[Closed] Totally Random Trivia - 2025

Posted by: @zwak

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Questions for
Friday, June 13, 2025

Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in Monday’s email.

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: In “The Sound of Music,” five types of non-human animals are mentioned in the lyrics of the song “My Favorite Things.” Name as many of those animals as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

2. Talcum is at the bottom at a 1 on what scale that measures hardness, or in other words, the resistance of a smooth surface to scratching?

3. What dice game takes its name from the Hindi word for “25”?

4. Opened in 1971 and located in Austin, Texas, the southernmost presidential library is dedicated to which U.S. president?

5. Today is June 13. Happy birthday to what pair of twins whose ’90s film roles include “How the West Was Fun,” “To Grandmother's House We Go,” “It Takes Two,” and “Billboard Dad”?

3. Parcheesi

5. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

1. Dog, Bee, Kittens

1) ponies and geese 

Answers to Friday, June 13, 2025

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: In “The Sound of Music,” five types of non-human animals are mentioned in the lyrics of the song “My Favorite Things.” Name as many of those animals as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

Kittens, ponies, geese, dogs, bees

2. Talcum is at the bottom at a 1 on what scale that measures hardness, or in other words, the resistance of a smooth surface to scratching?

Mohs

3. What dice game takes its name from the Hindi word for “25”?

Parcheesi
(pachisi)

4. Opened in 1971 and located in Austin, Texas, the southernmost presidential library is dedicated to which U.S. president?

Lyndon B. Johnson    

5. Today is June 13. Happy birthday to what pair of twins whose ’90s film roles include “How the West Was Fun,” “To Grandmother's House We Go,” “It Takes Two,” and “Billboard Dad”?

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

Questions for
Monday, June 16, 2025

Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email. 

1. Most marsupials are vegetarians. What animal native to Australia is the world’s largest extant carnivorous marsupial?

2. The smallest blood vessels in the human body have what name, from the Latin for “resembling hair”?

3. What seven-letter term comes from an old Venetian word for “contest,” and today refers to any series of boat races?

4. What Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale was also published under the title “Little Tiny,” and was adapted into a Don Bluth animated film in 1994?

5. The term “Iron Curtain” led to several analogous “curtains” that symbolized political divisions between countries. A little-known instance was the “Tartan Curtain,” which separated England from what country?

3 Regatta

5 Scotland 

2. Capillary

1. Tasmanian devil

4, Thumbelina

Answers to Monday, June 16, 2025

1. Most marsupials are vegetarians. What animal native to Australia is the world’s largest extant carnivorous marsupial?

Tasmanian devil

2. The smallest blood vessels in the human body have what name, from the Latin for “resembling hair”?

Capillaries

3. What seven-letter term comes from an old Venetian word for “contest,” and today refers to any series of boat races?

“Regatta”

4. What Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale was also published under the title “Little Tiny,” and was adapted into a Don Bluth animated film in 1994?

“Thumbelina”

5. The term “Iron Curtain” led to several analogous “curtains” that symbolized political divisions between countries. A little-known instance was the “Tartan Curtain,” which separated England from what country?

Scotland

Questions for
Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email. 

1. What do you add to a martini to make it “dirty”?

2. The largest tech company in Finland stood as the world's largest vendor of mobile phones throughout much of the 2000s. Name that company!

3. Out of Henry VIII's six wives, how many were named Mary?

4. An album titled “A mí me gusta” was released in 1993. While the album itself didn’t sell very well, a remixed version of its first track became a hit, and was later named the “Greatest One-Hit Wonder of All Time” by VH1. Name that song.

5. “Selenology” is defined as the scientific study of the… what?

1 juice from Olive jar

2 Nokia

1. Olive oil (edit) phrasing, SteveMN has is right. 

4. Macarena

3. Zero

5) the moon

Answers to Tuesday, June 17, 2025

1. What do you add to a martini to make it “dirty”?

Olive brine/juice

2. The largest tech company in Finland stood as the world's largest vendor of mobile phones throughout much of the 2000s. Name that company!

Nokia

3. Out of Henry VIII's six wives, how many were named Mary?

Zero
(three Catherines, two Annes, and one Jane)

4. An album titled “A mí me gusta” was released in 1993. While the album itself didn’t sell very well, a remixed version of its first track became a hit, and was later named the “Greatest One-Hit Wonder of All Time” by VH1. Name that song.

“Macarena”

5. “Selenology” is defined as the scientific study of the… what?

Moon
 

Questions for
Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email. 

1. In the metric system, the prefix “hecto-” or “hecta-” denotes what number?

2. What quintessentially British product, which is a small sponge cake covered in orange jelly and chocolate, was the subject of a 1991 trial to demonstrate that it is, for tax purposes, a cake and not a biscuit?

3. What chain store — a fixture at shopping malls all over the country — gets its name from a piece of luggage traditionally kept by soldiers on the floor near their beds?

4. Dance-pop fans know Betty Who for hits like “I Love You Always Forever.” Broadway fans know her as a star of what Tony-winning musical based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice?

5. Not even Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu could save “Fury of the Gods,” a 2023 box-office bomb starring Zachary Levi in his second outing as what DC Comics superhero?

1: Hundred

3: Footlocker 

3. Foot Locker

5. Shazam

2. Jaffa cakes

4) Hadestown

Answers to Wednesday, June 18, 2025

1. In the metric system, the prefix “hecto-” or “hecta-” denotes what number?

100

2. What quintessentially British product, which is a small sponge cake covered in orange jelly and chocolate, was the subject of a 1991 trial to demonstrate that it is, for tax purposes, a cake and not a biscuit?

Jaffa Cakes

3. What chain store — a fixture at shopping malls all over the country — gets its name from a piece of luggage traditionally kept by soldiers on the floor near their beds?

Foot Locker

4. Dance-pop fans know Betty Who for hits like “I Love You Always Forever.” Broadway fans know her as a star of what Tony-winning musical based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice?

“Hadestown”

5. Not even Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu could save “Fury of the Gods,” a 2023 box-office bomb starring Zachary Levi in his second outing as what DC Comics superhero?

Shazam (Captain Marvel/Billy Batson)

Questions for
Theme Thursday, June 19, 2025

High Points: June 20 is the solstice! The day the sun reaches its zenith. Here are five questions about other things at their high point.

Answers in tomorrow’s email.

1. According to Forbes, who was the highest paid actor of 2024, thanks to paychecks from “Red One” and “Moana 2”?

2. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living survey, two cities are tied for the world’s highest cost of living, as of 2023. They are Zurich and what island city-state?

3. Mount Whitney is the highest point in the contiguous U.S. In which state is it located?

4. Christine Sinclair currently holds the record of top scorer in international competition among players of any gender in what sport?

5. The most-watched television broadcast in U.S. history occurred on July 20, 1969, as 150 million Americans tuned in to watch… what?

1. The Rock?

1 Dwayne Johnson

3 California

2. Singapore

4. Soccer

5. Apollo 11 moon landing 

4. Soccer

Answers to Thursday, June 19, 2025

High Points: June 20 is the solstice! The day the sun reaches its zenith. Here are five questions about other things at their high points.

1. According to Forbes, who was the highest paid actor of 2024, thanks to paychecks from “Red One” and “Moana 2”?

Dwayne Johnson

2. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living survey, two cities are tied for the world’s highest cost of living, as of 2023. They are Zurich and what island city-state?

Singapore

3. Mount Whitney is the highest point in the contiguous U.S. In which state is it located?

California

4. Christine Sinclair currently holds the record of top scorer in international competition among players of any gender in what sport?

Soccer

5. The most-watched television broadcast in U.S. history occurred on July 20, 1969, as 150 million Americans tuned in to watch… what?

The moon landing

Questions for
Friday, June 20, 2025

Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in Monday’s email.

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: Of all the countries in the world with more than 5 million people, six have names ending in “Y.” Name as many of those countries as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

2. The woman in the title of the Simon & Garfunkel song "Mrs. Robinson" was changed after the song was selected to appear in the movie "The Graduate." Before that, the song was intended to be about what 20th-century historical figure, portrayed by Gillian Anderson in a 2022 Showtime drama?

3. According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, 2018 was the peak year for parents naming their children after “Game of Thrones” characters. Which character’s name was by far the most popular choice?

4. What former “American Idol” runner-up and new lead singer of Queen became the first openly gay man to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with his 2012 album “Trespassing”?

5. Today is June 20. On this day in 1947, President Truman vetoed the Taft–Hartley Act, but Congress overrode the veto. The Taft-Hartley Act limits the powers and activities of what type of organization?

2. Eleanor Roosevelt? 

5. Unions

4. Adam Lambert

1. Germany, Turkey, Norway….

1. Germany, Italy, Turkey, Norway, Hungary, Paraguay

3. Arya?

Answers to Friday, June 20, 2025

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: Of all the countries in the world with more than 5 million people, six have names ending in “Y.” Name as many of those countries as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

Turkey (85.6 million), Germany (83.5 million), Italy (58.9 million), Hungary (9.5 million), Paraguay (6.1 million), Norway (5.6 million)

2. The woman in the title of the Simon & Garfunkel song "Mrs. Robinson" was changed after the song was selected to appear in the movie "The Graduate." Before that, the song was intended to be about what 20th-century historical figure, portrayed by Gillian Anderson in a 2022 Showtime drama?

Eleanor Roosevelt
(it was called "Mrs. Roosevelt")

3. According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, 2018 was the peak year for parents naming their children after “Game of Thrones” characters. Which character’s name was by far the most popular choice?

Arya

4. What former “American Idol” runner-up and new lead singer of Queen became the first openly gay man to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with his 2012 album “Trespassing”?

Adam Lambert

5. Today is June 20. On this day in 1947, President Truman vetoed the Taft–Hartley Act, but Congress overrode the veto. The Taft-Hartley Act limits the powers and activities of what type of organization?

Unions

Questions for
Monday, June 23, 2025

Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.

1. In 1999, Brandi Chastain appeared on a Wheaties box, marking the first time the cereal honored an athlete from what sport?

2. Four of the highest-rated TV series on IMDb include “Band of Brothers,” “Breaking Bad,” and the first two installments (from 2006 and 2016) of what BBC documentary miniseries?

3. What term for “bad breath” was coined by a doctor in 1874, but only became widely known as part of a 1921 Listerine ad campaign?

4. Which way do CDs spin in a CD player, when looking at them from the top: clockwise, or counterclockwise?

5. What novelist’s media franchises include “Ghost Recon,” “Splinter Cell,” and “Rainbow Six”?

1. Women's soccer

5. Tom Clancy

3. Halitosis

2. Planet Earth 

4. Clockwise

Answers to Monday, June 23, 2025

1. In 1999, Brandi Chastain appeared on a Wheaties box, marking the first time the cereal honored an athlete from what sport?

Soccer

2. Four of the highest-rated TV series on IMDb include “Band of Brothers,” “Breaking Bad,” and the first two installments (from 2006 and 2016) of what BBC documentary miniseries?

“Planet Earth”

3. What term for “bad breath” was coined by a doctor in 1874, but only became widely known as part of a 1921 Listerine ad campaign?

“Halitosis”

4. Which way do CDs spin in a CD player, when looking at them from the top: clockwise, or counterclockwise?

Clockwise

5. What novelist’s media franchises include “Ghost Recon,” “Splinter Cell,” and “Rainbow Six”?

Tom Clancy

Questions for
Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email. 

1. If your baseball role models include Roy Campanella, Sandy Alomar Jr., Mike Piazza, and Yadier Molina, you probably play what position?

2. The satirical newspaper The Onion was founded in 1988 on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Its name was a parody of a campus newsletter, which was itself named after one of the school’s buildings. What was that newsletter called?

3. The Eiffel Tower in Paris is situated 150 yards from the bank of what river?

4. As the story goes, a furniture designer from San Francisco was living in a one-room apartment in the late 1800s. He wanted to invite a woman to his home, but he didn’t want to appear to be inviting her into his bedroom, so he invented a bed to solve his dating dilemma. What was this furniture designer’s surname?

5. The part of your body known as your glabella gets its name from the Latin for “smooth and hairless.” If yours isn't hairless, you're one of the millions of people with a... what?

5. Unibrow 

1. Catcher

4. Murphy

3 Seine

2. The Wisconsin Union?

Answers to Tuesday, June 24, 2025

1. If your baseball role models include Roy Campanella, Sandy Alomar Jr., Mike Piazza, and Yadier Molina, you probably play what position?

Catcher

2. The satirical newspaper The Onion was founded in 1988 on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Its name was a parody of a campus newsletter, which was itself named after one of the school’s buildings. What was that newsletter called?

The Union

3. The Eiffel Tower in Paris is situated 150 yards from the bank of what river?

Seine  

4. As the story goes, a furniture designer from San Francisco was living in a one-room apartment in the late 1800s. He wanted to invite a woman to his home, but he didn’t want to appear to be inviting her into his bedroom, so he invented a bed to solve his dating dilemma. What was this furniture designer’s surname?

Murphy
(the “Murphy Bed” folds into a wall)

5. The part of your body known as your glabella gets its name from the Latin for “smooth and hairless.” If yours isn't hairless, you're one of the millions of people with a... what?

Unibrow

Questions for
Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email. 

1. Aaron Sorkin took a shot from Tina Fey over his failed show “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” during a 2011 cameo on what thematically similar NBC sitcom, which also debuted in the fall of 2006?

2. In 2018 and 2019, there was a movement some not entirely accurately called “The Red State Revolt,” which saw workers in what profession engaging in strikes and walkouts in Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and more?

3. Actor Tia Carrere played a rocker in “Wayne's World,” but in real life she's won two Grammy awards for Best Album in a musical genre named for which U.S. state?

4. In 1993, Marc Andreessen co-authored a program called Mosaic. It was later licensed by Microsoft, who announced in 2022 that they were finally pulling the plug on it after nearly 30 years. What did Microsoft call their version of this program?

5. What writer and poet — whose last name means “stone” — was Ernest Hemingway parodying when he wrote, “A stone is a rock is a boulder is a pebble”?