Totally Random Trivia - 2026

Questions for Theme Thursday, August 6, 2026

All the Stars: In this round, all of the answers will be (or sound like) the names of famous stars in space.

1. The singer of the 1987 hit song “Tom's Diner” and John Travolta's character in “Pulp Fiction” share what surname?

2. Martine Rothblatt is the founder and CEO of United Therapeutics. She's also a lawyer, aviator, inventor, and the creator of what satellite radio company, which merged with its competitor XM Satellite Radio in 2008?

3. What bean’s byproducts include an oil used to make paints, soaps, lubricants, and perfumes, as well as the lethal toxin ricin?

4. Edgar Hetteen is sometimes called the “Grandfather of Snowmobiling.” He co-founded what automotive company in Roseau, Minnesota in 1954?

5. Catherine O'Hara and Geena Davis have appeared in two films together. One was the English-language dub of the Studio Ghibli movie “When Marnie Was There.” What was the other one?

1.  Vega

2. Sirius

4. Polaris (he also co-founded Arctic Cat, based in Thief River Falls)

3. Castor bean

5. Beetlejuice

Answers to Thursday, August 6, 2026

All the Stars: In this round, all of the answers will be (or sound like) the names of famous stars in space.

1. The singer of the 1987 hit song “Tom's Diner” and John Travolta's character in “Pulp Fiction” share what surname?
Vega (Suzanne, Vincent)

2. Martine Rothblatt is the founder and CEO of United Therapeutics. She's also a lawyer, aviator, inventor, and the creator of what satellite radio company, which merged with its competitor XM Satellite Radio in 2008?
Sirius

3. What bean’s byproducts include an oil used to make paints, soaps, lubricants, and perfumes, as well as the lethal toxin ricin?
Castor

4. Edgar Hetteen is sometimes called the “Grandfather of Snowmobiling.” He co-founded what automotive company in Roseau, Minnesota in 1954?
Polaris

5. Catherine O'Hara and Geena Davis have appeared in two films together. One was the English-language dub of the Studio Ghibli movie “When Marnie Was There.” What was the other one?
“Beetlejuice”

Questions for Friday, August 7, 2026

Five questions to wake up your noodle. 

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: McCormick’s brand of culinary Herbes de Provence contains a blend of seven dried plants. Name as many of those herbs as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

2. The Roman numeral for 500 and the vitamin known to help absorb calcium are both represented by what letter?

3. What 11-letter movie term has a surprisingly dark origin, sharing its name with a slang term for a particularly destructive World War II bomb?

4. There is only one language originating in Europe that is completely unrelated to any other language. It’s spoken in Spain and France, and its speakers call it Euskara. Name that language.

5. Today is August 7. On this day in 1974, Philippe Petit traveled via tightrope between the towers of what New York City landmark?

4.  Basque

2. D

3. Blockbuster

5. World Trade Center

Posted by: @mnnavy

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5. World Trade Center

Ten year old me was completely captivated by the picture of his stunt in my first copy of the Guinness Book Of World Records which I received in 1976 - at least I think the pic was in the '76 version.

@zwak 

Posted by: @the-rube

↑

3. Blockbuster

A bit fitting that you answered #3.

I’m back!! After being in email jail for three months due to a hacker, I finally got my access back.  Thanks to GE for filling in for me.

Answers to Friday, August 7, 2026

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: McCormick’s brand of culinary Herbes de Provence contains a blend of seven dried plants. Name as many of those herbs as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

Rosemary, marjoram, thyme, sage, anise seed, savory, lavender

2. The Roman numeral for 500 and the vitamin known to help absorb calcium are both represented by what letter?

D

3. What 11-letter movie term has a surprisingly dark origin, sharing its name with a slang term for a particularly destructive World War II bomb?

“Blockbuster”

4. There is only one language originating in Europe that is completely unrelated to any other language. It’s spoken in Spain and France, and its speakers call it Euskara. Name that language.

Basque

5. Today is August 7. On this day in 1974, Philippe Petit traveled via tightrope between the towers of what New York City landmark?

World Trade Center

Questions for
Monday, August 10, 2026

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

1. “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” That's the oath of what global athletic organization, whose logo depicts five figures in a circle with lowered, straight, and raised arms?

2. Before it produced spin-offs set in Hawai’i, Los Angeles, and New Orleans, “NCIS” was itself a spin-off of what Navy-themed legal drama show?

3. The character design of Ursula from Disney’s animated “The Little Mermaid” was inspired by drag queen and frequent John Waters collaborator Harris Milstead, better known by what stage name?

4. When a U.S. president is impeached, the trial takes place in the Senate. Who presides over that trial?

5. If you see a traffic sign in the shape of a “crossbuck,” what is that sign warning you of?

2. JAG

5. Railroad crossing

4. Chief Justice of The Supreme Court. 

@zwak Welcome Back!

1. Special Olympics

3. Divine

Answers to Monday, August 10, 2026

1. “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” That's the oath of what global athletic organization, whose logo depicts five figures in a circle with lowered, straight, and raised arms?

Special Olympics

2. Before it produced spin-offs set in Hawai’i, Los Angeles, and New Orleans, “NCIS” was itself a spin-off of what Navy-themed legal drama show?

“JAG” 

3. The character design of Ursula from Disney’s animated “The Little Mermaid” was inspired by drag queen and frequent John Waters collaborator Harris Milstead, better known by what stage name?

Divine

4. When a U.S. president is impeached, the trial takes place in the Senate. Who presides over that trial?

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

5. If you see a traffic sign in the shape of a “crossbuck,” what is that sign warning you of?

A railroad crossing

Questions for
Tuesday, August 11, 2026

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

1. The word “toroid” could be used to describe which of these things: a dairy cow, a diving board, or a doughnut?

2. What “Princess of R&B” appeared posthumously as Akasha, the mother of vampires in the 2002 film “Queen of the Damned”?

3. “Queer Love” is the subtitle of the first spin-off of a “dating experiment” on Netflix, in which individuals give their partners a time frame to either get married or move on. Name that reality TV show!

4. The mascot of the Royal Rifles of Canada during World War II was Gander, a dog of what working breed named for one of the country’s eastern provinces?

5. Boxer Rubin Carter was wrongfully convicted of three murders in 1967. What was his nickname, as you may know from a Denzel Washington film about him?

1. Donut

5. Hurricane

4. Newfoundland 

2. Aaliyah

3. The Ultimatum

Answers to Tuesday, August 11, 2026

1. The word “toroid” could be used to describe which of these things: a dairy cow, a diving board, or a doughnut?

Doughnut
(a toroid is a surface of revolution with a hole in the middle)

2. What “Princess of R&B” appeared posthumously as Akasha, the mother of vampires in the 2002 film “Queen of the Damned”?

Aaliyah

3. “Queer Love” is the subtitle of the first spin-off of a “dating experiment” on Netflix, in which individuals give their partners a time frame to either get married or move on. Name that reality TV show!

“The Ultimatum”

4. The mascot of the Royal Rifles of Canada during World War II was Gander, a dog of what working breed named for one of the country’s eastern provinces?

Newfoundland

5. Boxer Rubin Carter was wrongfully convicted of three murders in 1967. What was his nickname, as you may know from a Denzel Washington film about him?

Hurricane

Questions for
Wednesday, August 12, 2026

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

1. In 1928, a New Jersey soda manufacturer discovered a way to make a drinkable chocolate beverage that wouldn’t spoil on shelves the way chocolate milk does. What did he call it?

2. An aging Hollywood star refers to her titular septet of spouses by names like “Goddamn Don Adler” and “Clever Rex North” in what 2017 novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid?

3. With the help of musician Aloe Blacc in a guest appearance, Dre Johnson explains the facts of Juneteenth in song in a Season 4 episode of what ABC sitcom?

4. What Tony-winning actor and Pussycat Doll returned to her childhood hometown of Louisville in May to sing the national anthem at Churchill Downs on the eve of the Kentucky Derby?

5. Dublin is the most populous city on the island of Ireland. What is the second-most populous city on that island?

1. Yoohoo?

5.  Belfast

3. Blackish

4. Nicole Scherzinger

Answers to Wednesday,
August 12, 2026

1. In 1928, a New Jersey soda manufacturer discovered a way to make a drinkable chocolate beverage that wouldn’t spoil on shelves the way chocolate milk does. What did he call it?

Yoo-hoo

2. An aging Hollywood star refers to her titular septet of spouses by names like “Goddamn Don Adler” and “Clever Rex North” in what 2017 novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid?

“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”

3. With the help of musician Aloe Blacc in a guest appearance, Dre Johnson explains the facts of Juneteenth in song in a Season 4 episode of what ABC sitcom?

“Black-ish”

4. What Tony-winning actor and Pussycat Doll returned to her childhood hometown of Louisville in May to sing the national anthem at Churchill Downs on the eve of the Kentucky Derby?

Nicole Scherzinger

5. Dublin is the most populous city on the island of Ireland. What is the second-most populous city on that island?

Belfast

Questions for
Theme Thursday, August 13, 2026

Ice Cold Questions on Tap: Five questions that’ll make you tap your toes.

Answers in tomorrow’s email. 

1. At least 18 drummers, all of whom met suspicious fates, have performed with what fictional heavy metal group, hailed as “one of England’s loudest bands”?

2. At age 10, what tap dancer and actor starred in the national tour of “The Tap Dance Kid,” a skill he got to show off years later on the TV show “Psych” and on Broadway in “After Midnight”?

3. In 1997, Dan Caldwell and Charles Lewis Jr. wanted to create merchandise for mixed martial arts fighters and fans, which was difficult to find at the time. They created what clothing brand?

4. The opening four notes of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, “dit-dit-dit-dah,” is coincidentally Morse code for what letter?

5. Modeled after “Dance Dance Revolution,” and with a name structured in the same way, what musical rhythm game was Apple’s most downloaded free game of 2008?

1. Spinal Tap

3. Tapout

4: V

2. Dulé Hill

Answers to Thursday,
August 13, 2026

Ice Cold Questions on Tap: Five questions that’ll make you tap your toes.

1. At least 18 drummers, all of whom met suspicious fates, have performed with what fictional heavy metal group, hailed as “one of England’s loudest bands”?

Spinal Tap

2. At age 10, what tap dancer and actor starred in the national tour of “The Tap Dance Kid,” a skill he got to show off years later on the TV show “Psych” and on Broadway in “After Midnight”?

Dulé Hill

3. In 1997, Dan Caldwell and Charles Lewis Jr. wanted to create merchandise for mixed martial arts fighters and fans, which was difficult to find at the time. They created what clothing brand?

Tapout

4. The opening four notes of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, “dit-dit-dit-dah,” is coincidentally Morse code for what letter?

V
(V is 5 in Roman numerals, and it is also sometimes called “Victory Symphony”)
   
5. Modeled after “Dance Dance Revolution,” and with a name structured in the same way, what musical rhythm game was Apple’s most downloaded free game of 2008?

“Tap Tap Revenge”

Questions for Friday,
August 14, 2026

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

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: There are four actors credited in the 2026 dark comedy drama “The Invite.” Name as many of those actors as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

2. The first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize won it in 1921 for the book “The Age of Innocence.” Name that writer.

3. A 1983 Bananarama song, a 2019 Taylor Swift song, and a 1998 Ace of Base album all share what name?

4. A venue initially named the “British Empire Exhibition Stadium” was demolished in 2002 and reopened in 2007. Today, it hosts virtually every major soccer game in England. What is it called today?

5. Today is August 14. On this day in 1935, which U.S. president signed the Social Security Act, establishing a permanent national pension system through employer and employee contributions?

3) Cruel Summer

4. Wembley Stadium

5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

2. Edith Wharton

1. Penelope Cruz, Edward Norton, Olivia Wilde, …?? Blanking on the fourth

Answers to Friday, August 14, 2026

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: There are four actors credited in the 2026 dark comedy drama “The Invite.” Name as many of those actors as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton, Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde

2. The first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize won it in 1921 for the book “The Age of Innocence.” Name that writer.

Edith Wharton

3. A 1983 Bananarama song, a 2019 Taylor Swift song, and a 1998 Ace of Base album all share what name?

“Cruel Summer”

4. A venue initially named the “British Empire Exhibition Stadium” was demolished in 2002 and reopened in 2007. Today, it hosts virtually every major soccer game in England. What is it called today?

Wembley Stadium

5. Today is August 14. On this day in 1935, which U.S. president signed the Social Security Act, establishing a permanent national pension system through employer and employee contributions?

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Questions for
Monday, August 17, 2026

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

1. “Emma,” “Persuasion,” and “Northanger Abbey” are three of the six chapter titles of what 2004 novel by Karen Joy Fowler, about a group of friends who meet once a month?

2. Songwriter John Prine got a big break in 1970 when a Chicago Sun-Times film critic happened into a neighborhood bar and ended up writing a glowing review of his performance. Name that Pulitzer-winning journalist!

3. Charles Dickens subtitled his second novel “The Parish Boy's Progress.” What was its main title?

4. Most color printers make use of four distinct ink colors to print vivid photos. What is the commonly used abbreviation that represents these four colors?

5. What city was founded in 1840 on the Cook Strait, and is today the world’s southernmost national capital?

2. Roger Ebert

5. Wellington, NZ

4. CMYK

3. Oliver Twist

Answers to Monday, August 17, 2026

1. “Emma,” “Persuasion,” and “Northanger Abbey” are three of the six chapter titles of what 2004 novel by Karen Joy Fowler, about a group of friends who meet once a month?

“The Jane Austen Book Club” 

2. Songwriter John Prine got a big break in 1970 when a Chicago Sun-Times film critic happened into a neighborhood bar and ended up writing a glowing review of his performance. Name that Pulitzer-winning journalist!

Roger Ebert
3. Charles Dickens subtitled his second novel “The Parish Boy's Progress.” What was its main title?

“Oliver Twist”

4. Most color printers make use of four distinct ink colors to print vivid photos. What is the commonly used abbreviation that represents these four colors?

CMYK
(the colors are cyan, magenta, yellow, and black)

5. What city was founded in 1840 on the Cook Strait, and is today the world’s southernmost national capital?

Wellington (New Zealand)

Questions for
Tuesday, August 18, 2026

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

1. Roy Campanella, Johnny Bench, and Iván Rodríguez are among the baseball stars who donned the “tools of ignorance.” That's slang for the equipment used by players at what position?

2. What two letters can represent audio presets on a radio, a psychological test for assessing empathy, or a 1999 multiplayer online roleplaying game with expansions such as “Empires of Kunark” and “Dragons of Norrath”?

3. The edible head of the cauliflower is sometimes given the same name as what dairy product, made from a mix of pasteurized milk, starter culture, and rennet?

4. Yuri is the given name of what titular physician and poet in a 1957 Boris Pasternak novel?

5. What fibrous, organic matter, common in the bogs of Scotland, is used to give some whiskeys their signature smoky flavor?

1. Catcher

4. Doctor Zhivago

5. Peat