50 Best Pub Quiz Questions: Sports, Movies, History & More

Not all trivia questions are equal.

The best ones have a moment. Someone is absolutely certain they know the answer — you can see it on their face — and then the reveal lands and they go quiet for ten seconds before saying "that can't be right."

These are those questions. 50 of them, across five categories. Copy them, print them, or just read from your screen.

How to use this list: For round ordering and hosting advice, see the full hosting guide. Difficulty is rated per question: ★ = everyone should get this, ★★ = most will, some won't, ★★★ = the ones that decide the winner.

Scoring: 1 point per correct answer. For questions with a stated range (speed of light, distances), award the point if the answer falls within it. Pick a policy on partial answers before round one and stick to it — changing rules mid-game is the fastest way to lose the room.

Round 1: Sports 🏆

The round that makes quiet people suddenly very loud

1. Which country has won the most FIFA World Cup titles? ★ Brazil — 5 times (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)

2. How many players from one team are on a basketball court at a time? ★ 5

3. In what year did Muhammad Ali defeat Sonny Liston for his first world heavyweight title? ★★ 1964

4. Which country hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics? ★ Brazil — Rio de Janeiro

5. How long is a marathon in kilometres? ★★ 42.195 km

Host tip: Accept 42. Don't be that person.

6. What sport is played at the Masters Tournament? ★ Golf — Augusta National, Georgia

7. Which Formula 1 constructor has the most Constructors' Championships? ★★ Ferrari — 16 titles

8. In cricket, how many balls are in a standard over? ★★ 6

9. Which country won the very first FIFA World Cup in 1930? ★★★ Uruguay

10. The five Olympic ring colours were chosen because at least one appears in every national flag. True or false? ★★★ True — the colours don't represent specific continents, as is commonly believed

Host tip: Most people think each colour maps to a continent. They don't. Expect arguments. You're right.

Round 2: Movies & TV 🎬

The round where everyone realises they've been watching the same 12 films their whole life

11. What is the name of the coffee shop in Friends? ★ Central Perk

12. Which director made Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, and Saving Private Ryan? ★ Steven Spielberg

13. What is the highest-grossing film of all time, not adjusted for inflation? ★★ Avatar (2009) — re-released in 2022

Host tip: Half the room will say Avengers: Endgame. The other half will say Titanic. Enjoy it.

14. In Breaking Bad, what subject does Walter White teach? ★ Chemistry

15. Which animated Disney film features the song "Under the Sea"? ★ The Little Mermaid

16. What is the name of Tony Stark's AI assistant in the Iron Man films? ★★ J.A.R.V.I.S.

17. How many Academy Awards did Titanic win in 1998? ★★★ 11 — tied with Ben-Hur and The Return of the King for the most ever

18. In Game of Thrones, what is the name of Jon Snow's direwolf? ★★ Ghost

19. Which actor played both Batman and Patrick Bateman in major films? ★★ Christian Bale

20. "You're gonna need a bigger boat" is from which film? ★★ Jaws (1975)

Round 3: History 📜

The round that makes everyone feel smart and terrible simultaneously

21. In which year did the Berlin Wall fall? ★ 1989

22. Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize? ★★ Marie Curie — Physics, 1903. She won a second in Chemistry in 1911.

23. In which city was Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated, triggering World War I? ★★ Sarajevo

24. What was the name of the first artificial satellite launched into space? ★★ Sputnik 1 — Soviet Union, 1957

25. Who painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling? ★ Michelangelo

26. Which empire was ruled by Genghis Khan? ★★ The Mongol Empire

27. What year did India gain independence from British rule? ★★ 1947

28. The French Revolution began in which year? ★★ 1789

29. Who was the first human to travel to space? ★ Yuri Gagarin — April 12, 1961

30. In which country did the Industrial Revolution begin? ★ Great Britain

Round 4: Science & Nature 🔬

The round someone will argue with even after you read the answer out loud

31. What is the chemical symbol for gold? ★★ Au — from the Latin aurum

32. How many bones are in an adult human body? ★★ 206

33. What is the speed of light, approximately? ★★ 300,000 km/s — accept 299,000 to 301,000

34. Which planet currently has the most confirmed moons? ★★★ Saturn — 146 confirmed as of 2023, edging out Jupiter

Host tip: The answer used to be Jupiter. This changed recently and people will fight you on it. Stand your ground.

35. What is the hardest natural substance on Earth? ★ Diamond

36. What gas do plants absorb during photosynthesis? ★ Carbon dioxide (CO₂)

37. How many chromosomes does a typical human cell contain? ★★ 46 — 23 pairs

38. What is the largest organ in the human body? ★★ The skin

Host tip: Someone will say the liver. Someone else will say the brain. Let them debate. Pause. Then reveal.

39. Which element has the atomic number 1? ★★ Hydrogen

40. Approximately how far is the Earth from the Sun? ★★★ 150 million kilometres — accept 147 to 153 million

Round 5: Wildcard 🌍

Classic trick questions. Everyone thinks they know. Not everyone does.

41. What is the capital city of Australia? ★★ Canberra

Host tip: Someone will say Sydney with complete confidence. The moment it dawns on them is worth the entire evening.

42. What language is spoken in Brazil? ★★ Portuguese — not Spanish

43. Which country is home to the most natural lakes? ★★★ Canada — over 60% of the world's lakes

44. How many strings does a standard guitar have? ★ 6

45. In which ocean is the Bermuda Triangle located? ★★ The Atlantic Ocean — North Atlantic

46. How many time zones does Russia span? ★★★ 11

47. What is the smallest country in the world by area? ★★ Vatican City — 0.44 km²

48. Who wrote Romeo and Juliet? ★ William Shakespeare

49. What currency is used in Japan? ★ Yen

50. How many faces does a standard die have? ★

Host tip: End on this one. It's so easy that whoever gets it wrong will never live it down, and whoever gets it right will feel briefly invincible. Either outcome is perfect.

Run These Tonight

If you're reading questions from a screen and want players to submit answers on their phones — with automatic scoring and a live leaderboard — Quizzr has built-in question sets for sports, movies, and more. Free, no sign-up, ready in under two minutes.

More question packs on the way. In the meantime, the hosting guide covers everything else.