Totally Random Trivia - 2026

5.  Cerulean

(I did look up the spelling 😀 )

Answers to Wednesday,
January 14, 2026

1. It’s either a Chevrolet model manufactured from 1987 to 1996, or it’s the island birthplace of Napoleon. What is it?

Corsica

2. I’d like to eat a gross of donuts. How many donuts is that?

144

3. Donald Duck’s voice is very specific, but in a 2018 episode of the “DuckTales” revival series, his familiar vocal affect is missing. What actor, known for his questionable English accent in “Ocean’s Eleven,” voices Donald Duck in that episode?

Don Cheadle

4. In the 1970s, Coca-Cola released what less-academic soda brand to compete with Dr Pepper?

Mr. Pibb

5. What shade of blue — which gets its name from the Latin for “sky” — is the subject of a memorable Miranda Priestly monologue in “The Devil Wears Prada”?

Cerulean

Questions for
Theme Thursday, January 15, 2026

Happy Kid Inventors’ Day!: Kid Inventors’ Day is this Saturday, January 17. For all the brilliant little minds out there, here are five questions about kids, inventions, and what they went on to do.

Answers in tomorrow’s email. 

1. In 1824, a French teenager named Louis developed his own writing system, created with thick paper, a slate, and a stylus. What was his surname?

2. In 2021, Johan DeMessie invented a powder to clean water of what heavy metal, atomic number 24, which shares its name with an open-source web browser?

3. At age 15, Joseph-Armand Bombardier mounted the engine from a Model-T Ford onto four runners with a handmade propeller attached on the back. After almost four decades of tinkering and adjustments, he finally released what invention to the public?

4. In 1963, a seventh-grader named Tom Sims combined his favorite sports, skiing and skateboarding, and invented the snowboard. He went on to serve as a stunt double for which James Bond actor in 1985’s “A View to a Kill”?

5. An 8-year-old Minnesotan named Abbey Fleck took inspiration from her clothes drying rack when she invented a microwaveable plate with a rhyming name, specifically for one kind of food. What are you makin’ when you use it?

1. Braille

3. Snowmobile

5. Bacon

2 Chrome 

4 Roger Moore

Posted by: @steve-mn

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2 Chrome 

4 Roger Moore

That very blah movie unfortunately wasted a brilliant actor’s talent as a villain  

Posted by: @zwak

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1. In 1824, a French teenager named Louis developed his own writing system, created with thick paper, a slate, and a stylus. What was his surname?

Posted by: @the-rube

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1. Braille

Can anyone on this site read braille?!?!?! It's an amazing system and in over 100 languages. I think braille and even Morse code on the ham radio is amazing. My roommate from college dad was big into morse code and had a ham radio in their house. His dad would sit up all night messaging people from all over the world. He had folders full of ham radio postcards from other ham radio enthusiast all over the world. 

Posted by: @gator

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Posted by: @zwak

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1. In 1824, a French teenager named Louis developed his own writing system, created with thick paper, a slate, and a stylus. What was his surname?

Posted by: @the-rube

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1. Braille

Can anyone on this site read braille?!?!?! It's an amazing system and in over 100 languages. I think braille and even Morse code on the ham radio is amazing. My roommate from college dad was big into morse code and had a ham radio in their house. His dad would sit up all night messaging people from all over the world. He had folders full of ham radio postcards from other ham radio enthusiast all over the world. 

 

Posted by: @gator

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Posted by: @zwak

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1. In 1824, a French teenager named Louis developed his own writing system, created with thick paper, a slate, and a stylus. What was his surname?

Posted by: @the-rube

↑

1. Braille

Can anyone on this site read braille?!?!?! It's an amazing system and in over 100 languages. I think braille and even Morse code on the ham radio is amazing. My roommate from college dad was big into morse code and had a ham radio in their house. His dad would sit up all night messaging people from all over the world. He had folders full of ham radio postcards from other ham radio enthusiast all over the world. 

 

In a former life I worked at Minnesota State Services for the Blind, and was required to take two weeks of "Adjustment to Blindness" training, where I learned the braille alphabet (and numbers). I was very poor at tactile reading, but I still remember most of letters and numbers if I look at them.

Answers to Thursday,
January 15, 2026

Happy Kid Inventors’ Day!: Kid Inventors’ Day is this Saturday, January 17. For all the brilliant little minds out there, here are five questions about kids, inventions, and what they went on to do.

1. In 1824, a French teenager named Louis developed his own writing system, created with thick paper, a slate, and a stylus. What was his surname?

Braille

2. In 2021, Johan DeMessie invented a powder to clean water of what heavy metal, atomic number 24, which shares its name with an open-source web browser?

Chromium

3. At age 15, Joseph-Armand Bombardier mounted the engine from a Model-T Ford onto four runners with a handmade propeller attached on the back. After almost four decades of tinkering and adjustments, he finally released what invention to the public?

Snowmobile (or Ski-Doo)

4. In 1963, a seventh-grader named Tom Sims combined his favorite sports, skiing and skateboarding, and invented the snowboard. He went on to serve as a stunt double for which James Bond actor in 1985’s “A View to a Kill”?

Roger Moore

5. An 8-year-old Minnesotan named Abbey Fleck took inspiration from her clothes drying rack when she invented a microwaveable plate with a rhyming name, specifically for one kind of food. What are you makin’ when you use it?

Bacon
(the plate is called “Makin’ Bacon”)

Questions for Friday, January 16, 2026

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

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: Between 2018 and today, there have been seven films nominated for Oscars in both the Best Picture and Best International Feature Film (formerly Best Foreign-Language Film) categories. Name as many of those films as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

2. According to the traditional list of American wedding anniversary gifts, a first anniversary gift should be made of what material?

3. The gallbladder is a small pear-shaped organ that sits in a groove underneath the right lobe of what larger organ?

4. Richard Dean Anderson and Lucas Till have both portrayed what TV action hero, whose surname has become a slang term for solving a problem using only the resources immediately at hand?

5. Today is January 16. Happy 67th birthday to a musical artist and “smooth operator” who fronted a band nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024. Name that artist, whose surname is Adu!

3. Liver
(mine is wherever medical is taken….)

5. Sade

2. Paper

4. McGuyver (sp?)

Posted by: @mnnavy

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4. McGuyver (sp?)

Posted by: @greyeagle

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Posted by: @mnnavy

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4. McGuyver (sp?)

 

Did you know that MacGyver returned to Minnesota to help his old hockey coach take his high school team to the State Tourney.

Answers to Friday, January 16, 2026

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: Between 2018 and today, there have been seven films nominated for Oscars in both the Best Picture and Best International Feature Film (formerly Best Foreign-Language Film) categories. Name as many of those films as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

“I’m Still Here,” “Emilia Pérez,” “The Zone of Interest,” “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Drive My Car,” “Parasite,” “Roma”

2. According to the traditional list of American wedding anniversary gifts, a first anniversary gift should be made of what material?

Paper

3. The gallbladder is a small pear-shaped organ that sits in a groove underneath the right lobe of what larger organ?

Liver

4. Richard Dean Anderson and Lucas Till have both portrayed what TV action hero, whose surname has become a slang term for solving a problem using only the resources immediately at hand?

MacGyver
(first name: Angus)

5. Today is January 16. Happy 67th birthday to a musical artist and “smooth operator” who fronted a band nominated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024. Name that artist, whose surname is Adu!

Sade

Questions for
Monday, January 19, 2026

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

1. Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! During the 1963 March on Washington, Dr. King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of what monument?

2. In 1998, Hyundai Motor Company absorbed the then-bankrupt Kia Motors. In what country are those car brands based?

3. The 2019 Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham film “Hobbs & Shaw” is a spin-off of what franchise that began in 2001?

4. What college's athletes are sometimes called the "Golden Domers"?

5. Writer Rhianna Pratchett earned acclaim for the 2013 reboot of what video game adventure franchise, which added considerable depth to the origin story of its lead character, most recently played on film by Alicia Vikander?

1.  The Lincoln Memorial

4.  Notre Dame

2. South Korea

3. "The Fast and the Furious"

5 Lara Croft

Answers to Monday,
January 19, 2026

1. Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! During the 1963 March on Washington, Dr. King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of what monument?

Lincoln Memorial

2. In 1998, Hyundai Motor Company absorbed the then-bankrupt Kia Motors. In what country are those car brands based? 

South Korea

3. The 2019 Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham film “Hobbs & Shaw” is a spin-off of what franchise that began in 2001?

“The Fast and the Furious”

4. What college's athletes are sometimes called the "Golden Domers"?

Notre Dame

5. Writer Rhianna Pratchett earned acclaim for the 2013 reboot of what video game adventure franchise, which added considerable depth to the origin story of its lead character, most recently played on film by Alicia Vikander?

“Tomb Raider”

Questions for
Tuesday, January 20, 2026

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

1. Amy from the novel “Congo,” Grodd from DC Comics, and Magilla from Hanna-Barbera cartoons are all what kind of primate?

2. “Glory Days,” “Couples,” “Pay It Forward,” and “No Excuses” are some of the season subtitles of the American version of what series and subject of a Netflix tell-all documentary called “Fit for TV”?

3. According to USA Today, the single greatest season of fantasy football stats by a quarterback was posted in 2024 by what superstar who plays for the Baltimore Ravens?

4. “Albion” is an Old English term for Great Britain, derived from the Latin for “white.” It’s thought to refer to the island’s southern coastline — particularly the steep rock faces near what town? 

5. Several U.S. state capitals are named after U.S. presidents. Just one is named after someone who also served as vice president. Name that city.

1. Gorilla

3. Lamar Jackson

4.  Dover

5. Jefferson City, MO. 

Posted by: @karlsson

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5. Jefferson City, MO. 

That's one heck of a trick question.  

Answers to Tuesday,
January 20, 2026

1. Amy from the novel “Congo,” Grodd from DC Comics, and Magilla from Hanna-Barbera cartoons are all what kind of primate?

Gorilla

2. “Glory Days,” “Couples,” “Pay It Forward,” and “No Excuses” are some of the season subtitles of the American version of what series and subject of a Netflix tell-all documentary called “Fit for TV”?

“The Biggest Loser”

3. According to USA Today, the single greatest season of fantasy football stats by a quarterback was posted in 2024 by what superstar who plays for the Baltimore Ravens?

Lamar Jackson

4. “Albion” is an Old English term for Great Britain, derived from the Latin for “white.” It’s thought to refer to the island’s southern coastline — particularly the steep rock faces near what town?

Dover
(The White Cliffs of Dover)

5. Several U.S. state capitals are named after U.S. presidents. Just one is named after someone who also served as vice president. Name that city.

Jefferson City (Missouri)

Questions for
Wednesday, January 21, 2026

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

1. A hollow cylinder, a chime-like musical bell, and the act of catching a cool wave while surfing can all be described with what seven-letter adjective?

2. Theobroma oil is an edible fat popular in the pharmaceutical and toiletry industries because its melting point is just below skin temperature. It is more commonly known by what delicious-sounding name? 

3. Though it’s actually true of several mammals, like hippos and sloths and Woody Harrelson, many people believe that elephants are the only ones that can’t do what action?

4. In 1957, drummer Jerry Allison co-wrote a song named “Cindy Lou.” He convinced his bandmate Buddy Holly to change it to the name of his ex-girlfriend, whom he later married. What was her name?

5. The first player to be awarded Most Valuable Player in both National League and American League baseball was also the first Black manager in Major League Baseball. Who was he?

1 Tubular

2. Cocoa Butter 

4.  Peggy Sue

5. Frank Robinson

3. Jump

Answers to Wednesday,
January 21, 2026

1. A hollow cylinder, a chime-like musical bell, and the act of catching a cool wave while surfing can all be described with what seven-letter adjective?

“Tubular”

2. Theobroma oil is an edible fat popular in the pharmaceutical and toiletry industries because its melting point is just below skin temperature. It is more commonly known by what delicious-sounding name? 

Cocoa butter

3. Though it’s actually true of several mammals, like hippos and sloths and Woody Harrelson, many people believe that elephants are the only ones that can’t do what action?

Jump
(Harrelson was in “White Men Can’t Jump”)

4. In 1957, drummer Jerry Allison co-wrote a song named “Cindy Lou.” He convinced his bandmate Buddy Holly to change it to the name of his ex-girlfriend, whom he later married. What was her name?

Peggy Sue

5. The first player to be awarded Most Valuable Player in both National League and American League baseball was also the first Black manager in Major League Baseball. Who was he?

Frank Robinson

Questions for
Theme Thursday, January 22, 2026

D-R-Y January: Some people don’t drink alcohol in January, and they call it Dry January. In this round, each answer will contain the letters “D-R-Y,” in that order but not always uninterrupted. Example: “What hobby describes the preservation of an animal's body via mounting or stuffing?” Answer: “Taxidermy.”

Answers in tomorrow’s email. 

1. What 1968 children's book, written by Don Freeman, tells the story of a teddy bear who searches for a button missing from his green overalls after the department store has closed?

2. A bowler hat with a rounded crown and a short brim is known by what name in the United States?

3. Counted-thread, crewel, and whitework are terms that can be applied to different styles of what handicraft?

4. In chemistry, what word describes a functional group composed of one oxygen atom covalently bonded to one hydrogen atom?

5. What two-word phrase, often heard at weddings and funerals, opens Prince and the Revolution’s “Let’s Go Crazy”?

2.  Derby  ??

5.  Dearly beloved....  

4 Hydroxyl 

1.  Corduroy bear

Posted by: @steve-mn

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4 Hydroxyl 

Love me a good -OH group.  We’ll probably all need a lot of them this weekend…😁

3. Embroidery

Answers to Thursday,
January 22, 2026

D-R-Y January: Some people don’t drink alcohol in January, and they call it Dry January. In this round, each answer will contain the letters “D-R-Y,” in that order but not always uninterrupted. Example: “What hobby describes the preservation of an animal's body via mounting or stuffing?” Answer: “Taxidermy.”

1. What 1968 children's book, written by Don Freeman, tells the story of a teddy bear who searches for a button missing from his green overalls after the department store has closed?

“Corduroy”

2. A bowler hat with a rounded crown and a short brim is known by what name in the United States?

Derby

3. Counted-thread, crewel, and whitework are terms that can be applied to different styles of what handicraft?

Embroidery

4. In chemistry, what word describes a functional group composed of one oxygen atom covalently bonded to one hydrogen atom?

Hydroxyl (or hydroxy)

5. What two-word phrase, often heard at weddings and funerals, opens Prince and the Revolution’s “Let’s Go Crazy”?

“Dearly beloved”

Questions for
Friday, January 23, 2026

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

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: Paramedics and emergency response teams are trained in the four primary vital signs of the human body. Name as many of those vital signs as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect. 

2. “What could be cooler than being sued by BLANK?” That was Beastie Boy Mike Diamond anticipating legal action from what band after sampling “The End” and several other songs in the Beasties’ 1989 sample-heavy album “Paul’s Boutique”?

3. What Zadie Smith novel has been described by critics as “breezily multicultural” when it came out in 2000, and “a more complicated tale” when revisited 20 years later?

4. The Grasshopper, the Golden Cadillac, and the Pink Squirrel all share two ingredients in common. One is cream. The other is what liqueur? 

5. Today is January 23, which means National Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Week is nearing its end. One of the earliest known uses of anesthetics is traced to ancient Sumerians, who may have used treatments derived from what flower?

4.  Creme de Cacao 

2. The Beatles

1. Respiration, pulse, body temperature, and ??

5. The poppy?

Posted by: @mnnavy

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1. Respiration, pulse, body temperature, and ??

blood pressure 

Answers to Friday, January 23, 2026

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: Paramedics and emergency response teams are trained in the four primary vital signs of the human body. Name as many of those vital signs as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

Body temperature, blood pressure, pulse (heart rate), breathing (respiratory rate)

2. “What could be cooler than being sued by BLANK?” That was Beastie Boy Mike Diamond anticipating legal action from what band after sampling “The End” and several other songs in the Beasties’ 1989 sample-heavy album “Paul’s Boutique”?

The Beatles

3. What Zadie Smith novel has been described by critics as “breezily multicultural” when it came out in 2000, and “a more complicated tale” when revisited 20 years later?

“White Teeth”

4. The Grasshopper, the Golden Cadillac, and the Pink Squirrel all share two ingredients in common. One is cream. The other is what liqueur?

Crème de Cacao

5. Today is January 23, which means National Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Week is nearing its end. One of the earliest known uses of anesthetics is traced to ancient Sumerians, who may have used treatments derived from what flower?

Poppy

Questions for
Monday, January 26, 2026

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

1. The 2 in a No. 2 pencil refers to the hardness of the lead. Is No. 1 lead harder or softer than No. 2?

2. Filmmaker Merian Cooper was inspired to make the movie “King Kong” after a friend returned from a trip with the world’s largest extant lizard, which they’d gotten from what East Indies island?

3. In 1992, a Houston Astros scout quit his job in protest after the team ignored his advice to draft what shortstop, who would go on to lead another team to five World Series victories en route to the Baseball Hall of Fame?

4. What part of a chicken was known as the “merrythought” in 17th-century England?

5. One of the earliest examples of a remote control was demonstrated at the Electrical Exhibition at Madison Square Garden in 1898, when what inventor wirelessly piloted a toy boat, briefly convincing the amazed crowd that he was controlling it with his mind?

3. Alex Rodriguez

4. Wishbone?

1: Softer

3) Jeter