40 questions to make you a virtual pub quiz master

During these strange and wacky days, where we all find ourselves with lots of spare time, people have been finding interesting and resourceful ways to connect with friends and family.

One new trend is pub quizzes. An extremely popular English pastime, the Tuesday evening quiz at the ‘local’ pub was always the talk of the town. Now, they’re online.

Not from the UK? Don’t worry! You can do one too – and we think you’ll love it!

It’s time to boost your general knowledge, upgrade your geography facts, and get the skills to run your very own epic pub quiz.

So how do you host one?

All you need is a video hosting platform like Zoom, a bunch of willing friends, family or colleagues who have access to a pen and paper, and a big smile on your face.

My suggestion for pacing your quiz – split it into sections for different topics, for example: world geography, history, fashion, pop culture, or music. Then do a short introduction explaining what your participants can expect.

Read out each question slowly and clearly, and tell them to write down the question number and their answer on a sheet of paper. To maintain the excitement, after each section reveal the answers – and get them to total up their scores after each round.

If you want to create a slightly more intense atmosphere for your guests, find a funky countdown timer on YouTube and play it for 20 seconds while they are trying to write their answers.

My 40 great example questions for hosting your first quiz

Take things to the next level with these questions and make your quiz ‘pop’.

General knowledge

1. How many time zones are there in Russia? (11)

2. What’s the national flower of Japan? (Cherry blossom)

3. How many stripes are there on the US flag? (13)

4. What’s the national animal of Australia? (Red Kangaroo)

5. How many days does it take for the Earth to orbit the Sun? (365)

6. Which of the following empires had no written language: Incan, Aztec, Egyptian, Roman? (Incan)

7. Until 1923, what was the Turkish city of Istanbul called? (Constantinople)

World geography

1. What country has the most islands in the world? (Sweden, over 220,000!)

2. What’s the smallest country in the world? (The Vatican)

3. What’s the capital of Canada? (Ottawa)

4. Name the largest (not highest) mountain range in the world? (The Andes – 7000km long; 6962m high)

5. Where is the lowest natural place on planet Earth? (The Mariana Trench, 11,034m)

6. Name the longest river in the world? (The Nile, 6650km)

Language, literature & art

1. What is the slang name for New York City, used by locals? (Gotham)

2. Name the best-selling book series of the 21st century? (Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling)

3. Which language has the most words (according to dictionary entries)? (English, 200,000 words)

4. Which famous graffiti artist comes from Bristol? (Banksy)

5. Norwegian artist Edvard Munch is famous for painting which iconic piece? (The Scream)

6. Which artist painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome? (Michelangelo)

History & fashion

1. When did they open the London underground? (1863)

2. Who invented the World Wide Web, and when? (Tim Berners-Lee, 1990)

3. Who invented the iconic Little Black Dress? (Coco Chanel, 1920s)

4. What happened on July 20th, 1969? (Apollo 11 landed on the Moon)

5. When was the first issue of Vogue published: 1892, 1960, 2000? (1892)

Pop culture & music

1. Where is Billie Eilish from? (Los Angeles)

2. What city do The Beatles come from? (Liverpool)

3. What is the all-time most-streamed song on Spotify to date? (Ed Sheeran, The Shape of You)

4. What is the most-streamed album on Spotify in 2019? (When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Billie Eilish)

5. How many keys does a classic piano have? (88)

6. Which famous American pop band was originally called ‘Kara’s Flowers’? (Maroon 5)

Sports

1. Where was the first modern Olympic Games held? (Athens, 1896)

2. Which football team is known as ‘The Red Devils’? (Manchester United)

3. Which driver has won the most Formula 1 championships? (Michael Schumacher)

4. Who is 3rd on the all-time list of female tennis Grand Slam champions? (Serena Williams)

5. What was the clothing company Nike originally called? (Blue Ribbon Sports)

Film & TV

1. When was Netflix founded: 1997, 2001, 2009, 2015? (1997)

2. What was the most-watched series on Netflix in 2019? (Stranger Things)

3. Name Pixar’s first feature-length movie? (Toy Story, 1995)

4. What is the name of the coffee shop in the sitcom Friends? (Central Perk)

5. Name Disney’s first film? (Snow White, 1937)