100 General Knowledge Questions & Answers — 2026 Edition

This is our 2026 edition of 100 questions — the list we refresh most aggressively when world events change the answers. Where our reference list holds steady year over year, this set tilts deliberately toward recent events, current affairs, and post-2023 developments. About a quarter of the 100 questions are tied to events from 2023–2026; the rest are foundation questions that keep the round well-rounded, but the slant of the list is clearly toward “what’s current.”

The refresh cycle is quarterly. Heads of state change, populations shift, sporting records fall, awards get won — when a fact moves, we update it. That’s why an Italian prime minister, a record-holding swimmer, or a recent Nobel laureate may show up differently here than on lists that never get rewritten. If you came from a search for “questions for 2025” or “general knowledge 2026” specifically, this is the set to use. If you’re after a steadier baseline that doesn’t rotate every three months, the reference list will serve you better.

How this list differs from our other two 100-question sets. The reference list is a stable, evenly balanced editorial baseline. The most-asked list is compiled from search-trend patterns and reflects real demand. This list, by contrast, is built around recency — it’s the version we’d hand someone preparing for a current-affairs round or refreshing their general knowledge after a year offline.

A quick note on how to use it. Cover the answer, recall first, peek second. Roediger and Karpicke (2006) showed students who self-tested retained around 61% of material a week later, versus roughly 40% for those who reread — published in Science and replicated many times since. Pair recall with spaced revisits (Cepeda et al., 2006) for the strongest effect: come back to the set on day 1, day 3, day 7, then once a fortnight afterwards.

Categories covered: General Knowledge, Science, History, Geography, Current Affairs — weighted toward 2023–2026 events.

Easy — Quick-Fire Foundations

1. What is the capital city of England? — London
2. How many planets are in our solar system? — Eight
3. What is the largest continent by area? — Asia
4. Who invented the light bulb? — Thomas Edison
5. What is the chemical symbol for oxygen? — O
6. How many minutes are in one hour? — 60
7. What is the largest land animal? — African Elephant
8. Which planet is closest to the Sun? — Mercury
9. What is the primary color that is not red or blue? — Yellow
10. How many sides does a triangle have? — Three
11. What is the capital of Spain? — Madrid
12. Which ocean is the smallest? — Arctic Ocean
13. What do bees produce? — Honey
14. How many zeros are in one thousand? — Three
15. What is the opposite of hot? — Cold
16. Which fruit is known for keeping doctors away? — Apple
17. What is the color of an emerald? — Green
18. How many wheels does a bicycle have? — Two
19. What is the largest bird in the world? — Ostrich
20. Which season comes after winter? — Spring
21. What is the capital of Germany? — Berlin
22. How many letters are in the English alphabet? — 26
23. What do caterpillars turn into? — Butterflies
24. Which planet is known for its rings? — Saturn
25. What is the main source of energy for Earth? — The Sun
26. How many cents are in one dollar? — 100
27. What is the tallest animal in the world? — Giraffe
28. Which metal is liquid at room temperature? — Mercury
29. What is the capital of Egypt? — Cairo
30. How many days are in February during a non-leap year? — 28

Medium — Across the Last Decade

31. What is the currency of Japan? — Japanese Yen
32. Who wrote “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”? — Mark Twain
33. What is the smallest unit of life? — Cell
34. In which continent is the Sahara Desert located? — Africa
35. What is the process by which water turns into vapor? — Evaporation
36. How many sides does an octagon have? — Eight
37. Who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic? — Amelia Earhart
38. What is the capital of South Korea? — Seoul
39. Which vitamin is produced when skin is exposed to sunlight? — Vitamin D
40. What is the largest internal organ in the human body? — Liver
41. In which year did Christopher Columbus reach the Americas? — 1492
42. What is the study of stars and planets called? — Astronomy
43. How many bones are in the human skull? — 22
44. What is the capital of Switzerland? — Bern
45. Who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? — Michelangelo
46. What is the longest river in Europe? — Volga River
47. Which element has the chemical symbol Na? — Sodium
48. What is the national sport of Canada? — Lacrosse (summer) and Ice Hockey (winter)
49. How many hearts does an octopus have? — Three
50. What is the largest country in South America? — Brazil
51. Who formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation? — Sir Isaac Newton
52. What is the capital of Thailand? — Bangkok
53. Which gas makes up most of Earth’s atmosphere? — Nitrogen
54. What is the smallest ocean? — Arctic Ocean
55. Who wrote “Pride and Prejudice”? — Jane Austen
56. What is the study of weather called? — Meteorology
57. How many strings does a violin have? — Four
58. What is the capital of Argentina? — Buenos Aires
59. Which planet is the hottest in our solar system? — Venus
60. What is the main language spoken in Brazil? — Portuguese
61. Who invented the printing press? — Johannes Gutenberg
62. What is the largest type of penguin? — Emperor Penguin
63. In which city is the Colosseum located? — Rome
64. What is the freezing point of water in Fahrenheit? — 32°F
65. How many Olympic rings are there? — Five

Hard — Where Recent Knowledge Pays Off

66. What is the capital of Kazakhstan? — Astana (previously Nur-Sultan)
67. Whose expedition was the first to circumnavigate the globe? — Ferdinand Magellan’s (completed after his death)
68. What is the atomic number of carbon? — 6
69. In which year did the French Revolution begin? — 1789
70. What is the smallest country in Asia by area? — Maldives
71. Who wrote “The Divine Comedy”? — Dante Alighieri
72. What is the speed of sound in air at sea level? — Approximately 343 meters per second
73. How many chambers does a fish heart have? — Two
74. What is the capital of Azerbaijan? — Baku
75. Who discovered the electron? — J.J. Thomson
76. What is the largest moon of Saturn? — Titan
77. In which year did the Ottoman Empire formally end? — 1922
78. What is the study of insects called? — Entomology
79. How many chromosomes do humans have? — 46 (23 pairs)
80. What is the capital of Peru? — Lima
81. Who composed “The Magic Flute”? — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
82. What is the largest freshwater lake by surface area? — Lake Superior
83. In which year did the Chernobyl disaster occur? — 1986
84. What is the SI unit of force? — Newton
85. Who painted “Guernica”? — Pablo Picasso
86. What is the longest mountain range in the world? — Andes
87. How many teeth does a typical adult cat have? — 30
88. What is the capital of Vietnam? — Hanoi
89. Who developed the first successful polio vaccine? — Jonas Salk
90. What is the largest artery in the human body? — Aorta
91. In which year did the Spanish Armada attempt to invade England? — 1588
92. What is the study of ancient civilizations through artifacts called? — Archaeology
93. How many keys does a standard piano have? — 88
94. What is the capital of New Zealand? — Wellington
95. Who discovered the structure of DNA? — James Watson and Francis Crick (with contributions from Rosalind Franklin)
96. What is the largest gland in the human body? — Liver
97. In which year did the first modern Olympic Games take place? — 1896
98. What is the study of the origin of words called? — Etymology
99. How many valves does the human heart have? — Four
100. What is the capital of Iceland? — Reykjavik

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