At a drive-in restaurant, what did a carhop do?Answer: Brought food out to customers in their cars. Source: Wikipedia: Carhop
Before electric refrigerators, what kept food cold in a kitchen icebox?Answer: A large block of ice. Source: Wikipedia: Icebox
Before photocopiers, what did a typist slip between two sheets to make a copy?Answer: Carbon paper. Source: Wikipedia: Carbon paper
The British designer Mary Quant is most closely linked with which 1960s fashion?Answer: The miniskirt. Source: Wikipedia: Mary Quant
During World War II, what did Americans call year-round daylight saving time?Answer: War Time. Source: Wikipedia: Daylight saving time in the United States
During World War II, what was a 'victory garden'?Answer: A home vegetable plot. Source: Wikipedia: Victory garden
In Cold War civil defense drills, which three words told Americans how to shelter from an atomic blast?Answer: Duck and cover. Source: Wikipedia: Duck and cover
In the citizens band radio craze of the 1970s, what did '10-4' mean?Answer: Message understood. Source: Wikipedia: Ten-code
In what decade did the United States Post Office introduce ZIP codes?Answer: The 1960s. Source: Wikipedia: ZIP Code
The mood ring was a fad of 1975. What actually made its stone change color?Answer: The temperature of your finger. Source: Wikipedia: Mood ring
On a 1950s television set, what were 'rabbit ears'?Answer: The indoor antenna. Source: Wikipedia: Television antenna
On a telephone 'party line', what did neighbors share?Answer: The same phone line. Source: Wikipedia: Party line (telephony)
On an old washing machine, what was the wringer for?Answer: Squeezing water out of wet laundry. Source: Wikipedia: Mangle (machine)
Rosie the Riveter stood for which group of Americans in World War II?Answer: Women who worked in factories and shipyards. Source: Wikipedia: Rosie the Riveter
What did mid-century shoppers collect at the checkout, paste into saver books and trade in for goods?Answer: Trading stamps. Source: Wikipedia: Trading stamp
What name is given to the generation born from 1946 to 1964, in the years after World War II?Answer: Baby boomers. Source: Wikipedia: Baby boomers
What was 'V-mail' in World War II?Answer: Letters shrunk onto microfilm for shipping. Source: Wikipedia: V-mail
What was the first item rationed in the United States during World War II?Answer: Tires. Source: Wikipedia: Rationing in the United States
What was the job of a 'soda jerk'?Answer: Serving drinks at a soda fountain. Source: Wikipedia: Soda jerk
Which 1950s felt skirt took its name from the fluffy dog often stitched onto it?Answer: The poodle skirt. Source: Wikipedia: Poodle skirt
Which 1960s women's hairstyle piled the hair high in a rounded cone on top of the head?Answer: The beehive. Source: Wikipedia: Beehive (hairstyle)
Which bulky tape cartridge of the 1960s and 1970s ran in an endless loop and was popular in car stereos?Answer: The 8-track. Source: Wikipedia: 8-track cartridge
Which coffee pot brews by sending near-boiling water up a tube and down through the grounds, over and over?Answer: The percolator. Source: Wikipedia: Coffee percolator
Which coin-operated machine played the record you picked in a diner or soda shop?Answer: The jukebox. Source: Wikipedia: Jukebox
Which craft, a fad of the late 1960s, made bright patterns by binding cloth with string or rubber bands before coloring it?Answer: Tie-dye. Source: Wikipedia: Tie-dye
Which early 1960s dance craze had people swiveling their hips and feet on the spot?Answer: The twist. Source: Wikipedia: Twist (dance)
Which hand tool did engineers use for quick multiplication until pocket calculators replaced it in the 1970s?Answer: The slide rule. Source: Wikipedia: Slide rule
Which new synthetic fiber made stockings a sensation in 1940, then went into wartime parachutes?Answer: Nylon. Source: Wikipedia: Nylon
Which phrase went with the wartime doodle of a bald man peering over a wall?Answer: Kilroy was here. Source: Wikipedia: Kilroy was here
Which president signed the 1956 act that created the Interstate Highway System?Answer: Dwight D. Eisenhower. Source: Wikipedia: Interstate Highway System
Which tiny part, invented in 1947, replaced vacuum tubes and made pocket radios possible?Answer: The transistor. Source: Wikipedia: Transistor radio
Which trousers of the 1960s and 1970s flared out wide from the knee down?Answer: Bell-bottoms. Source: Wikipedia: Bell-bottoms
Which word is a general name for swing dancing and is often used to mean the Lindy Hop?Answer: The jitterbug. Source: Wikipedia: Jitterbug
Why did teenagers at a 1950s sock hop dance in their socks?Answer: To protect the gym floor. Source: Wikipedia: Sock hop
Why were American pennies made of steel in 1943?Answer: Copper was needed for the war. Source: Wikipedia: 1943 steel cent
Headlines of the century 35
The 1969 Woodstock music festival was held on what kind of property?Answer: A dairy farm. Source: Wikipedia: Woodstock
A famous wrong front page of November 1948 announced that Dewey had defeated which candidate?Answer: Harry S. Truman. Source: Wikipedia: Dewey Defeats Truman
The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 took place in which present-day state?Answer: Hawaii. Source: Wikipedia: Attack on Pearl Harbor
In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in which professional sport?Answer: Baseball. Source: Wikipedia: Jackie Robinson
In 1948 and 1949, how did the Western Allies supply the blockaded city of West Berlin?Answer: By air. Source: Wikipedia: Berlin Blockade
In 1954, what did the Supreme Court rule in Brown v. Board of Education?Answer: Segregated public schools were unconstitutional. Source: Wikipedia: Brown v. Board of Education
In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in which Alabama city?Answer: Montgomery. Source: Wikipedia: Rosa Parks
In 1959, Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev argued in a model American kitchen in Moscow. What was the exchange called?Answer: The Kitchen Debate. Source: Wikipedia: Kitchen Debate
In December 1968, Apollo 8 became the first crewed spacecraft to do what?Answer: Orbit the Moon. Source: Wikipedia: Apollo 8
In February 1962, John Glenn became the first American to do what?Answer: Orbit the Earth. Source: Wikipedia: John Glenn
In February 1972, Richard Nixon became the first sitting American president to visit which country?Answer: The People's Republic of China. Source: Wikipedia: 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China
In front of which Washington monument did Martin Luther King Jr. give his 'I Have a Dream' speech in 1963?Answer: The Lincoln Memorial. Source: Wikipedia: I Have a Dream
In October 1962, the world held its breath over Soviet missiles placed on which island?Answer: Cuba. Source: Wikipedia: Cuban Missile Crisis
In what year did construction of the Berlin Wall begin?Answer: 1961. Source: Wikipedia: Berlin Wall
In what year did India become independent of British rule?Answer: 1947. Source: Wikipedia: Partition of India
In which city does the United Nations have its headquarters?Answer: New York City. Source: Wikipedia: United Nations
In which London church was Queen Elizabeth II crowned in June 1953?Answer: Westminster Abbey. Source: Wikipedia: Coronation of Elizabeth II
The Korean War began in June 1950 when which country's army crossed the 38th parallel?Answer: North Korea. Source: Wikipedia: Korean War
On D-Day, June 6, 1944, Allied troops landed on the beaches of which French region?Answer: Normandy. Source: Wikipedia: Normandy landings
What did the American press call the wave of British pop groups that arrived in 1964?Answer: The British Invasion. Source: Wikipedia: British Invasion
What did V-E Day, on May 8, 1945, celebrate?Answer: Victory in Europe. Source: Wikipedia: Victory in Europe Day
What left some 30 million people in the northeastern United States and Ontario in the dark on November 9, 1965?Answer: A huge power blackout. Source: Wikipedia: Northeast blackout of 1965
What was celebrated first on April 22, 1970?Answer: Earth Day. Source: Wikipedia: Earth Day
What was Skylab, launched in 1973?Answer: The first American space station. Source: Wikipedia: Skylab
What was the Marshall Plan of 1948?Answer: American aid to rebuild Western Europe. Source: Wikipedia: Marshall Plan
When Medicare was signed into law in 1965, which former president became its first recipient, along with his wife?Answer: Harry S. Truman. Source: Wikipedia: Medicare (United States)
Where was Princess Elizabeth when she learned in 1952 that she had become queen?Answer: Kenya. Source: Wikipedia: Elizabeth II
Which 1970 Moon mission had to turn back after an oxygen tank failed on the way out?Answer: Apollo 13. Source: Wikipedia: Apollo 13
Which American space agency began work in 1958?Answer: NASA. Source: Wikipedia: NASA
Which anniversary did the United States celebrate on July 4, 1976?Answer: Its 200th birthday. Source: Wikipedia: United States Bicentennial
Which Canadian city hosted the Expo 67 world's fair during Canada's centennial year?Answer: Montreal. Source: Wikipedia: Expo 67
Which military alliance was founded in April 1949 when the North Atlantic Treaty was signed?Answer: NATO. Source: Wikipedia: NATO
Which president signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964?Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson. Source: Wikipedia: Civil Rights Act of 1964
Which San Francisco neighborhood was the center of the 1967 'Summer of Love'?Answer: Haight-Ashbury. Source: Wikipedia: Summer of Love
Which waterway opened in 1959, letting ocean ships sail from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes?Answer: The St. Lawrence Seaway. Source: Wikipedia: St. Lawrence Seaway
Famous firsts 30
Between 1895 and 1898, Joshua Slocum became the first person to do what alone?Answer: Sail around the world. Source: Wikipedia: Joshua Slocum
The first Ferris wheel was built for the 1893 World's Fair in which city?Answer: Chicago. Source: Wikipedia: Ferris Wheel (1893)
Frances Perkins, appointed in 1933, was the first woman to hold what kind of post?Answer: A seat in the president's cabinet. Source: Wikipedia: Frances Perkins
The Home Insurance Building of 1885 is often called the first skyscraper. In which city did it stand?Answer: Chicago. Source: Wikipedia: Home Insurance Building
In 1783, the French Montgolfier brothers launched the first flights of which craft?Answer: The hot air balloon. Source: Wikipedia: Montgolfier brothers
In 1925, Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first woman governor of an American state. Which one?Answer: Wyoming. Source: Wikipedia: Nellie Tayloe Ross
In 1926, Gertrude Ederle was the first woman who swam across what?Answer: The English Channel. Source: Wikipedia: Gertrude Ederle
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made the first solo nonstop flight between which two cities?Answer: New York and Paris. Source: Wikipedia: Charles Lindbergh
In 1933, New Jersey saw the opening of the first of what?Answer: Drive-in movie theater. Source: Wikipedia: Drive-in theater
In 1947, the test pilot Chuck Yeager became the first person to do what?Answer: Fly faster than sound travels. Source: Wikipedia: Chuck Yeager
In 1954, the English runner Roger Bannister became the first person to do what?Answer: Run one mile in less than four minutes. Source: Wikipedia: Roger Bannister
In 1960, which country elected the world's first woman prime minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike?Answer: Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. Source: Wikipedia: Sirimavo Bandaranaike
In 1965, the Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to do what?Answer: Walk in space. Source: Wikipedia: Alexei Leonov
In 1967, the surgeon Christiaan Barnard performed the first human-to-human transplant of which organ?Answer: The heart. Source: Wikipedia: Christiaan Barnard
In 1975, Junko Tabei of Japan became the first woman to do what?Answer: Get to the top of Mount Everest. Source: Wikipedia: Junko Tabei
Jeannette Rankin of Montana was the first woman to do what, in 1916?Answer: Win election to the United States Congress. Source: Wikipedia: Jeannette Rankin
The Penny Black, issued in Britain in 1840, was the world's first what?Answer: Adhesive postage stamp. Source: Wikipedia: Penny Black
USS Nautilus, launched in 1954, was the world's first submarine of what kind?Answer: Nuclear-powered. Source: Wikipedia: USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
What kind of puzzle did Arthur Wynne publish for the first time in a New York newspaper in 1913?Answer: A crossword. Source: Wikipedia: Crossword
Where did the golden spike complete the first transcontinental railroad in 1869?Answer: Promontory Summit, Utah. Source: Wikipedia: Golden spike
Which city installed the world's first parking meter in 1935?Answer: Oklahoma City. Source: Wikipedia: Parking meter
Which city opened the world's first underground railway in 1863?Answer: London. Source: Wikipedia: Metropolitan Railway
Which park, created in 1872, was the first national park in the United States?Answer: Yellowstone. Source: Wikipedia: Yellowstone National Park
Which was the first jet airliner to carry paying passengers, in 1952?Answer: The de Havilland Comet. Source: Wikipedia: De Havilland Comet
Who became the first American in space in May 1961?Answer: Alan Shepard. Source: Wikipedia: Alan Shepard
Who became, in 1983, the first American woman to reach space?Answer: Sally Ride. Source: Wikipedia: Sally Ride
Who in 1967 became the first African American justice of the Supreme Court?Answer: Thurgood Marshall. Source: Wikipedia: Thurgood Marshall
Who in 1979 became the first woman to be prime minister of the United Kingdom?Answer: Margaret Thatcher. Source: Wikipedia: Margaret Thatcher
Who in 1981 became the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court?Answer: Sandra Day O'Connor. Source: Wikipedia: Sandra Day O'Connor
Who made the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic, eight years before Lindbergh flew it alone?Answer: Alcock and Brown. Source: Wikipedia: Transatlantic flight of Alcock and Brown
Finish the proverb 40
Finish the proverb: A bird in the hand ...Answer: is worth two in the bush. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: A chain is only as strong ...Answer: as its weakest link. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: A fool and his money ...Answer: are soon parted. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: A leopard cannot ...Answer: change its spots. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: A penny saved ...Answer: is a penny earned. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: A rolling stone ...Answer: gathers no moss. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: A stitch in time ...Answer: saves nine. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: A watched pot ...Answer: never boils. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Absence makes the heart ...Answer: grow fonder. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: All that glitters ...Answer: is not gold. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: An ounce of prevention ...Answer: is worth a pound of cure. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: April showers ...Answer: bring May flowers. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Beggars can't be ...Answer: choosers. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Don't bite the hand ...Answer: that feeds you. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Don't look a gift horse ...Answer: in the mouth. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Early to bed and early to rise ...Answer: makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Fools rush in ...Answer: where angels fear to tread. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Good fences make ...Answer: good neighbors. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Half a loaf is ...Answer: better than no bread. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: If wishes were horses ...Answer: beggars would ride. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Make hay ...Answer: while the sun shines. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Many hands make ...Answer: light work. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Necessity is ...Answer: the mother of invention. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Once bitten ...Answer: twice shy. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: One man's trash is ...Answer: another man's treasure. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: People who live in glass houses ...Answer: should not throw stones. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Still waters ...Answer: run deep. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Strike while ...Answer: the iron is hot. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: The bigger they are ...Answer: the harder they fall. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: The pen is mightier ...Answer: than the sword. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: The proof of the pudding ...Answer: is in the eating. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: The squeaky wheel ...Answer: gets the grease. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Time and tide ...Answer: wait for no man. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Too many cooks ...Answer: spoil the broth. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: Waste not ...Answer: want not. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: When in Rome ...Answer: do as the Romans do. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: When the cat's away ...Answer: the mice will play. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: You can lead a horse to water ...Answer: but you cannot make it drink. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: You can't have your cake ...Answer: and eat it too. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the proverb: You can't make an omelette ...Answer: without breaking eggs. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Around the United States 30
The Appalachian Trail runs from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in which state?Answer: Maine. Source: Wikipedia: Appalachian Trail
At the Four Corners, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah meet which fourth state?Answer: Colorado. Source: Wikipedia: Four Corners
Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America, lies in which desert valley?Answer: Death Valley. Source: Wikipedia: Badwater Basin
Delaware calls itself the First State. What did it do first?Answer: Ratified the Constitution. Source: Wikipedia: Delaware
The Erie Canal, opened in 1825, linked the Hudson River with which of the Great Lakes?Answer: Lake Erie. Source: Wikipedia: Erie Canal
The Gateway Arch stands beside the Mississippi River in which city?Answer: St. Louis. Source: Wikipedia: Gateway Arch
Hoover Dam stands on the border between which two states?Answer: Nevada and Arizona. Source: Wikipedia: Hoover Dam
In the wet season, water leaving Lake Okeechobee forms the slow, wide river of the Everglades. In which state?Answer: Florida. Source: Wikipedia: Everglades
In which city is the French Quarter, also called the Vieux Carre?Answer: New Orleans. Source: Wikipedia: French Quarter
In which state is the Great Salt Lake?Answer: Utah. Source: Wikipedia: Great Salt Lake
The Mackinac Bridge joins the two peninsulas of which state?Answer: Michigan. Source: Wikipedia: Mackinac Bridge
The Mason-Dixon line was surveyed in the 1760s to settle the border between Maryland and which colony?Answer: Pennsylvania. Source: Wikipedia: Mason–Dixon line
The Mississippi River begins its journey at Lake Itasca. In which state is that?Answer: Minnesota. Source: Wikipedia: Mississippi River
Old Faithful erupts on schedule in which national park?Answer: Yellowstone. Source: Wikipedia: Old Faithful
The Pentagon, headquarters of the Department of Defense, is in which state?Answer: Virginia. Source: Wikipedia: The Pentagon
Rhode Island is the smallest state by area. Which state is the second smallest?Answer: Delaware. Source: Wikipedia: Delaware
Saint Paul is the capital of which state?Answer: Minnesota. Source: Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair in which city?Answer: Seattle. Source: Wikipedia: Space Needle
U.S. Route 66 went from Chicago to the Pacific coast in which state?Answer: California. Source: Wikipedia: U.S. Route 66
What is the capital of Connecticut?Answer: Hartford. Source: Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of North Carolina?Answer: Raleigh. Source: Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of South Carolina?Answer: Columbia. Source: Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Virginia?Answer: Richmond. Source: Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Which city is nicknamed the Mile High City?Answer: Denver. Source: Wikipedia: Denver
Which city on the Hudson River's west bank is the capital of New York State?Answer: Albany. Source: Wikipedia: Albany, New York
Which is the only state that borders exactly one other state?Answer: Maine. Source: Wikipedia: Maine
Which state calls itself the Garden State?Answer: New Jersey. Source: Wikipedia: New Jersey
Which state is known as the Show-Me State?Answer: Missouri. Source: Wikipedia: Missouri
Which state is the Land of 10,000 Lakes?Answer: Minnesota. Source: Wikipedia: Minnesota
Which state is the Peach State?Answer: Georgia. Source: Wikipedia: Georgia (U.S. state)
Around the world 30
Big Ben is a famous sight in London. Strictly speaking, what is Big Ben?Answer: A bell. Source: Wikipedia: Big Ben
East Pakistan became which independent country in 1971?Answer: Bangladesh. Source: Wikipedia: Bangladesh
For which event was the Eiffel Tower built?Answer: The 1889 World's Fair. Source: Wikipedia: Eiffel Tower
The great sandstone rock that Australians long called Ayers Rock is also known by which name?Answer: Uluru. Source: Wikipedia: Uluru
In 1957 the British colony of the Gold Coast became which independent country?Answer: Ghana. Source: Wikipedia: Ghana
Lake Titicaca, high in the Andes, lies on the border of Peru and which country?Answer: Bolivia. Source: Wikipedia: Lake Titicaca
The Matterhorn stands on the border between Switzerland and which country?Answer: Italy. Source: Wikipedia: Matterhorn
On which hill in Athens does the Parthenon stand?Answer: The Acropolis. Source: Wikipedia: Parthenon
The statue of Christ the Redeemer looks down on which city?Answer: Rio de Janeiro. Source: Wikipedia: Christ the Redeemer (statue)
The Sydney Opera House opened in which decade?Answer: The 1970s. Source: Wikipedia: Sydney Opera House
Table Mountain overlooks which South African city?Answer: Cape Town. Source: Wikipedia: Table Mountain
Victoria Falls lies on which African river?Answer: The Zambezi. Source: Wikipedia: Victoria Falls
Visitors kiss the Blarney Stone in the hope of gaining what?Answer: The gift of the gab. Source: Wikipedia: Blarney Stone
Which African country was called Rhodesia before 1980?Answer: Zimbabwe. Source: Wikipedia: Zimbabwe
Which African country was known to Europeans as Abyssinia?Answer: Ethiopia. Source: Wikipedia: Ethiopian Empire
Which cape marks the stormy southern tip of South America?Answer: Cape Horn. Source: Wikipedia: Cape Horn
Which Central American country was called British Honduras until 1973?Answer: Belize. Source: Wikipedia: Belize
Which Chinese capital appeared on old maps as Peking?Answer: Beijing. Source: Wikipedia: Beijing
Which country did the rest of the world call Persia until 1935?Answer: Iran. Source: Wikipedia: Name of Iran
Which country was known as Siam until 1939?Answer: Thailand. Source: Wikipedia: Thailand
Which country was long known in English as Burma?Answer: Myanmar. Source: Wikipedia: Myanmar
Which Indian city was called Bombay until 1995?Answer: Mumbai. Source: Wikipedia: Mumbai
Which island country was called Ceylon until 1972?Answer: Sri Lanka. Source: Wikipedia: Sri Lanka
Which island did Portuguese sailors name Formosa?Answer: Taiwan. Source: Wikipedia: Taiwan
Which island state lies off the southeastern corner of mainland Australia?Answer: Tasmania. Source: Wikipedia: Tasmania
Which narrow strait separates Alaska from Russia?Answer: The Bering Strait. Source: Wikipedia: Bering Strait
Which river flows through Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade?Answer: The Danube. Source: Wikipedia: Danube
Which Russian city was named Leningrad from 1924 to 1991?Answer: Saint Petersburg. Source: Wikipedia: Saint Petersburg
Which Turkish city was known for centuries as Constantinople?Answer: Istanbul. Source: Wikipedia: Istanbul
Which Vietnamese city, once the capital of South Vietnam, used to be called Saigon?Answer: Ho Chi Minh City. Source: Wikipedia: Ho Chi Minh City
Presidents and leaders 25
Before he was president, Dwight D. Eisenhower held which wartime post?Answer: Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. Source: Wikipedia: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Franklin Roosevelt's 'fireside chats' reached Americans by which medium?Answer: Radio. Source: Wikipedia: Fireside chats
Golda Meir, later prime minister of Israel, came to the United States as a child in 1906. In which city did her family settle?Answer: Milwaukee. Source: Wikipedia: Golda Meir
How many years did Nelson Mandela spend in prison before his release in 1990?Answer: 27. Source: Wikipedia: Nelson Mandela
In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi led a 24-day march to the sea to protest a British tax on what?Answer: Salt. Source: Wikipedia: Salt March
In which American state did Winston Churchill give his 'Iron Curtain' speech in 1946?Answer: Missouri. Source: Wikipedia: Iron Curtain
The teddy bear was named after which president?Answer: Theodore Roosevelt. Source: Wikipedia: Teddy bear
Which British king gave up the throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson?Answer: Edward VIII. Source: Wikipedia: Edward VIII
Which general led the Free French during World War II and later became president of France?Answer: Charles de Gaulle. Source: Wikipedia: Charles de Gaulle
Which president alone served more than two terms?Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt. Source: Wikipedia: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Which president died just one month after taking office in 1841?Answer: William Henry Harrison. Source: Wikipedia: William Henry Harrison
Which president had been a film actor and governor of California?Answer: Ronald Reagan. Source: Wikipedia: Ronald Reagan
Which president had been a peanut farmer in Georgia?Answer: Jimmy Carter. Source: Wikipedia: Jimmy Carter
Which president kept a sign on his desk that read 'The buck stops here'?Answer: Harry S. Truman. Source: Wikipedia: Buck passing
Which president later became Chief Justice of the United States?Answer: William Howard Taft. Source: Wikipedia: William Howard Taft
Which president nearly doubled the size of the country with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803?Answer: Thomas Jefferson. Source: Wikipedia: Louisiana Purchase
Which president served as vice president and as president without being elected to either office?Answer: Gerald Ford. Source: Wikipedia: Gerald Ford
Which president told Americans in 1961, 'Ask not what your country can do for you'?Answer: John F. Kennedy. Source: Wikipedia: Inauguration of John F. Kennedy
Which president was nicknamed 'Old Hickory'?Answer: Andrew Jackson. Source: Wikipedia: Andrew Jackson
Which speech by Abraham Lincoln begins 'Four score and seven years ago'?Answer: The Gettysburg Address. Source: Wikipedia: Gettysburg Address
Who is the only American president to have resigned from office?Answer: Richard Nixon. Source: Wikipedia: Richard Nixon
Who was president when the stock market crashed in 1929?Answer: Herbert Hoover. Source: Wikipedia: Herbert Hoover
Who was the first president to live in the White House?Answer: John Adams. Source: Wikipedia: White House
Who was the United States president in World War I?Answer: Woodrow Wilson. Source: Wikipedia: Woodrow Wilson
Winston Churchill won a Nobel Prize in 1953. In which field?Answer: Literature. Source: Wikipedia: Winston Churchill
Inventions and inventors 25
The American mechanic Walter Hunt patented which handy item in 1849?Answer: The safety pin. Source: Wikipedia: Safety pin
Benjamin Franklin is credited with inventing which kind of eyeglasses?Answer: Bifocals. Source: Wikipedia: Bifocals
The British engineer Christopher Cockerell is the name most often linked with which craft that rides on a cushion of air?Answer: The hovercraft. Source: Wikipedia: Hovercraft
Cyrus McCormick made his name in the 1830s with a machine that did what?Answer: Harvested grain. Source: Wikipedia: Cyrus McCormick
Edwin Armstrong invented which kind of radio broadcasting, prized for its clear sound?Answer: FM. Source: Wikipedia: Edwin Howard Armstrong
Eli Whitney's cotton gin of 1793 sped up which job?Answer: Separating cotton fibers from their seeds. Source: Wikipedia: Cotton gin
Elias Howe won a patent in 1846 for which household machine?Answer: The sewing machine. Source: Wikipedia: Elias Howe
ENIAC, finished in 1945 and big enough to fill a room, was an early example of what?Answer: An electronic computer. Source: Wikipedia: ENIAC
Evangelista Torricelli invented which weather instrument in the 1640s?Answer: The barometer. Source: Wikipedia: Barometer
Frank Whittle, a Royal Air Force officer, is credited as a co-creator of which engine?Answer: The turbojet. Source: Wikipedia: Frank Whittle
Heating milk to kill germs is named after which French scientist?Answer: Louis Pasteur. Source: Wikipedia: Pasteurization
In 1903 Mary Anderson of Alabama patented a device that made driving in rain safer. What was it?Answer: The windshield wiper. Source: Wikipedia: Mary Anderson (inventor)
In 1928 Alexander Fleming noticed a mold killing the bacteria in a dish. Which medicine came from it?Answer: Penicillin. Source: Wikipedia: Alexander Fleming
James Ritty, a business owner in Dayton, Ohio, invented which shop machine in 1879?Answer: The cash register. Source: Wikipedia: Cash register
Josephine Cochrane, whose heirloom dishes had been chipped in the wash, invented which kitchen machine in the 1880s?Answer: The dishwasher. Source: Wikipedia: Josephine Cochrane
Laszlo Biro, a Hungarian newspaper editor, gave the world which writing tool?Answer: The ballpoint pen. Source: Wikipedia: Ballpoint pen
The microwave oven grew out of wartime work on which technology?Answer: Radar. Source: Wikipedia: Microwave oven
Philo Farnsworth built the first working all-electronic version of which invention?Answer: Television. Source: Wikipedia: Philo Farnsworth
QWERTY is the layout of what?Answer: A typewriter keyboard. Source: Wikipedia: QWERTY
Robert Fulton's famous boat steamed up which river in 1807?Answer: The Hudson. Source: Wikipedia: Robert Fulton
The Scottish physicist Robert Watson-Watt was a pioneer of which wartime technology?Answer: Radar. Source: Wikipedia: Robert Watson-Watt
The watt, the unit of power, honors a Scottish engineer who improved which machine?Answer: The steam engine. Source: Wikipedia: James Watt
What kind of machine was Stephenson's Rocket, winner of the Rainhill Trials in 1829?Answer: A steam locomotive. Source: Wikipedia: Stephenson's Rocket
Which doctor's tool did the Frenchman Rene Laennec invent in 1816?Answer: The stethoscope. Source: Wikipedia: Stethoscope
Which timekeeper did the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens invent in 1656?Answer: The pendulum clock. Source: Wikipedia: Pendulum clock
How this list was compiled
Written for this site; 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. Questions were dropped or reworded when the article hedged or did not state the fact plainly: the playing speed of a long-playing record, who invented the zipper, who invented the computer mouse, whether Swan or Edison lit the first lamp, and which presidential debate was the first on television. Left out on purpose: living people, brand names, film, TV, song and league titles, records and rankings that change, populations, and assassinations. No question repeats one in the easy set. This is a quiz for fun, an activity and not a therapy, and it makes no health claim. Levels are our estimate of how widely the answer is remembered. On 2026-09-19 five state capital questions that repeated the site's fourth grade bank word for word were replaced (Virginia, North Carolina, Minnesota, Connecticut, South Carolina), each checked that day against the table in Wikipedia's list of capitals in the United States (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_capitals_in_the_United_States). On 2026-09-20 three questions that came close to the fourth grade bank were changed and read again that day: the smallest state became the second smallest (Wikipedia: Delaware), and the capital of New York and the Everglades got new clues from their own articles. Two facts are still shared with that bank in different words: where the Mississippi begins, and the cotton gin. Licence: own work
Easy set, three choices: all 80 questions with answers
Finish the saying 20
Finish the saying: Actions speak louder ...Answer: than words. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: An apple a day ...Answer: keeps the doctor away. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Better late ...Answer: than never. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Curiosity killed ...Answer: the cat. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Do not count your chickens ...Answer: before they are hatched. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Do not judge a book ...Answer: by its cover. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Do not put all your eggs ...Answer: in one basket. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Easy come, ...Answer: easy go. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Every cloud has ...Answer: a silver lining. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Home is where ...Answer: the heart is. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Honesty is ...Answer: the best policy. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: It is the early bird ...Answer: that gets the worm. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Laughter is ...Answer: the best medicine. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Let sleeping dogs ...Answer: lie. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Look before ...Answer: you leap. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Out of sight, ...Answer: out of mind. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Practice makes ...Answer: perfect. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Rome wasn't built ...Answer: in a day. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Slow and steady ...Answer: wins the race. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Finish the saying: Two heads are ...Answer: better than one. Source: Wikipedia: List of proverbial phrases
Famous places 20
A legendary monster is said to live in Loch Ness. In which country is the loch?Answer: Scotland. Source: Wikipedia: Loch Ness
The Alamo stands in which state?Answer: Texas. Source: Wikipedia: Alamo Mission
Buckingham Palace is a royal home in which city?Answer: London. Source: Wikipedia: Buckingham Palace
The Golden Gate Bridge is a landmark of which city?Answer: San Francisco. Source: Wikipedia: Golden Gate Bridge
Honolulu is the capital of which American state?Answer: Hawaii. Source: Wikipedia: Hawaii
How many presidents' faces are carved into Mount Rushmore?Answer: Four. Source: Wikipedia: Mount Rushmore
In which city can you see the cracked Liberty Bell?Answer: Philadelphia. Source: Wikipedia: Liberty Bell
In which city did ancient crowds fill the Colosseum?Answer: Rome. Source: Wikipedia: Colosseum
In which country is the Leaning Tower of Pisa?Answer: Italy. Source: Wikipedia: Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Kremlin stands at the heart of which city?Answer: Moscow. Source: Wikipedia: Kremlin
Niagara Falls lies on the border between the United States and which country?Answer: Canada. Source: Wikipedia: Niagara Falls
Which city is called the Windy City?Answer: Chicago. Source: Wikipedia: Chicago
Which city is known as the Motor City?Answer: Detroit. Source: Wikipedia: Detroit
Which city is nicknamed the Big Apple?Answer: New York City. Source: Wikipedia: Big Apple
Which country is called the Land of the Rising Sun?Answer: Japan. Source: Wikipedia: Names of Japan
Which island is known as the Emerald Isle?Answer: Ireland. Source: Wikipedia: Ireland
Which Italian city is famous for its canals and gondolas?Answer: Venice. Source: Wikipedia: Venice
Which state is the Lone Star State?Answer: Texas. Source: Wikipedia: Texas
Which state is the Sunshine State?Answer: Florida. Source: Wikipedia: Florida
Who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington?Answer: The president. Source: Wikipedia: White House
Famous names 20
According to legend, what did Betsy Ross sew?Answer: The first American flag. Source: Wikipedia: Betsy Ross
Annie Oakley was famous for her skill at what?Answer: Sharpshooting. Source: Wikipedia: Annie Oakley
Babe Ruth was a star of which sport?Answer: Baseball. Source: Wikipedia: Babe Ruth
Clara Barton founded which organization in 1881?Answer: The American Red Cross. Source: Wikipedia: Clara Barton
Cleopatra was queen of which ancient land?Answer: Egypt. Source: Wikipedia: Cleopatra
Florence Nightingale, the Lady with the Lamp, is remembered as the founder of what?Answer: Modern nursing. Source: Wikipedia: Florence Nightingale
Harry Houdini made his name doing what?Answer: Escaping from chains and locked boxes. Source: Wikipedia: Harry Houdini
Helen Keller lost her sight and hearing as a baby. Who was the teacher who taught her to communicate?Answer: Anne Sullivan. Source: Wikipedia: Helen Keller
Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. In which city were they held?Answer: Berlin. Source: Wikipedia: Jesse Owens
Joan of Arc is a national heroine of which country?Answer: France. Source: Wikipedia: Joan of Arc
Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber, was a champion in which sport?Answer: Boxing. Source: Wikipedia: Joe Louis
Louis Armstrong, known as Satchmo, was famous for playing which instrument?Answer: The trumpet. Source: Wikipedia: Louis Armstrong
Paul Revere is famous for a midnight ride in 1775. What was his warning?Answer: British troops were on the move. Source: Wikipedia: Paul Revere
Samuel Clemens wrote under which pen name?Answer: Mark Twain. Source: Wikipedia: Mark Twain
What did Johnny Appleseed plant across the American frontier?Answer: Apple trees. Source: Wikipedia: Johnny Appleseed
Which French emperor met his final defeat at Waterloo in 1815?Answer: Napoleon. Source: Wikipedia: Battle of Waterloo
Which great composer kept writing music as his hearing failed?Answer: Ludwig van Beethoven. Source: Wikipedia: Ludwig van Beethoven
Which playwright is called the Bard of Avon?Answer: William Shakespeare. Source: Wikipedia: William Shakespeare
Which president did voters know simply as Ike?Answer: Dwight D. Eisenhower. Source: Wikipedia: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Which president was known as Honest Abe?Answer: Abraham Lincoln. Source: Wikipedia: Abraham Lincoln
Kitchen and garden 20
A prune is a dried what?Answer: Plum. Source: Wikipedia: Prune
A raisin is a dried what?Answer: Grape. Source: Wikipedia: Raisin
Butter is made by churning what?Answer: Cream. Source: Wikipedia: Butter
Cinnamon comes from which part of a tree?Answer: The inner bark. Source: Wikipedia: Cinnamon
Dill pickles start out as which vegetable?Answer: Cucumbers. Source: Wikipedia: Pickled cucumber
Guacamole is made by mashing which fruit?Answer: Avocado. Source: Wikipedia: Guacamole
How many ounces are in a pound?Answer: 16. Source: Wikipedia: Pound (mass)
How many rolls are in a baker's dozen?Answer: 13. Source: Wikipedia: Dozen
In most kitchens, how many teaspoons make one tablespoon?Answer: Three. Source: Wikipedia: Tablespoon
In sewing, what is a thimble for?Answer: Protecting the finger that pushes the needle. Source: Wikipedia: Thimble
Knitting uses two needles. What single tool does crochet use?Answer: A hook. Source: Wikipedia: Crochet
Sauerkraut is made from which vegetable?Answer: Cabbage. Source: Wikipedia: Sauerkraut
To make maple syrup you boil down what?Answer: The sap of maple trees. Source: Wikipedia: Maple syrup
Tulips come up every spring from what?Answer: Bulbs. Source: Wikipedia: Tulip
Vanilla pods grow on which kind of plant?Answer: An orchid. Source: Wikipedia: Vanilla
What makes bread dough rise?Answer: Yeast. Source: Wikipedia: Baker's yeast
Where does the peanut plant ripen its pods?Answer: Under the ground. Source: Wikipedia: Peanut
Which leafy herb goes into a classic pesto?Answer: Basil. Source: Wikipedia: Pesto
Which two ingredients are whipped together to make meringue?Answer: Egg whites and sugar. Source: Wikipedia: Meringue
Which vegetable makes your eyes water when you chop it?Answer: The onion. Source: Wikipedia: Onion
How this list was compiled
Written for this site; 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. Questions were dropped when the article did not state the fact plainly: the state nicknamed the Golden State, the forest in the Robin Hood legend, and the definition of a perennial plant. Every question has three choices and is marked easy. Left out on purpose: living people, brand names, film, TV, song and league titles, and records that change. No question repeats one in the main bank. This is a quiz for fun, an activity and not a therapy, and it makes no health claim. Licence: own work
How it works
What did a soda jerk do? Why were pennies made of steel in 1943? These 250 trivia questions for seniors come in 8 topics, from party lines and victory gardens to proverbs the room can finish aloud. There is also an easy set of 80.
Read the full guide
Eight topics, from rationed tires to safety pins
Under Start from, below the question, Everyday life, 1940s to 1970s has 35 questions on carhops, the 8-track and the beehive, and is the gentlest of the eight. Headlines of the century runs from Pearl Harbor to the 1976 Bicentennial. Famous firsts is the hard one: 14 of its 30 are marked hard, such as who flew the Atlantic nonstop eight years before Lindbergh. The geography topics, presidents and inventors suit any adult.
The easy set of 80
Above the question, press Easy set, three choices for 80 easy trivia questions for seniors. It has sayings to finish, famous places, famous names, and kitchen and garden, 20 each. None repeats the main bank. All 250 questions switches back.
Reading to a hall? Pick Finish the proverb and let the room shout each ending. Nobody needs the screen.
For funny trivia questions for seniors, ask why sock hop dancers took off their shoes: to spare the gym floor.
Seat grandchildren with grandparents. Headlines of the century becomes a game the elders win.
Questions and answers
Can I use these trivia questions for the elderly at a senior center or retirement home?
Yes. Run it as a team quiz: a trivia game for seniors in teams of three or four, starting on the easy set. The page makes no health or memory claim. The questions are clean, name no living people and skip assassinations.
Are these trivia questions for seniors printable?
Yes. Choose a round under Start from, play a set, then press Print: its questions with lettered choices, and a row that adds more. A tick on With answer key repeats each reason. The sheet follows the set on screen, so with the easy set showing it prints three-choice questions.
Who flew the Atlantic nonstop before Lindbergh?
John Alcock and Arthur Brown. In June 1919 the two British aviators flew a modified First World War bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden in Ireland, eight years before Lindbergh crossed alone. The question sits in Famous firsts.