Free pub quiz: week of October 12, 2026
29 questions in 4 rounds and a tiebreaker, with answers. Free to use at your pub, club, school or party.
Present it or print the answer sheetsBlank answer sheets
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Round 1: All-American
What is the NFL championship game, contested by the league’s AFC and NFC champions and often nicknamed the “big game”?
Answer
Super Bowl
Also accept: Superbowl
The Super Bowl is the National Football League’s championship game. It was established through the 1966 merger agreement between the NFL and American Football League.
Which major North American river flows from Lake Itasca to a delta on the Gulf of Mexico and features prominently in Mark Twain’s writing?
Answer
Mississippi River
Also accept: the Mississippi, Mississippi
The Mississippi River runs 2,340 miles from traditional headwaters at Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its delta in the Gulf of Mexico. Its watershed drains parts of 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.
Which American abolitionist guided about 70 enslaved people to freedom and later served as a Union spy during the Civil War?
Answer
Harriet Tubman
Also accept: Araminta Ross, Minty Ross, Tubman, Harriet Ross Tubman
Harriet Tubman escaped slavery, made some 13 rescue missions using the Underground Railroad, and later worked as a Union scout and spy.
In what year was the first World Series played to decide Major League Baseball's championship?
Answer
1903
The first World Series was played in 1903 between the champions of the American League and National League.
Which American landscape architect co-designed New York City’s Central Park and helped establish landscape architecture as a profession?
Answer
Frederick Law Olmsted
Also accept: Olmsted, Frederick Olmsted, F. L. Olmsted, Frederick L. Olmsted, Frederick Olmstead, F. L. Olmstead
Frederick Law Olmsted is considered the father of landscape architecture in the United States and co-designed Central Park with Calvert Vaux.
Which 1894 American labor conflict began at a Chicago factory and grew into a nationwide boycott of trains carrying passenger cars?
Answer
Pullman Strike
Also accept: Pullman boycott, Pullman railroad strike, Great Pullman Strike
The Pullman Strike began when factory workers in Chicago protested wage reductions, then expanded into a nationwide boycott. It helped shape American labor policy and led to Debs’s imprisonment.
Which American entrepreneur became the first self-made female millionaire through cosmetics and hair-care products for Black women?
Answer
Madam C. J. Walker
Also accept: Sarah Breedlove, Mrs. Charles Joseph Walker, Madam Walker, C. J. Walker
Madam C. J. Walker built a cosmetics and hair-care empire and became widely recognized as America’s first self-made female millionaire. She also supported civil rights, education, and charitable causes.
In what year did the US Supreme Court, in Marbury v. Madison, assert judicial review, claiming power to invalidate unconstitutional statutes?
Answer
1803
In 1803, the Supreme Court asserted judicial review, allowing it to invalidate statutes that violate the Constitution.
Which American board-game designer was marketed as Monopoly’s sole inventor by Parker Brothers, despite the game’s earlier roots?
Answer
Charles Darrow
Also accept: Charles B. Darrow, Darrow
Darrow marketed his version of Monopoly to Parker Brothers, who promoted him as its sole inventor. Later research established that the game evolved from Elizabeth Magie’s earlier Landlord’s Game and other variants.
Which American culinary expert standardized U.S. Cooking measurements and wrote the widely used 1896 cookbook later known by her name?
Answer
Fannie Farmer
Also accept: Fannie Merritt Farmer, Fannie Merritt, Farmer, Fanny Farmer, Fannie M. Farmer
Fannie Farmer directed the Boston Cooking School and authored the Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, which became a foundational American culinary text.
Round 2: History & geography
Which capital city straddles both banks of the Dnieper River and was the center of the first East Slavic state?
Answer
Kyiv
Also accept: Kiev, Kievan Rus, Kiev Rus
Kyiv is Ukraine’s capital and largest city, located on both banks of the Dnieper River. Under Varangian rule, it became the capital of Kievan Rus', the first East Slavic state.
Which preserved ruin near the 1945 atomic-bomb blast site became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996?
Answer
Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Also accept: Genbaku Dome, Atomic Bomb Dome, A-Bomb Dome
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial, commonly called the Genbaku Dome, survived the atomic bombing and is preserved as a symbol of peace.
Which Pacific Northwest city was named in honor of a prominent Duwamish and Suquamish tribal leader?
Answer
Seattle
Also accept: Seattle, Washington, Seattle WA
The settlement was named for Chief Seattle, a prominent 19th-century leader of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes.
In what year did the Peloponnesian War begin when Sparta invaded Attica under King Archidamus II?
Answer
431 BC
Also accept: 431 BCE, 431 B.C., 431
The Peloponnesian War began with Sparta’s invasion of Attica, opening the Archidamian War.
In what year was the Republic of Turkey officially proclaimed in Ankara, beginning the country’s modern republican era?
Answer
1923
The Republic of Turkey was officially proclaimed in Ankara on 29 October 1923, with Mustafa Kemal as its first president.
Which 2002 film follows a Polish-Jewish musician surviving Nazi occupation in Warsaw and won the Palme d'Or and three Oscars?
Answer
The Pianist
Also accept: Pianist
The film dramatizes Władysław Szpilman’s survival in occupied Warsaw and won the 2002 Cannes Palme d'Or. It also earned Academy Awards for Roman Polanski, Ronald Harwood, and Adrien Brody.
Which remote Polynesian island, annexed by Chile in 1888, is famous for nearly 1,000 monumental moai statues?
Answer
Easter Island
Also accept: Isla de Pascua, Rapa Nui
Easter Island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 monumental moai, created by the early Rapa Nui people. Much of the island is protected within Rapa Nui National Park.
Which English city was the seat of the County Palatine ruled by powerful prince-bishops, and is known for its Norman cathedral and castle?
Answer
Durham
Also accept: Durham City
Durham was the English County Palatine whose prince-bishop combined ecclesiastical leadership with local secular authority during the Reformation era.
At which place did Marcus Agrippa defeat Mark Antony, ending Augustus’s chief rivalry?
Answer
Actium
Also accept: Battle of Actium, Cape Actium, Ambracian Gulf, Gulf of Ambracia
Actium was the site of Marcus Agrippa’s naval victory over Mark Antony in 31 BC, a decisive step in Augustus’s rise to sole power.
Round 3: Screen, stage & page
What nickname is given to Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, the last he wrote?
Answer
Jupiter
Also accept: Jupiter Symphony, Symphony No. 41
Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 in C major, his last, is known as the "Jupiter" Symphony.
Which cast-iron and plate-glass structure, designed by Joseph Paxton, was built for the Great Exhibition and later relocated from Hyde Park?
Answer
The Crystal Palace
Also accept: Crystal Palace
Joseph Paxton designed the building for the Great Exhibition of 1851. After relocation to South London, it stood until a devastating fire destroyed it in 1936.
In what year did George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue premiere at New York City's Aeolian Hall?
Answer
1924
Rhapsody in Blue premiered on February 12, 1924, at Aeolian Hall in New York City, with Gershwin playing piano.
Which 2016 black comedy horror film follows Ronnie, a disco-tour guide who secretly covers himself in grease at night to murder townspeople?
Answer
The Greasy Strangler
Also accept: Greasy Strangler
The film follows Ronnie and Brayden through an increasingly surreal series of murders, family conflicts, and bizarre transformations. It won The Discovery Award at the 2017 British Independent Film Awards.
Round 4: Science, sport & food
In what year did Scottish physician Alexander Fleming discover penicillin as a crude extract of mould?
Answer
1928
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 as a crude extract of Penicillium rubens. The same year saw Mickey Mouse’s debut in Steamboat Willie.
Which Northern California region, home to Apple, Google and Stanford University, is the world’s best-known high-tech hub?
Answer
Silicon Valley
Also accept: Santa Clara Valley
Silicon Valley is a high-technology region in the southern San Francisco Bay Area, centered roughly on the Santa Clara Valley.
What mould, called Japan’s “national fungus”, is used to ferment sake, soy sauce and miso?
Answer
Koji
Also accept: Kōji, Aspergillus oryzae, Koji mold, Koji mould, Rice koji, Kōji-kin
Koji (Aspergillus oryzae) turns starch into sugar, the first step in making sake and shōchū; it also ferments soybeans for soy sauce and miso.
Which chess player was defeated by Deep Blue in its 1997 match against a reigning World Champion?
Answer
Garry Kasparov
Also accept: Kasparov
In 1997, Deep Blue became the first computer to win a match against a reigning World Champion when it defeated Garry Kasparov.
Which French commune gives its name to a twice-distilled grape brandy made in the surrounding Charente departments?
Answer
Cognac
Cognac is the French commune whose name is used for the protected brandy produced in the surrounding Charente and Charente-Maritime departments.
Which Equatoguinean swimmer won a 100-metre freestyle Olympic heat after his two rivals were disqualified for false starts?
Answer
Eric Moussambani
Also accept: Eric Moussambani Malonga, Eric the Eel, Moussambani
Moussambani became internationally famous after struggling through the 100-metre freestyle at the 2000 Olympics. He won his heat because both competitors were disqualified for false starts.
Tiebreaker: closest answer wins
000 copies, how many copies did Illmatic sell in its first week in the United States?
Answer
59000 copies
Also accept: 59,000, fifty-nine thousand, 59k, about 60,000, roughly 60,000
Illmatic sold 59,000 copies during its first week in the United States. Its initial sales fell below expectations, even though critics praised the album extensively.
Which section of the Judiciary Act of 1789 did the Supreme Court examine in Marbury v. Madison?
Answer
13 section
Also accept: Section 13, Section thirteen, §13
The Court examined section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 and held that this provision unconstitutionally expanded the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction.