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General knowledge · 12 questions
Hard general knowledge quiz
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Question 1 of 12
Tough question
Cleopatra died in 30 BC. Roughly how long before her birth was the Great Pyramid of Giza completed?
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- 1. Cleopatra died in 30 BC. Roughly how long before her birth was the Great Pyramid of Giza completed?
- A. 500 years
- B. 1,000 years
- C. 2,500 years (answer)
- D. 4,000 years
The Great Pyramid dates to around 2560 BC, so Cleopatra lived closer in time to the Moon landing than to its construction. - 2. What colour is a polar bear's skin?
- A. White
- B. Pink
- C. Black (answer)
- D. Grey
Black skin absorbs heat; the fur is actually transparent and only looks white. - 3. Which planet has the shortest day?
- A. Mercury
- B. Jupiter (answer)
- C. Earth
- D. Neptune
Jupiter spins once roughly every 10 hours despite being the largest planet. - 4. Which is the only letter that does not appear in any US state name?
- A. J
- B. Q (answer)
- C. X
- D. Z
J appears in New Jersey, X in Texas and New Mexico, Z in Arizona. - 5. Botanically speaking, which of these is a berry?
- A. Strawberry
- B. Raspberry
- C. Banana (answer)
- D. Blackberry
Bananas count as berries; strawberries and raspberries do not. - 6. Which of these was founded most recently?
- A. University of Oxford
- B. Angkor Wat
- C. Notre-Dame de Paris
- D. Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital (answer)
Tenochtitlan was founded around 1325, while teaching at Oxford existed by 1096. - 7. The shortest war in recorded history lasted under an hour. Which two sides fought it?
- A. Britain and Zanzibar (answer)
- B. France and Monaco
- C. Spain and Portugal
- D. Italy and San Marino
The Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896 lasted roughly 38 to 45 minutes. - 8. Which element has the chemical symbol W?
- A. Tungsten (answer)
- B. Wolframite
- C. Vanadium
- D. Xenon
W comes from wolfram, tungsten's older name. - 9. What is the national animal of Scotland?
- A. Red deer
- B. Golden eagle
- C. Unicorn (answer)
- D. Highland cow
The unicorn has been a Scottish heraldic symbol since the 12th century. - 10. Which country has the most pyramids?
- A. Egypt
- B. Mexico
- C. Sudan (answer)
- D. Peru
Sudan has over 200 Nubian pyramids, more than Egypt. - 11. How many hearts does an octopus have?
- A. One
- B. Two
- C. Three (answer)
- D. Eight
Two pump blood through the gills and one supplies the rest of the body. - 12. Which bird is the only one known to be able to fly backwards?
- A. Kingfisher
- B. Hummingbird (answer)
- C. Swift
- D. Kestrel
Hummingbirds can rotate their wings in a figure of eight to reverse.
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