Quiz for You and Your Family

“Hey!” she called as she dropped her bag in the hallway, kicked off her shoes, and headed straight for the kitchen, where I was prepping dinner.

“Mom, guess what?” she said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“What is it, sweetheart?” I replied, smiling at her enthusiasm. I loved when my children were excited about school.

“We had this super fun general knowledge quiz at school today. I think you should all try it!” she said.

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued by her excitement. Little Miss Carmen loved to prove that she was smarter than all of us at home, and taking this quiz was probably her latest way of doing so.

“A quiz, huh?” I asked as I chopped up some chicken for the curry. “How’d you do?”

“I got 20 out of 25 correct!” she said, beaming with pride.

“Woah! That’s impressive,” I said, genuinely surprised by her. Carmen retained knowledge well, but still, that was a high score. “You know what? Let’s all sit down and do it after dinner.”

Carmen laughed and nodded.

“I’ll get it ready,” she said.

She jumped down from the seat and ran to get her backpack. I watched as she pulled out a notebook and began to tear pieces of paper out for each of us.

“I’ve written it all here,” she said.

By the time she’d finished setting up, my husband, Gary, wandered into the kitchen, curious about the commotion.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, leaning against the counter. “Other than that delicious smell, Nora.”

“Mom’s about to take the quiz I did at school today,” Carmen explained, holding up her notebook like a game show host.

Naturally, my husband’s competitive streak kicked in immediately.

“Oh, really? Count me in! Let’s see who’s got the brains in this family, huh?” he said.

It wasn’t long before dinner was over, and the entire family was gathered around the dining table. Even my mother-in-law, Carol, who was staying with us for the week, couldn’t resist joining in.

My older son, Jake, who is seventeen and usually too cool for these things, finally put down his phone and decided to participate.

“Alright, let’s do this,” he said with a large grin on his face. “But don’t feel too bad when I crush all of you!”

We all took our seats, the atmosphere buzzing with excitement and a hint of competitive tension.

“Are you all ready?” Carmen asked, holding her notebook.

“Just get a move on,” Gary teased her.

One by one, my daughter began reading out the questions. Each of us scribbled away our answers on sheets of paper.

“Don’t cheat!” Carmen barked every few minutes.

“Don’t shout at us!” Carol exclaimed, chewing her pencil.

The questions ranged from history and geography to science and pop culture. Some were straightforward; others had us scratching our heads.

“Question 9,” Carmen called out. “Which of the following is not a Greek God or Goddess? Oceanus, Chaos, Hypnos, or Divinity?”

“Who the heck knows?” Gary said, looking confused.

I wrote my answer down quickly, feeling confident with my guess. But as the questions continued, I realized that I might not be as up-to-date on general knowledge as I’d thought.

Every so often, I caught Gary looking perplexed, Carol yawning, and Jake’s expression shifting from cocky to concentrated.

By the time Carmen was finished with the quiz, we were all nervous and eager to see how we’d done.

“I don’t think I’m smarter than a twelve-year-old,” Gary muttered.

Carmen collected our papers and began tallying the scores. I could see her eyes widen slightly as she went through each one.

“Right,” she said, trying to keep a straight face. “Here are the results. Jake, you got 19 out of 25.”

Jake pumped his fist in the air.

“Okay, okay, not bad, not bad.”

“Mom, you got… only 16 out of 25,” Carmen continued, a hint of a smile playing across her face.

“Dad, you got 15,” she said.

“Oh! As long as I beat Dad, I’m good!” I laughed.

“Oh, come on!” Gary groaned, throwing his hands up in mock frustration. “Only one point behind you! I’ll get you next time!”

“And what about Gran?” I asked.

“Let’s not talk about that,” Carmen laughed, tearing Carol’s sheet of paper in half.

“And remember, I got 20!” Carmen said, dancing around the table.

We all clapped and cheered for our little girl.

“Well done, sweetheart,” I said. “You’ve got the family bragging rights for sure.”

“Mom, why don’t you make us some ice cream sundaes?” Jake asked, picking up his phone again.

“Coming right up,” I said as Gary and I went into the kitchen.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned,” he said, taking out a bottle of chocolate sauce. “It’s that Carmen just proved that we need to brush up on our general knowledge.”

“Yeah, like just do a search and see who invented the first ice cream sundae,” I laughed.

So, now it’s your turn!

Are you ready to test your general knowledge and see if you can beat our family scores? Grab a pen and paper, and let’s see if you’re smarter than my twelve-year-old.

The Quiz:

1. Who was the president of the United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

A. Dwight D. Eisenhower

B. John F. Kennedy

C. Lyndon B. Johnson

D. Richard Nixon

2. How many players can be on a football field at once?

A. 9

B. 11

C. 22

D. 30

3. Which countries share a border with Panama?

A. Nicaragua, Honduras, and Venezuela

B. Costa Rica and Columbia

C. Columbia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua

D. Costa Rica and Venezuela

4. Which planet is furthest from the sun?

A. Saturn

B. Uranus

C. Neptune

D. Mars

5. Which two cities is Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities about?

A. London and Rome

B. Barcelona and Glasgow

C. London and Paris

D. Rome and Paris

6. Who’s the lead singer of The Rolling Stones?

A. Steven Tyler

B. Paul McCartney

C. Mick Jagger

D. Keith Richards

7. What does the Roman numeral XC represent?

A. 90

B. 100

C. 1000

D. 2100

8. Which animal is NOT extinct?

A. Carolina parakeet

B. Tasmanian tiger

C. Western black rhinoceros

D. South Asian river dolphin

9. Which of the following is NOT a Greek god or goddess?

A. Oceanus

B. Chaos

C. Hypnos

D. Divinity

10. What famous actor voiced Lightning McQueen in the Disney-Pixar film Cars?

A. Will Arnett

B. Tom Hanks

C. Owen Wilson

D. Joey Lawrence

11. Who signed all 3 documents that freed America from British rule?

A. George Washington

B. Thomas Jefferson

C. Alexander Hamilton

D. Benjamin Franklin

12. Which country exports the most coffee?

A. Columbia

B. Brazil

C. Switzerland

D. Germany

13. Which baseball team has won the most World Series titles?

A. New York Yankees

B. St. Louis Cardinals

C. Boston Red Sox

D. Oakland A’s

14. Who painted Girl with a Pearl Earring?

A. Vermeer

B. Rembrandt

C. Bernini

D. Da Vinci

15. Which 3 colors make up the flag of Madagascar?

A. White, red, and green

B. Blue, yellow, and white

C. White, orange, and green

D. Red, white, and blue

16. What is the heaviest organ in the human body?

A. Skin

B. Heart

C. Brain

D. Liver

17. Who is the half-blood prince in the Harry Potter series?

A. Harry Potter

B. Severus Snape

C. Sirius Black

D. Lord Voldemort

18. What were the dates of WWII?

A. 1939-1944

B. 1940-1945

C. 1941-1944

D. 1939-1945

19. What is the largest desert in the world?

A. Sahara

B. Antarctica

C. Arabian

D. Arctic

20. Who composed “The Four Seasons”?

A. Beethoven

B. Vivaldi

C. Bach

D. Chopin

21. Who is known as the father of geometry?

A. Euclid

B. Albert Einstein

C. Isaac Newton

D. Alan Turing

22. Who wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls?

A. Ernest Hemingway

B. John Steinbeck

C. William Faulkner

D. Cormac McCarthy

23. What are the main ingredients in a traditional martini?

A. Vodka and vermouth

B. Gin and vermouth

C. Vodka and bitters

D. Gin and bitters

24. Who invented the World Wide Web?

A. Al Gore

B. Tim Berners-Lee

C. Steve Wozniak

D. Bill Gates

25. What does “anosmia” refer to?

A. A lack of iron in the body.

B. The inability to smell.

C. A lack of vitamin C in the body.

D. The inability to picture images in the mind.

Answers:

1B; 2C; 3B; 4C; 5C; 6C; 7A; 8D; 9D; 10C; 11D; 12B; 13A; 14A; 15A; 16D; 17C; 18B; 19B; 20B; 21A; 22A; 23B; 24B; 25B.

Good luck!