Older Than Your Excuses
Said to have been the brainchild of Odysseus, which construction from Greek mythology gave its name to malicious software disguised as a legitimate program?
A. Pandora’s Box
B. Trojan Horse
C. Golden Fleece
D. Gordian Knot
B. Trojan Horse
Fun Fact: In computing, a Trojan disguises itself as legitimate software to trick users into installing or running it. Unlike a computer virus, it does not reproduce by itself.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded which groundbreaking computer company?
A. Apple
B. Dell
C. IBM
D. Oracle
A. Apple
Fun Fact: Apple was founded in 1976 by Jobs, Wozniak, and a lesser-known third cofounder, Ronald Wayne, who sold his share shortly afterward.
True or False: In written English, approximately one out of every eight letters is an “E.”
A. True
B. False
A. True
Fun Fact: “E” is the most frequently used letter in English, accounting for roughly 12–13% of letters in typical written text.
Set near Detroit, which 1990s ABC sitcom starred Tim Allen as the accident-prone television host and handyman Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor?
A. Coach
B. Home Improvement
C. The Drew Carey Show
D. According to Jim
B. Home Improvement
Fun Fact: Tim Taylor’s fictional show-within-the-show was called Tool Time and featured his far more capable assistant, Al Borland.
Which one-named pop star and former frontman of the Police received his nickname from wearing yellow-and-black-striped sweaters?
A. Bono
B. Seal
C. Flea
D. Sting
D. Sting
Fun Fact: His real name is Gordon Sumner. A fellow musician thought his striped sweater made him look like a bee and began calling him “Sting.”
Which Southeastern European country with an ancient history is officially named the Hellenic Republic?
A. Greece
B. North Macedonia
C. Bulgaria
D. Albania
A. Greece
Fun Fact: Greeks call their country Hellas or Elláda, while “Greece” comes from the Latin name Graecia.
At the end of a week-long party at the beach house, you suffer from “singultus.” What medical condition do you have?
A. Athlete’s foot
B. Facial tic
C. Sunburn
D. Hiccups
D. Hiccups
Fun Fact: “Singultus” comes from a Latin word meaning “to catch one’s breath while sobbing.”
True or False: A “jiffy” is an actual unit of time.
A. True
B. False
A. True
Fun Fact: The exact length of a jiffy varies by field. In physics, it can mean the time light takes to travel one centimeter in a vacuum—about 33.4 trillionths of a second
Which Spokane native became a major television star after appearing in HBO’s Euphoria and The White Lotus?
A. Zendaya
B. Sydney Sweeney
C. Alexandra Daddario
D. Hunter Schafer
B. Sydney Sweeney
Fun Fact: Sweeney earned Emmy nominations for both Euphoria and The White Lotus in the same year—2022.
Despite releasing only three studio albums, which “well-seasoned” musical act became the best-selling girl group of all time?
A. Destiny’s Child
B. TLC
C. The Spice Girls
D. The Supremes
C. The Spice Girls
Fun Fact: Their 1996 debut single, “Wannabe,” reached No. 1 in 37 countries and helped launch the worldwide “Girl Power” phenomenon.
Which legendary founder of Rome is said to have killed his brother Remus following an insult involving the city’s wall?
A. Claudius
B. Aeneas
C. Tiberius
D. Romulus
D. Romulus
Fun Fact: Rome’s legendary founding is traditionally dated to 753 B.C. Star Trek later used Romulus and Remus as the names of the Romulan homeworld and its neighboring planet.
In Australia, what are “the Olgas”?
A. The national women’s football team
B. Outback rock formations
C. A cluster of streets in Melbourne
D. Annual opera awards
B. Outback rock formations
Fun Fact: The Olgas are now officially called Kata Tjuta, meaning “many heads” in the language of the Indigenous Anangu people.
True or False: It takes more than an hour to completely soft-boil an ostrich egg.
A. True
B. False
B. False
Fun Fact: An ostrich egg generally takes around 40 minutes to soft-boil, while hard-boiling one can take approximately 90 minutes.
What line of muscular heroes and villains did Mattel create to compete with the popularity of Star Wars action figures?
A. ThunderCats
B. Masters of the Universe
C. G.I. Joe
D. SilverHawks
B. Masters of the Universe
Fun Fact: The franchise’s most famous hero, He-Man, first appeared as an action figure before the animated series debuted in 1983.
Kimbra already had a top-five album in New Zealand when she teamed up with Gotye for which 2012 international chart-topping single?
A. Little Talks
B. Somebody That I Used to Know
C. We Are Young
D. Pumped Up Kicks
B. Somebody That I Used to Know
Fun Fact: The song reached No. 1 in more than 20 countries and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
The ancient Romans called the region surrounding the Rhine delta “Batavia.” Which modern country occupies roughly the same area?
A. Belgium
B. Germany
C. Luxembourg
D. The Netherlands
D. The Netherlands
Fun Fact: During the colonial era, the Dutch named present-day Jakarta Batavia after the ancient Batavi people.
Mick Jagger is the lead singer of the Rolling Stones, but what is his middle name?
A. Xavier
B. Sidney
C. Tyrone
D. Philip
D. Philip
Fun Fact: Mick Jagger’s full birth name is Michael Philip Jagger. “Mick” is a shortened form of Michael.
True or False: Tuxedo Park, New York, was named after the tuxedo dinner jacket.
A. True
B. False
B. False
Fun Fact: It was the other way around—the tuxedo jacket received its American name after the style was popularized at New York’s exclusive Tuxedo Club.
In what Wild West town was the long-running television series Gunsmoke set?
A. Abilene, Texas
B. Tombstone, Arizona
C. Deadwood, South Dakota
D. Dodge City, Kansas
D. Dodge City, Kansas
Fun Fact: Gunsmoke aired 635 television episodes over 20 seasons, with James Arness starring as Marshal Matt Dillon.
In 1991, which singer had a hit with “Baby Baby,” the first single from her eighth album, Heart in Motion?
A. Debbie Gibson
B. Taylor Dayne
C. Amy Grant
D. Paula Abdul
C. Amy Grant
Fun Fact: Amy Grant wrote the song’s lyrics with her newborn daughter, Millie, in mind. “Baby Baby” became her first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100.
At what archaeological location were the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered between 1947 and 1956?
A. Masada
B. Qumran
C. Ein Gedi
D. Jericho
B. Qumran
Fun Fact: The scrolls were discovered across 11 caves near Qumran and include some of the oldest surviving manuscripts of books from the Hebrew Bible.
Who invented volleyball in 1895?
A. William Maccordian
B. William Moboe
C. William G. Morgan
D. William Mdrum
C. William G. Morgan
Fun Fact: Morgan originally called the sport “Mintonette” before its name was changed to volleyball.
True or False: Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both participants are registered blood donors.
A. True
B. False
B. False
Fun Fact: This is a widely circulated myth. Paraguayan officials have denied it, and no law creating a “blood-donor exception” has been found
“Mathman,” a parody of the arcade game Pac-Man, was a recurring segment on which educational television show?
A. Mathnet
B. 3-2-1 Contact
C. Square One Television
D. The Electric Company
C. Square One Television
Fun Fact: Mathnet was another recurring segment on Square One Television—a mathematical parody of the police drama Dragnet.
The 2001 song “Hit ’Em Up Style (Oops!)” was the debut single of which colorfully named R&B singer-songwriter?
A. Macy Gray
B. Blu Cantrell
C. Pink
D. India.Arie
B. Blu Cantrell
Fun Fact: The song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Blu Cantrell a Grammy nomination.