Funny trivia questions: 100 with answers
Weird · MediumIn 1950, the town of Hot Springs, New Mexico, renamed itself after a radio quiz show. What's it called now?
The best funny trivia questions get the laugh from a true answer, not a joke. These 100 come in 7 sections, each tagged easy, medium or hard, and every answer has one line on why it's true.
Want the joke in the options instead? Try our funny multiple choice questions. For a straight mixed bag, see random trivia questions.
Weird but true: funny trivia questions with answers
Weird trivia questions about odd places, accidental inventions and numbers that sound wrong. Every one checks out.
1. In 1950, the town of Hot Springs, New Mexico, renamed itself after a radio quiz show. What's it called now?Medium
Show the answer
Truth or ConsequencesThe show's host promised to broadcast from the first town that took its name, and Hot Springs said yes.2. Starting in 2005, a Canadian man traded one red paperclip up, swap by swap, until he owned what?Easy
Show the answer
A houseKyle MacDonald needed 14 trades to get from the paperclip to a house in Kipling, Saskatchewan.3. Scotland could have picked a lion, a stag or an eagle. Which animal did it choose as its national animal?Medium
Show the answer
The unicornThe unicorn has been Scotland's heraldic animal for centuries, and it still holds up the royal coat of arms.4. The Super Soaker water gun was invented by an engineer who also worked on which agency's space missions?Medium
Show the answer
NASALonnie Johnson came up with it in 1982 while testing a heat pump design at home.5. The Slinky was born in 1943 when a naval engineer knocked what off a shelf?Easy
Show the answer
A springRichard James was working on springs to steady ship instruments when one walked itself across the floor.6. What does the Q in the cotton swab brand Q-tips stand for?Hard
Show the answer
QualityThe Q joined the name in 1926, a few years after Leo Gerstenzang started making the swabs.7. A small Arizona town grew up where two highways met in a Y. What did it name itself?Medium
Show the answer
WhyState Routes 85 and 86 split there in a Y, though the junction has since been rebuilt as a plain crossroads.8. Which country has a real city and province named Batman?Hard
Show the answer
TurkeyIt sits in southeastern Turkey and takes its name from the Batman River, not the comic.9. Pluto was discovered in 1930. How many full trips around the Sun has it made since?Medium
Show the answer
NoneOne Pluto year lasts about 248 Earth years, so its first lap since discovery ends in the 2170s.10. Which is bigger: the number of trees on Earth, or the number of stars in the Milky Way?Hard
Show the answer
TreesA 2015 study counted about 3 trillion trees; the Milky Way has roughly 100 to 400 billion stars.11. After inventing his famous cube in 1974, how long did Ernő Rubik need to solve it the first time?Hard
Show the answer
About a monthHe scrambled it, then spent weeks working out how to get it back.12. In 2011, the island nation of Samoa skipped an entire day of the calendar. Which one?Hard
Show the answer
December 30It jumped across the International Date Line to line up its working week with Australia and New Zealand.13. A 15-year-old in Maine got tired of cold ears while skating in 1873. What did he invent?Medium
Show the answer
EarmuffsChester Greenwood patented his “ear protectors” in 1877, and his town still holds a Chester Greenwood Day.14. In 1930, a 16-year-old gymnast in Iowa built the first modern version of what bouncy thing?Medium
Show the answer
The trampolineGeorge Nissen built it from scrap metal and canvas, then named it after the Spanish trampolín, a diving board.15. Which hotel in northern Sweden has rooms carved fresh from river ice every winter?Hard
Show the answer
The IcehotelThe Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi rebuilds its winter rooms from Torne River ice, and they melt back into the river in spring.
Funny animal trivia
Hilarious trivia questions about animals doing things you wouldn't believe if a coworker told you.
16. The Basenji is famous as the dog that doesn't bark. What noise does it make instead?Medium
Show the answer
A yodelIts unusual voice box makes a warbling sound owners call a “barroo”.17. Which shrimp snaps its claw so fast the popping bubble stuns the fish it hunts?Medium
Show the answer
The pistol shrimpThe snap makes a collapsing bubble that cracks like a tiny gunshot.18. Which land animal, despite weighing several tons, can't jump at all?Easy
Show the answer
The elephantAdult elephants always keep at least one foot on the ground, even when they hurry.19. Crocodiles are famous for their mouths, but they can't do what with their tongues?Medium
Show the answer
Stick them outA crocodile's tongue is held to the floor of its mouth by a membrane.20. Squirrels bury far more nuts than they find again. What happens to the forgotten ones?Easy
Show the answer
They grow into treesForgotten caches sprout, so squirrels plant a lot of the forests they live in.21. Which Australian animal has fingerprints so close to ours that they could confuse a crime lab?Medium
Show the answer
The koalaResearchers in Adelaide found koala prints almost impossible to tell apart from human ones, even under a microscope.22. Which bird lays an egg that can weigh about a fifth as much as the mother?Medium
Show the answer
The kiwiThat's one of the largest eggs for its body size of any bird.23. The name hippopotamus comes from Greek. What does it mean?Easy
Show the answer
River horseHippos means horse and potamos means river, though hippos aren't related to horses at all.24. Shine an ultraviolet light on a platypus and what happens?Hard
Show the answer
Its fur glowsScientists reported in 2020 that platypus fur glows blue-green under UV light.25. Which tiny jellyfish can turn itself back into a baby when it gets old or hurt?Hard
Show the answer
The immortal jellyfishTurritopsis dohrnii can revert to its early polyp stage and start its life over.26. Which fish spends much of its life out of the water, hopping across mud and even climbing low branches?Medium
Show the answer
The mudskipperIts front fins work like little crutches, and it breathes through its skin and mouth as long as it stays wet.27. Which seabird has been caught taking naps while it flies?Hard
Show the answer
The frigatebirdA 2016 study found frigatebirds sleep in short bursts mid-flight, sometimes with half the brain at a time.28. Sea otters have a built-in pocket. What do they keep in it?Medium
Show the answer
Food and a favorite rockA loose pouch of skin under each front leg holds snacks, plus a rock for cracking shells.29. The cheetah is the fastest cat on land, but which big-cat sound can't it make?Medium
Show the answer
A roarCheetahs purr, chirp and hiss instead.30. What do bottlenose dolphins use to call each other by name?Hard
Show the answer
Signature whistlesEach dolphin has its own whistle, and others copy it to get that dolphin's attention.
Silly food trivia questions
Dishes with misleading names, snacks with strange pasts and one pink chocolate.
31. Twinkies have a vanilla filling today. What flavor was it before World War II?Medium
Show the answer
BananaBanana shortages during the war forced the switch, and vanilla stuck.32. Every Hass avocado tree in the world descends from a single tree in which US state?Medium
Show the answer
CaliforniaMail carrier Rudolph Hass grew the first one in La Habra Heights; the mother tree lived until 2002.33. What small piece of punctuation did Dr Pepper drop from its name in the 1950s?Hard
Show the answer
The period after “Dr”The dot came and went on old logos until the company dropped it for good in 1950.34. The Snickers bar is named after which member of the Mars family?Medium
Show the answer
A horseSnickers was the name of a horse the family loved.35. PEZ candy started in Austria in 1927. Which flavor does the name come from?Medium
Show the answer
PeppermintPEZ is short for the German word Pfefferminz.36. Despite the name, Buffalo wings come from which animal?Easy
Show the answer
ChickenThey're named after Buffalo, New York, where a local restaurant served them in 1964.37. The British dish toad in the hole contains no toads. What's in the hole?Easy
Show the answer
SausagesThe sausages bake inside a Yorkshire pudding batter.38. Bombay duck is a popular dish in Mumbai. What kind of animal is it?Medium
Show the answer
A fishIt's a lizardfish, usually served dried or fried.39. A New York egg cream contains neither eggs nor cream. What's in it?Hard
Show the answer
Milk, seltzer and chocolate syrupNobody agrees where the name came from, which is part of the fun.40. Welsh rarebit sounds like rabbit. What is it really?Medium
Show the answer
Cheese sauce on toastIt was first called Welsh rabbit in the 1700s; the “rarebit” spelling came later.41. Green bell peppers cost less than red ones. Why?Medium
Show the answer
They're picked unripeLeft on the plant, most would turn red, yellow or orange, which takes weeks longer to grow.42. The ancient Romans called the peach a “Persian apple”. Where did peaches really come from?Hard
Show the answer
ChinaPeaches were first grown in China and reached Europe by way of Persia.43. Dark, milk and white chocolate got a fourth sibling in 2017. What color is it?Hard
Show the answer
PinkRuby chocolate, from Swiss maker Barry Callebaut, gets its color from specially processed cocoa beans.44. Most of the world's natural vanilla comes from which island country?Medium
Show the answer
MadagascarEvery flower there is pollinated by hand, which helps explain the price.45. Ketchup's distant ancestor, from southern China, was a sauce made from what?Hard
Show the answer
Fermented fishThe word likely comes from kê-tsiap, a fish sauce; tomatoes came much later.
Strange trivia from history and the law books
Real laws, real hoaxes and one marathon with a car in it.
46. In Switzerland, the law says you can't own just one of which pet?Medium
Show the answer
A guinea pigGuinea pigs are social, so Swiss animal-welfare rules say they need a companion.47. What's often called America's first alarm clock, built in 1787, had one big limitation. What was it?Hard
Show the answer
It only rang at 4 a.m.Levi Hutchins built it to wake himself for work and never bothered with other times.48. The first man to finish the 1904 Olympic marathon was disqualified. What gave him away?Medium
Show the answer
He rode in a carFred Lorz rode about 11 miles of the course before the car broke down.49. From 1912 to 1948, the Olympics handed out medals for what besides sports?Hard
Show the answer
ArtPainting, sculpture, music, literature and architecture all had medal events.50. Every spring, people chase a wheel of cheese down Cooper's Hill in which English county?Medium
Show the answer
GloucestershireThe cheese is a Double Gloucester, and it usually wins the race.51. In 1752, people in Britain and its colonies went to bed on September 2 and woke up on what date?Hard
Show the answer
September 14Britain switched calendars and dropped 11 days to catch up with most of Europe.52. For its first 16 years, the Statue of Liberty doubled as what?Hard
Show the answer
A lighthouseFrom 1886 to 1902 it was run by the US Lighthouse Board, though the torch was too dim to be much help.53. Maryland was the first US state to name an official state sport. Which sport did it pick?Medium
Show the answer
JoustingIt made jousting official in 1962; today's riders spear small rings instead of each other.54. Oklahoma's official state vegetable is a fruit. Which one?Medium
Show the answer
WatermelonLawmakers named it in 2007, since watermelon is in the same family as cucumbers and squash.55. New Mexico has an official state question. What is it?Hard
Show the answer
“Red or green?”Restaurants ask it about chile sauce; say “Christmas” and you get both.56. In 1833, a Boston businessman known as the Ice King shipped ice by sea to which far-off country?Hard
Show the answer
IndiaFrederic Tudor's ship reached Calcutta after four months, with much of its ice still frozen.57. In 1968, an American businessman bought London Bridge. Where does it stand today?Medium
Show the answer
Lake Havasu City, ArizonaRobert McCulloch had it shipped over block by block and reopened it in 1971. The story that he thought he'd bought Tower Bridge is a myth.58. In 1835, a New York newspaper sold piles of papers by claiming astronomers had spotted what on the Moon?Hard
Show the answer
Life, including winged peopleThe Sun's “Great Moon Hoax” described bat-winged humans and unicorn-like animals.59. On April 1, 1957, the BBC showed Swiss farmers harvesting what from trees?Easy
Show the answer
SpaghettiPlenty of viewers called in to ask how to grow their own spaghetti tree.60. The first passengers in a hot-air balloon, in 1783, were which three animals?Medium
Show the answer
A sheep, a duck and a roosterThe Montgolfier brothers sent them up at Versailles to test the flight before risking people.
Funny pop culture trivia: famous misquotes and origins
Lines everyone quotes wrong, and where famous characters came from.
61. Everyone quotes Darth Vader as saying “Luke, I am your father.” What does he actually say?Medium
Show the answer
“No, I am your father.”It's one of the most misquoted lines in film, from The Empire Strikes Back (1980).62. In Disney's 1937 Snow White, the Queen doesn't say “Mirror, mirror on the wall.” How does she start?Hard
Show the answer
“Magic mirror on the wall”“Mirror, mirror” comes from the Brothers Grimm, whose queen says “Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand”.63. Nobody in Casablanca says “Play it again, Sam.” What does Ilsa actually say?Hard
Show the answer
“Play it, Sam.”She asks him to play “As Time Goes By”; the “again” crept in later.64. The Apollo 13 crew never said “Houston, we have a problem.” What did they say?Hard
Show the answer
“Houston, we've had a problem.”Jack Swigert said it first and Jim Lovell repeated it; the 1995 film tidied the tense.65. Which famous line does Sherlock Holmes never say in any of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories?Medium
Show the answer
“Elementary, my dear Watson.”He says “elementary” and he says “my dear Watson”, just never together.66. Which Star Trek catchphrase was never said word for word in the original series?Medium
Show the answer
“Beam me up, Scotty.”Kirk said close versions, like “Scotty, beam us up”, but never that exact line.67. When it went up in 1923, the Hollywood sign had four extra letters. What did it say?Medium
Show the answer
HOLLYWOODLANDIt was an ad for a housing development; the LAND came down in 1949.68. Jim Henson made the first Kermit the Frog in 1955 from his mother's old coat and what else?Medium
Show the answer
A ping-pong ballThe ball, cut in half, made the eyes.69. What is Barbie's full name?Hard
Show the answer
Barbara Millicent RobertsShe's named after Barbara, the daughter of Ruth Handler, who created the doll in 1959.70. In Disney's Snow White, which dwarf is the only one without a beard?Easy
Show the answer
DopeyThe youngest-looking dwarf is clean-shaven, and silent too.71. The Pringles mascot is officially Julius Pringles. Where did the name Julius come from?Hard
Show the answer
A prank edit on WikipediaSomeone slipped “Julius” into the Pringles article in 2006, and the company later adopted it.72. Cookie Monster once sang that his name before cookies was what?Hard
Show the answer
SidHe said so in a 2004 Sesame Street song about the first time he ate a cookie.73. Winnie-the-Pooh was named after a real bear called Winnie. Which city was she named after?Medium
Show the answer
WinnipegA Canadian soldier brought her to England, and she ended up at London Zoo, where A. A. Milne's son met her.74. Which town in Alberta, Canada, leans into its Star Trek name with a model starship by the highway?Medium
Show the answer
VulcanVulcan, Alberta, has a large model of the USS Enterprise and a space-themed visitor center.
Funny trivia questions for work
Office tools, tech firsts and company origin stories. Fair game for every department.
75. The paperclip that popped up in Microsoft Office asking if you needed help had an official name. What was it?Medium
Show the answer
ClippitEveryone called him Clippy, and he showed up from Office 97 until Microsoft retired him.76. In 1982, a computer scientist suggested typing :-) to flag a joke. Where did he post it?Hard
Show the answer
A Carnegie Mellon message boardScott Fahlman proposed :-) for jokes and :-( for serious posts, so nobody took a joke the wrong way.77. At Starbucks, a venti hot drink is 20 ounces. What does venti mean in Italian?Easy
Show the answer
TwentyThe size is named after its ounces; grande just means “large”.78. Samsung started in 1938 as a small trading company in Korea. What did it sell?Hard
Show the answer
Groceries, like dried fish and noodlesElectronics came decades later, in 1969.79. Before it made cars, Toyota's founding family business made what?Medium
Show the answer
Weaving loomsSakichi Toyoda's loom company started the car division that became Toyota Motor in 1937.80. Since 2017, French workers at bigger companies have had a legal right to do what after hours?Medium
Show the answer
Ignore work emailFrance's “right to disconnect” makes firms with 50 or more staff set limits on after-hours messages.81. In Sweden, what is fika?Easy
Show the answer
A coffee break, with something sweetMany Swedish offices treat it as a daily ritual, not an optional extra.82. PowerPoint almost shipped under a different name. What was it?Hard
Show the answer
PresenterThe name was already taken, so the team went with PowerPoint before the 1987 launch.83. What did the very first tweet, sent in 2006, say?Medium
Show the answer
“just setting up my twttr”Co-founder Jack Dorsey sent it, back when the service was still spelled without vowels.84. Gmail launched with a huge 1 GB of free storage. Why did people think it was a joke?Medium
Show the answer
It launched on April 1Google announced it on April 1, 2004, and plenty of readers assumed it was a prank.85. Yahoo's name is often said to stand for “Yet Another Hierarchical” what?Hard
Show the answer
Officious OracleThat's a joke backronym; the founders say they mostly liked the word, after the rude, rough Yahoos in Gulliver's Travels.86. Microsoft put Solitaire in Windows in 1990 partly to teach people what skill?Medium
Show the answer
Using a mouseDragging cards around was practice for dragging and dropping everything else.87. Why are classic Post-it Notes yellow?Hard
Show the answer
The lab only had yellow scrap paperThe team tested the first notes on spare yellow paper from the lab next door, and the color stuck.88. Which symbol did a Twitter user suggest in 2007 for grouping posts by topic?Easy
Show the answer
The hashtag (#)Chris Messina proposed it, and Twitter later turned hashtags into links.
Witty trivia questions about words
Long words, lost words and words named after real people.
89. Hawaii's state fish has one of the longest names in the islands. Can you say it?Hard
Show the answer
HumuhumunukunukuāpuaʻaIt's the reef triggerfish, and the name roughly means “triggerfish with a snout like a pig”.90. What does the giant word floccinaucinihilipilification mean?Hard
Show the answer
Judging something as worthlessIt's built from four Latin words for things of little value, mostly as a joke.91. The word maverick comes from a Texas rancher named Samuel Maverick. What did he refuse to do?Medium
Show the answer
Brand his cattleUnbranded calves came to be called mavericks, and then so did independent people.92. Overmorrow is a real, if old, English word. What does it mean?Medium
Show the answer
The day after tomorrowGerman still has it in daily use: übermorgen.93. What do you call someone who gives opinions on things far outside their expertise?Hard
Show the answer
An ultracrepidarianLatin for “beyond the sandal”, from the tale of a shoemaker who critiqued a painting past its shoes.94. Mixing up the first sounds of two words, as in “a blushing crow” for “a crushing blow”, is named after whom?Medium
Show the answer
William SpoonerThe Oxford don was famous for it, hence the spoonerism.95. Which two words were squashed together to make “hangry”, added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2018?Easy
Show the answer
Hungry and angryA word blended from two others is called a portmanteau, after a suitcase that opens into two halves.96. The writer Horace Walpole coined “serendipity” in 1754. Which fairy tale gave him the idea?Hard
Show the answer
The Three Princes of SerendipThe princes kept finding things they weren't looking for. Serendip is an old name for Sri Lanka.97. In medieval timekeeping, how long was a “moment”?Hard
Show the answer
90 secondsAn hour was split into 40 moments, so “just a moment” was once a precise promise.98. A village in Wales has a name 58 characters long. What do locals usually shorten it to?Hard
Show the answer
LlanfairpwllThe full name starts Llanfairpwllgwyngyll and keeps going; the station sign spells all of it out for tourists' photos.99. The dachshund's name is German for what?Medium
Show the answer
Badger dogIts long, low body was bred to follow badgers into their burrows.100. Sesquipedalian describes someone fond of long words. What does it literally mean?Hard
Show the answer
A foot and a half longIt comes from the Roman poet Horace, who mocked “words a foot and a half long”.
How to run a funny trivia round in 15 minutes
Ten questions, one bonus rule, and a winner before the coffee gets cold.
- Minutes 0 to 2: teams. Split into teams of three to five and let each pick a name. Mix departments so the jokes travel.
- Minutes 2 to 12: ten questions. Read ten questions from different sections and give 40 seconds each. Then read the answer and its one-line why: that's where the laugh lands.
- The bonus point: funniest wrong answer. After each question, the host picks the best wrong answer and gives that team one bonus point. Teams stop leaving blanks.
- Minutes 12 to 15: scores and winner. Add up, crown the winner, and give the funniest-answer prize to whoever earned the most bonus points.
Need a warm-up first? Open with funny icebreaker questions or a few riddles for adults. To keep the laughs going every week, start a fun fact Friday. When the team wants a real challenge, switch to hard trivia questions.
Want someone to run funny trivia for your team?
A live host handles the questions, the scoring and the banter, so you get to laugh along. Trivia with a Twist! has a personable host and rounds that use different parts of your brain. Fun-Filled Feud is a survey-based game show with outrageous questions. Each runs 60 minutes; book about 2 weeks ahead, and earlier for December, when dates fill first. Teams split across time zones can play two sessions. See virtual game shows, or get a free quote.
Hosted on Zoom, with Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request. Live prices below, or see every virtual trivia night.
