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Geography Trivia Geography trivia covers a lot of ground: not only the physical features of our planet, but statistics about people, cities and countries. Here are some examples: Where is the Forbidden City? Which two countries share the island of Hispaniola? Where is the Chapultepec Mountain range? What is the capital of Canada? (The answers are Beijing, Dominican Republic & Haiti, Mexico, and "mostly American".) Web:
History Trivia When you come right down to it, history is nothing more than the memory of something in the past. Thus, in principle, anyone can be good at history trivia, because all you need to do is remember things that have already happened. For example, if someone says, "When did William the Conqueror invade England?", you say "1066". Big deal. Now, what would be really impressive is to be good at future trivia. Here are some sample questions: Who will serve as the Vice President of the United States from 2088 to 2096? What will be the three main causes of the so-called "Mutiny on Microsoft Island"? Twenty years from now, which Harley Hahn book will be the most important one in your collection? Web:
Literary Trivia Every now and then, I'll be with a friend, and we will start asking literary trivia questions. For example, I'll say, "Who wrote 'The Last of the Mohicans'?" and my friend will answer "James Fenimore Cooper". Or he will ask me, "In the Harry Potter books, what was Voldemort's original name?" and I'll reply "Tom Marvolo Riddle". The thing is, regular literary trivia gets dull after awhile, so I developed a new game, Trivial Literary Trivia (TLT) that is a lot more challenging. Here is a typical question: "In Act 5, Scene 3 of Shakespeare's play 'Troilus and Cressida', what is the 12th word in Andromache's first speech?" (The answer is "ears".) Although TLT is a bit esoteric, it has two main advantages over regular literary trivia: first, the questions are very easy to understand; second, the game is usually over quickly. Web:
Movie Trivia If you like movies, you may be interested in trivia. For example, did you know that the working title for Annie Hall was "Anhedonia"? (It's a medical term referring to the inability to feel pleasure.) How about this? When Woody Allen was making The Purple Rose of Cairo, he originally cast Michael Keaton in the male lead role. However, Allen wasn't satisfied with Keaton's performance and replaced him with Jeff Daniels. If you find facts like this interesting, you may be a movie trivia person. Web:
Music Trivia Music is important to all of us. However, there are many different types of music: classical, rock, jazz, opera, country & western, and so on. For this reason, I have constructed the ultimate music trivia question, one that will appeal to anyone regardless of their musical preferences. Here it is: "Where was Louis Armstrong sitting when he recorded his famous electric guitar solo in the last act of Mozart's 'The Cheating Heart of Seville'?" (The answer is: "On a chair".) Web:
Oldies Music Trivia If you were listening to popular music in the '60s and '70s, it's high time you started taking your nostalgic legacy seriously. Spend some time at these Web sites and relive the golden days of something or other. Web:
Religious Trivia What I want to know is, if God can do anything, can he make up a religious trivia question so difficult that even he can't answer it? Web:
Sports Trivia Do you know how many seasons Bobby Orr led the NHL in scoring? Or who the first golfer was to earn over a million dollars? Have you any idea who the first boxer was to regain the heavyweight championship? Many people don't have the fount of special knowledge to answer questions like this successfully. However, if you have what it takes, I bet you will have lots of fun at these sports trivia sites. Anyone can watch a sport on TV, but it takes a really special person to master the trivia. (By the way, the answers to the questions are: two, Arnold Palmer, and Floyd Patterson.) Web:
Television Trivia When you need a break from the old TV, try your hand at some trivia. Here are some quizzes that will test your knowledge of Seinfeld, Cheers, South Park and more. Not only are these quizzes fun, but they are good practice in case you ever have to take a civil service examination. Web:
Today's Date Every day, there are two numbers associated with the date: the month and the day. For example, December 21st (my birthday) is 12/21. April 6th (my cat's birthday) is 4/6. Each number has interesting facts associated with it, and you can read about today's numbers by visiting this Web site. Personally, I love numbers and I enjoy learning about how each number is special in its own way. Web:
Today's Events in History Do you ever feel like today is just like every other day? Well, I can tell you it's not. In fact, go right now and look up what happened on this day in history and I bet you will learn something wonderful. Just think, on this very date, something astounding happened. Watch what you do today. You just might end up on this list. Web:
Trivia Resources and Quizzes Trivia refers to simple, interesting facts, often based on the popular culture. Trivia does not have to be useful. It only has to be simple and interesting, for example: "There is no mention of cats in the Bible." There is a huge amount of trivia on the Net, including quizzes to test your knowledge of the esoteric. Web:
Trivial Talk and General Discussion Okay, we all know that Richie Petrie's middle name is Rosebud and that it stands for "Robert Oscar Sam Edward Benjamin Ulysses David". But what was Rob and Laura's address? How about the Ricardos' phone number? Join the pros and test your trivia skill. TV, radio, music, film, Internet books -- all the great cultural achievements of mankind are grist for those who pursue the trivial. Usenet:
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