About This Quiz
General knowledge is difficult to pinpoint. For most people, it's not all that important for daily life, yet for others having an expanded general knowledge is vital. Why? Well, if you know enough about a range of subjects, you can fit in just about anywhere.
And it's not that hard to pick up. General knowledge is about following what's going on in the world around you. Try to catch a news bulletin every day. Instead of spending hours on social media, open a news site and get up to date with the world around you. Read about things in history that interest you. We guarantee it will lead you to even more exciting finds.
The key is starting off with things you like to learn about, then moving on from there. But you knew that, didn't you? You are here to try your luck at our tough general knowledge quiz, where you can expect questions about just about anything!
A range of questions faces you, taking in many different general knowledge subjects. These questions span many ages, from ancient history to modern times, planes trains and automobiles... ok, maybe not!
How do you think you will fare? Will you pass with flying colors?
Well, why not take the plunge and let's see what you can score.
Good luck!
"The Eagle has landed." Other than Neil Armstrong's words with his first step, these are probably the most famous words spoken in space. It landed at 20:17:40 UTC on Sunday, July 20 with just 20 seconds of fuel remaining!
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Without a doubt, blue whales are the largest mammals on Earth. They can grow up to around 30 feet in length. Not only that, but they weigh close to 200 tons! Now we think you would agree, that is big!
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Not only was Neil Armstrong the first man on the moon, but he was also the man to put the Eagle on the surface of the moon. Armstrong, the commander of the mission, piloted the Eagle although Aldrin was officially designated as the Lunar Module pilot.
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Why Pb, you ask? Well, it comes from the Latin name for lead, which is plumbum. A heavy metal, lead has the atomic number 82. Lead is a lot softer than other metals such as steel.
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Entomology is the study of insects and their relationships to humans, their surroundings and the Earth. It forms part of zoology. Not sure who would want to study creepy crawlies, though!
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Hitler became the chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. He was appointed by the then president, Paul von Hindenburg. Effectively, this gave Hitler control of the country, and when Von Hindenburg died, Hitler ruled himself as Fuhrer.
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Performed by Dr. Christiaan Barnard, the first human heart transplant took place on December 3, 1967. The patient, Louis Washkansky, lived for 18 days after the operation before dying for pneumonia.
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It sure is Canada, eh! The flag is unofficially known as the Maple Leaf or l'Unifolié in French, which stands for one-leafed. The flag was adopted on February 15, 1965.
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Krypton was the home of Superman. He was sent as a child to Earth by his parents as Krypton was about to be destroyed. The planet is first mentioned in Action Comics #1 in 1938.
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Vijay Singh is indeed Fijian. "The Big Fijian" as he is known has three majors to his credit, the US Masters (2000) and PGA Championship (1998, 2004). He also has won 34 times on the PGA Tour and 13 times on the European Tour.
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Yes, the Donkey we all know and love from the "Shrek" movies is voiced by Eddie Murphy. Murphy was a very successful comedian in the 1980's and translated that into Hollywood. His fame slowly waned, however, but roles like Donkey help remind us of his talent.
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It is the job of the pancreas to make insulin. In type 1 diabetics, the pancreas cannot do that, therefore they have to inject it.
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Although many people think Instanbul to be the capital of Turkey, it is not. Istanbul is the largest city in the country. Ankara, however, is the capital. It was named capital on October 29, 1923.
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Robin Williams's popularity was huge at the time of the release of "Aladdin" in 1992. Interestingly, Williams improvised and ad-libbed many of the speaking parts of the Genie character.
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Olaus Roemer was a Danish scientist born in the 1600's. In 1676 he was the first scientist to measure the speed of light. He did this by viewing eclipses of the moons of Jupiter. And then lots of calculations!
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A Greek philosopher, Pythagoras was born in 570 BC and lived till 495 BC. Other than his knowledge of math (he invented the Pythagorean theorem) he also is associated with having discovered the five different climatic zones, proportions and the fact that the Earth is a sphere.
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While the Spanish colonized most of South America, it was Portugal that got to Brazil first. It was colonized in the name of Portugal by Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500. Naturally, small settlements formed and the Portuguese language was passed on to the local people.
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The Police formed in 1977. Difficult to put into one style of music, they were a mixture of reggae, ska, punk, and rock and soon built up a massive following. And in 1986, when they were one of the biggest bands in the world, they split due to inter-band fights and tension.
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Rugby was invented in 1823. Legend has it that a boy called William Webb Ellis, disregarding the rules of football, picked up the ball and ran with it and that is how the sport was born. Today, it is played in many countries around the with New Zealand the current world champions.
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Cape Town is at the southern tip of Africa and forms part of the country of South Africa. It was founded in 1652 by the Dutch as a refreshment station for their ships on the way to the East around Africa. Today, it is one of the world's best tourism cities and is noted for its beautiful backdrop of Table Mountain.
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Actually the Kitti’s Hog-nosed Bat or Bumblebee Bat is the world's smallest mammal by size. If you measured by weight, it would be the Etruscan shrew. These bats are found in Thailand.
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The League of Nations was formed after the First World War. The exact date? Well, that was January 10, 1920. The purpose of the organization was to prevent another World War. Although it was the idea of American President Woodrow Wilson, America did not join.
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The Gobi desert is found in both China and Mongolia. The desert itself covers an area of over 500,000 square miles. Unlike other deserts in the world, the Gobi consists of exposed rock as opposed to moving sands.
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Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest cricketer of the modern generation. He made his debut for India in Test cricket at the age of 16 and played 660 times for his country in various formats, scoring 100 centuries and over 34,000 runs.
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The Korean War started when forces from the Communist north crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea, a non-Communist country. Under General Douglas MacArthur, the United States and other Allied Forces held off the Koreans right at the tip of the country, eventually fighting back to recapture Seoul. Eventually, the countries were set back to how they were before the war started.
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Gold holds the periodic table name of Au because of its Latin name, aurum. A precious metal, gold has an atomic number of 79. We all know how sought after this metal is.
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Of course, the Eiffel Tower is found in the City of Love, Paris. The construction on the tower started in January 1887, and it was complete by March 1889. Initially, it was criticized by many for its design, but now is one of the most recognized landmarks in the world.
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J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the greatest fantasy writers of all time. His creation of Middle Earth and the various races in it is nothing short of remarkable. Other than the "Lord of the Rings," Tolkien also penned "The Hobbit," amongst others.
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Eddie Rickenbacker's story is incredible. In the space of seven months, he quickly achieved 26 aerial victories over the Western Front flying his trusty Spad bi-plane fighter.
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King Lear is one of Shakespeare's tragedies. It is thought he wrote it in 1605, and it was first performed in 1606. It comprises five acts.
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Over 1,000 people perished when a German U-boat sank the Lusitania in 1915. 128 of those that died were American citizens. This eventually drew America into the war in 1917.
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Not only did Louis Bleriot become the first person to fly across the English channel, but he had another claim to fame as well. Bleriot designed the first headlamp that was practical to fix to cars. Bleriot achieved his channel crossing on June 25, 1909.
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation or F.B.I. was established on July 26, 1908, as the Bureau of Investigation. Today, it employs around 35,000 people and operates as a criminal investigative, counter-terrorism, counterintelligence organization.
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Field hockey is the sport in which you could have a penalty or a short corner. The game as it is played today was recorded in the 19th Century in England. However, it has its origins in the middle ages. It has been an ever-present Olympic sport since 1928.
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Motorola, through Martin Cooper, started working on cellular phone technology in the 1970s. In 1983 the first phones were brought to market. Cooper made the first call with a mobile phone and is considered the "father of the cell phone."
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