Best 100 Trivia for Seniors – With Answers

No screens, no phones, just a pot of tea, a comfy chair and a good old-fashioned quiz. This one’s built with seniors in mind — big on nostalgia, easy to read out loud, and light on obscure pop culture that only makes sense if you were born after 2005. Ten rounds, one hundred questions, covering old-time telly, classic songs, history, geography, sport and the sort of general knowledge you’d expect from a lifetime of paying attention.

Print it out for the retirement village games afternoon, read it aloud around the kitchen table, or work through it solo with a cuppa. Answers are all at the bottom, so no peeking.

Jump to a round

1. General Knowledge
2. Way Back When — History
3. Classic Movies & TV
4. Music Through the Decades
5. Household Names & Everyday Life
6. Geography
7. Sport
8. Food & Drink
9. Words, Sayings & Numbers
10. Mixed Bag

Round 1: General Knowledge

1. What is the only continent without any reptiles or snakes?
2. How many days are there in a leap year?
3. What is the largest ocean on Earth?
4. What colour do you get when you mix blue and yellow paint?
5. What is the main gas that humans breathe in and need to survive?
6. What is the tallest mountain in the world?
7. How many players make up a netball team on court?
8. What do bees collect from flowers to make honey?
9. What is the name of the currency used in the United Kingdom?
10. How many sides does a hexagon have?

Round 2: Way Back When — History

11. In what year did the Second World War end?
12. Who was the first man to walk on the Moon?
13. What ship famously sank on its maiden voyage in 1912?
14. Which Queen has reigned longer than any other British monarch in history?
15. In what year did Australia become a federation of states?
16. What was the name of the wall that divided a European capital city from 1961 to 1989?
17. Who was Australia’s wartime Prime Minister during most of the Second World War?
18. What decade saw the introduction of decimal currency in Australia?
19. What was the name of the first satellite launched into space, in 1957?
20. In what year did Cyclone Tracy devastate Darwin?

Round 3: Classic Movies & TV

21. Which 1939 film features a girl named Dorothy swept away to the Land of Oz?
22. Who played James Bond first on the big screen?
23. What was the name of the talking horse in the classic American sitcom of the 1960s?
24. Which long-running Australian soap, set in Ramsay Street, began in 1985?
25. Who starred as the title role in the 1965 film “The Sound of Music”?
26. What was the first name of the famous mouse created by Walt Disney?
27. Which British sitcom followed the misadventures of Basil, a bad-tempered hotel owner?
28. What was the name of the shark in the 1975 blockbuster film “Jaws”?
29. Which children’s puppet show featured Kermit, Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear?
30. What was the name of the fictional prehistoric family in the animated series set in Bedrock?

Round 4: Music Through the Decades

31. Which British band, formed in Liverpool, became one of the best-selling acts of all time?
32. Who was known as “The King of Rock and Roll”?
33. Which Swedish pop group won Eurovision in 1974 with “Waterloo”?
34. What was the stage name of the American singer born Robert Zimmerman?
35. Which Australian band recorded the hit “Down Under” in 1981?
36. What instrument is most associated with Scottish traditional music?
37. Who sang “I Will Survive,” a disco anthem released in 1978?
38. Which Queen song famously begins with the line “Is this the real life?”
39. What is the name of the record format that plays at 33 and a third revolutions per minute?
40. Which Australian singer was known for the hit “Khe Sanh”?

Round 5: Household Names & Everyday Life

41. What was the name of the device used before mobile phones that people used to send short written messages by tapping on a dial or keypad?
42. What household appliance was commonly known as a “wireless” before the term “radio” became standard?
43. What was the common term for a small shop that sold milk, bread, lollies and papers, often on a suburban corner?
44. What did people use before ballpoint pens became common, requiring dipping in an inkwell?
45. What was the name for the device used to play vinyl records, often with a large horn or speaker?
46. Before email, what service delivered handwritten or typed letters to your door?
47. What kitchen appliance replaced the icebox for keeping food cold?
48. What was the term for a black-and-white television, before colour sets became common in Australian homes?
49. What was a “party line” in the early days of telephones?
50. What household item was used to iron clothes before electric irons, heated on a stove?

Round 6: Geography

51. What is the smallest state in Australia by land area?
52. Which African country was formerly known as Rhodesia?
53. What is the longest river in the world?
54. Which country is both a continent and an island?
55. What is the capital city of New Zealand?
56. Which mountain range separates Europe from Asia?
57. What is the name of Australia’s largest coral reef system?
58. Which European city is famous for its canals and gondolas?
59. What is the largest desert in Australia?
60. Which two countries share the longest land border in the world?

Round 7: Sport

61. In what year did Australia last host the Summer Olympic Games?
62. What sport is played at Wimbledon each year?
63. Which country invented the game of cricket?
64. What is the name of Australia’s major horse race, held on the first Tuesday of November?
65. How many players are on a rugby league team on the field?
66. Which boxer was famously known as “The Greatest”?
67. What trophy is awarded to the winner of the AFL Grand Final?
68. In tennis, what is the term for a score of zero?
69. Which country won the first ever FIFA World Cup in 1930?
70. What is the maximum break possible in a single visit in snooker?

Round 8: Food & Drink

71. What Australian spread, dark and salty, is made from leftover brewer’s yeast extract?
72. What dessert, named after a Russian ballerina, is a meringue base topped with cream and fruit?
73. What is the main ingredient in traditional hummus?
74. What type of pastry is used to make a classic apple strudel?
75. What Australian biscuit, coated in chocolate and coconut, shares its name with a tropical fruit and a colour?
76. What drink is made by brewing fermented tea, often flavoured and served fizzy today?
77. What is the traditional main ingredient of a shepherd’s pie?
78. What Italian dish consists of a flat bread base topped with tomato, cheese and other toppings?
79. What fruit is dried to make a sultana?
80. What is the name for tea served in the English tradition, in the late afternoon with sandwiches and cake?

Round 9: Words, Sayings & Numbers

81. What does the saying “the early bird catches the worm” mean?
82. How many minutes are there in a full day?
83. What is a group of lions called?
84. What does “RSVP” stand for, commonly used on invitations?
85. What is the Roman numeral for 50?
86. What does the phrase “raining cats and dogs” mean?
87. How many degrees are there in a right angle?
88. What is a “baker’s dozen”?
89. What does the expression “bite the bullet” mean?
90. What is the next number in this sequence: 2, 4, 8, 16, __?

Round 10: Mixed Bag

91. What was the name of the first Governor-General of Australia?
92. What year did the Sydney Opera House officially open?
93. What is the collective name for the animals kangaroo, koala and wombat — a class of mammal unique to Australia and nearby islands?
94. What is the name of Australia’s national floral emblem?
95. Who wrote the classic Australian poem “The Man from Snowy River”?
96. What was the name of the first credit card widely used in Australia, introduced in the 1970s?
97. What was the popular name for the Depression-era shanty towns built from scrap materials?
98. What Australian coin, discontinued in 1992, was the smallest denomination in circulation?
99. What is the name of the annual ceremony held at dawn on 25 April to honour Australian and New Zealand service personnel?
100. What was the name given to the generation born roughly between 1946 and 1964, following the Second World War?

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Answers

Round 1: 1. Antarctica — 2. 366 — 3. The Pacific Ocean — 4. Green — 5. Oxygen — 6. Mount Everest — 7. Seven — 8. Nectar — 9. The pound sterling — 10. Six

Round 2: 11. 1945 — 12. Neil Armstrong — 13. The Titanic — 14. Queen Elizabeth II — 15. 1901 — 16. The Berlin Wall — 17. John Curtin — 18. The 1960s (1966) — 19. Sputnik 1 — 20. 1974

Round 3: 21. The Wizard of Oz — 22. Sean Connery — 23. Mister Ed — 24. Neighbours — 25. Julie Andrews — 26. Mickey — 27. Fawlty Towers — 28. Bruce — 29. The Muppet Show — 30. The Flintstones

Round 4: 31. The Beatles — 32. Elvis Presley — 33. ABBA — 34. Bob Dylan — 35. Men at Work — 36. The bagpipes — 37. Gloria Gaynor — 38. Bohemian Rhapsody — 39. The LP (long-playing record) — 40. Cold Chisel

Round 5: 41. The telegraph (sending a telegram) — 42. The radio — 43. The corner milk bar — 44. A fountain pen — 45. The gramophone — 46. The postal service — 47. The refrigerator — 48. A black-and-white TV set — 49. A shared telephone line used by several households at once — 50. A flat iron (or “sad iron”), heated on the stove

Round 6: 51. Tasmania — 52. Zimbabwe — 53. The Nile (though the Amazon is a close contender by some measures) — 54. Australia — 55. Wellington — 56. The Ural Mountains — 57. The Great Barrier Reef — 58. Venice — 59. The Great Victoria Desert — 60. Canada and the United States

Round 7: 61. 2000 (Sydney) — 62. Tennis — 63. England — 64. The Melbourne Cup — 65. 13 — 66. Muhammad Ali — 67. The AFL Premiership Cup — 68. Love — 69. Uruguay — 70. 147

Round 8: 71. Vegemite — 72. Pavlova — 73. Chickpeas — 74. Filo (phyllo) pastry — 75. The Cherry Ripe — 76. Kombucha — 77. Minced lamb (or beef, for cottage pie) — 78. Pizza — 79. Grapes — 80. High tea (or afternoon tea)

Round 9: 81. Those who act promptly get the best opportunities — 82. 1,440 — 83. A pride — 84. “Répondez s’il vous plaît” (please respond) — 85. L — 86. It’s raining very heavily — 87. 90 degrees — 88. Thirteen — 89. To endure a difficult or painful situation with courage — 90. 32

Round 10: 91. Lord Hopetoun — 92. 1973 — 93. Marsupials — 94. The golden wattle — 95. Banjo Paterson — 96. Bankcard — 97. Shanty towns were often nicknamed “Hoovervilles” overseas, and in Australia informal camps were sometimes called “susso camps” — 98. The one-cent coin — 99. Anzac Day — 100. The Baby Boomers

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How did you score?

• 80–100: Sharp as a tack. You could run this quiz yourself.
• 60–79: A great effort — a few gaps here and there, nothing to worry about.
• 40–59: A solid showing, though a round or two clearly wasn’t your era.
• Under 40: Time for a cuppa, a chat with the grandkids, and another go tomorrow.

Looking for more quizzes to share around? Try The Friday Quiz or Best 50 Free General Knowledge Quiz.