Are You Smarter Than the Average Person?

By: Isadora Teich
Estimated Completion Time
2 min
Are You Smarter Than the Average Person?
Image: Shutterstock

About This Quiz

There's some things that are common knowledge, and other things that go way over the average person's head. See if you are smarter than your average Joe with this HowStuffWorks quiz!
Are tomatoes vegetables?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Scientifically speaking, tomatoes are fruits because they develop in the ovary in the base of the plant. Many consider them vegetables because of how they are used in cooking, but technically they are fruits.

What is Beethoven's first name?
Franz
Robertus
Ludwig
Cairngorm
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German Romantic composer and pianist. He is one of the most widely recognized composers in music history.

Complete the sentence: "I want to go ______."
To
Too
Two
Tuo
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In English the word "Too" means also. "Two" is a number and "To" is often used to express motion or direction toward a specific point.

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Who wrote "The Catcher in the Rye"?
Harper Lee
Franz Kafka
J.D. Salinger
Lord Byron
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This novel was published initially in 1951. This classic novel follows the misadventures of a troubled teen playing hooky in New York City.

During which year did 9/11 take place?
1980
1945
2001
1992
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The events of 9/11 occurred on September 11, 2001. The Twin Towers in Manhattan were attacked by planes which had been hijacked by al-Qaeda.

What is the most widely spoken language on earth?
Chinese
Portuguese
English
Hindi
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Chinese is the most widely spoken language on earth. The Mandarin dialect of Chinese alone is spoken by roughly 1 billion people.

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Which of these countries is in Africa?
New Zealand
Chad
Singapore
Nepal
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Chad is a landlocked country in central Africa. It has a population of roughly 14 million.

What does the GOP refer to?
Republicans
Democrats
Libertarians
The Senate
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The GOP stands for Grand Old Party. It's a nickname for the Republican Party.

Did Vincent Van Gogh really cut off his ear in a fit of insanity?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This over-the-top story is actually true. A letter from Van Gogh's doctor reveals that in December 1888 Van Gogh actually cut his entire ear off. He gave it to a maid named Bernadette Murphy.

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Which of these is not a "Lord of the Rings" book?
"The Fellowship of the Ring"
"The Two Towers"
"The People of the Sun"
"The Return of the King"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

J. R. R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy contains "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers", and "The Return of the King." This is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the vast mythology he created.

Which of these countries is not in the Middle East?
Qatar
Yemen
Saudi Arabia
Myanmar
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Myanmar is a sovereign state in South East Asia bordered by India. It is also known as Burma.

Is America a pure democracy?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Despite the USA often being referred to as a democracy, it does not function as one and is not referred to as one anywhere in the Constitution. In a pure democracy, every citizen votes on every decision. In America, citizens vote for representatives who vote on their behalf, making it a republic.

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Traditional Judaism and Islam have what in common?
A matriarchal structure
Not eating pork
Celebrating Ramadan
Hebrew Prayers
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Religious restrictions on eating pork are common in many religions that developed in the Ancient Near East, as both Islam and Judaism did. Eating pork is forbidden in both the Torah and Quran.

Which of these wars began first?
The Cold War
The Korean War
The Iraq War
The Gulf War
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Cold War lasted from 1947-1991. It was a state of worldwide tension between the Eastern Bloc, largely the Soviet Union, and the Western Bloc, America and its allies.

Which word in this scentence is spelled incorrectly?
Which
Scentence
Incorrectly
Word
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Scentence" is spelled incorrectly. The right spelling of the word is sentence.

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Which is the official legal religion of America?
Taoism
Christianity
There is none
Islam
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Freedom of religion is guaranteed to all American citizens by the Constitution. This means that citizens of all religions can practice freely with no legal preference.

Is Africa a country?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Africa is a continent, the second largest on earth by both land area and population. It contains between 54-56 countries, including places like Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa.

Which of these is not one of the three branches of the US government?
Executive
Corporate
Legislative
Judicial
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The US government was not designed with a corporate branch. Its 3 branches are executive, legislative and judicial.

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During which year was President John F. Kennedy assassinated?
1950
1995
1963
1899
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963. He was shot as he rode through a motorcade in downtown Dallas, Texas.

What is the capital of California?
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Phoenix
Sacramento
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sacramento has been the state capital of California since 1879. It's the 6th-largest city in California.

What did Marilyn Monroe die of?
She's still alive.
Car crash
Homicide
Overdose
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home on August 5, 1962, at 36 years old. Her cause of death was ruled barbiturate overdose.

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Since its creation, how often has America been at war?
Never
A quarter of the time
About half the time
Most of the time
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

As of 2017, America is 239 years old and has spent 222 of those years at war. It has been at war 93% of the time, and at peace less than 20 years over the course of its history.

What kind of language is English?
Romance
Dravidian
Sino-Tibetan
Germanic
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

English is a West Germanic language that originated in medieval England. It has been shaped by Latin, Greek, French and numerous other languages as it spread around the world.

Japan is made up of ___________ islands.
4
about 100
1,945
6,852
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Japan is an archipelago comprised of over 6,000 islands. Its 4 main islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku make up the majority of its land mass.

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Who wrote "The Great Gatsby"?
F. Scott Fitzgerald
J.K. Rowling
Joseph Conrad
Danielle Steel
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"The Great Gatsby" is a classic American written by F. Scott Fitzgerald about the glitz and tragic emptiness of the Jazz Age. It was published in 1925.

Are there still colonies in the world today?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There are quite a few colonized places left in the world, though most are small islands belonging to either the US or European countries. The US has over a dozen colonies and territories, including Puerto Rico, Guam and American Samoa.

What does it mean if a president is impeached?
They are removed from office.
They are arrested.
They are imprisoned.
Charges are formally leveled against them.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Impeachment is similar to an indictment in criminal law, only it is the process through which government officials have the charges against them stated. It is the first step toward removal from office.

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Is India a country?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

India is formally known as the Republic of India. It is a federal constitutional republic with 29 states and 7 union territories.

Pick the misspelled word:
Aggressive
Disapear
Weird
Surprise
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Disappear is commonly misspelled. Make sure that extra "p" doesn't disappear when you spell it.

Which of these men was most recently president?
Bill Clinton
Richard Nixon
Thomas Jefferson
Grover Cleveland
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Bill Clinton was president from 1993-2001, making him the most recent president out of all of the men listed. He was the 42nd US president.

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Did the Nazi party practice socialism?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Despite Nazi being the shortened English form of The National Socialist German Workers' Party, the Nazis did not actually adhere to the far left principles of socialism when in power. Their ideas and actions were the exact opposite politically and can be defined as fascism, which is on the far right of the political spectrum.

Which illness decimated Europe's population before the Renaissance?
The Flu
HIV
The Black Death
Chicken Pox
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Bubonic Plague, also known as The Black Plague, killed between 75-200 million people in Eurasia in the mid-14th century. It killed 30-60% of Europe's total population and is estimated to have reduced the total world population from 450 million to roughly 350 million.

What does PEMDAS relate to?
Math
History
Biology
Medicine
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

PEMDAS refers to the order of operations when solving math problems. It stands for parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition and subtraction.

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Which two languages are mainly spoken in the Canadian city of Montreal?
English and French
Chinese and English
French and Arabic
German and Polish
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Montreal is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Quebec takes its French origins and culture very seriously, and French is the official language of the city.

What religion did Jesus practice?
Buddhism
Christianity
Jainism
Judaism
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Jesus was a Jewish preacher and religious figure who came to be the central emblem and holy figure of Christianity. He was often referred to as a rabbi during his life.

You Got:
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