 against the English Wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org) named and linked beside the question: the article text was fetched that day and the sentence that states the fact was read before the question was kept. Every extra claim in an explanation was checked the same way, and each question carries its own checkedOn date. The pack covers roughly 2005 to 2020, the years most of Generation Z grew up in, plus the 2021 date of the postponed Tokyo Games. Left out on purpose: shows, songs, films, games, apps, phone makers, social networks and every other brand name; athletes, founders, scientists and other living people by name; and anything that goes stale, such as record holders, tallest and longest titles, latest models, counts of known planets and populations. Each question asks about a dated event or a definition that will still be true next year. Soccer questions say men's or women's soccer World Cup; the source articles carry the tournaments' official titles, which appear only in the source line. Heavy news was kept out because this pack is read aloud at parties: no questions on attacks, wars, earthquakes or storms. The mine and cave questions are about rescues in which everyone trapped came out alive. The pack is reviewed once a year, and the checked date on this file is the date of the last full read. Levels are an editor's judgment for a table of teens and twenty-somethings: easy is common knowledge, hard is for the person who reads the whole article. Licence: own work