April 2026 Quiz
Each quiz consists of 45 general knowledge questions whose difficulties I’ve placed into three main tiers: there’s “The Basics,” then “The Midsection,” and finally “The Tough Stuff.” Feel free to play along and keep track of your score!
I. The Basics
[1]. In his book Van den Circkel (or On The Circle) (1596), mathematician Ludolph van Ceulen approximated what irrational constant to 20 decimal places, later expanding to 35 decimal places before his death? As a result of his mathematical contribution and lifelong obsession, the decimal 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288 (or the irrational number itself) has sometimes been called the “Ludolphine number” in his honor.
[2]. What 3rd U.S. President has appeared on the nickel since 1938, replacing the buffalo nickel? The reverse shows his Virginia estate, Monticello, where he died on July 4, 1826.
[3]. The soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever (1977) includes the Walter Murphy track “A Fifth Of [BLANK],” where what composer’s surname fills in the blank? The track interpolates the classic short-short-short-long (or “bum-bum-bum-buuummm”) opening from the first movement of this composer’s Symphony No. 5 (1808).
[4]. On the BFI TV 100, the British Film Institute’s poll-driven list of the greatest television programs of the 20th century, the #1 spot was claimed by Fawlty Towers (1975-1979), a sitcom created by Connie Booth and her husband, John Cleese. The #5 spot on the list went to what comedy troupe’s Flying Circus (1969-1974), which itself was co-founded by Cleese?
[5]. In theatre, the German term sitzprobe (meaning “seated rehearsal”) refers to the first time in which the cast and orchestra perform together, often focusing on just musical cohesion and ignoring blocking, movements, and costumes. During an actual performance, the orchestra is often in what 3-letter section of a theatre, whose name references its place below stage level, often out of sight of the audience’s eyeline?
[6]. [Picture] Although a certain American is also known for silkscreen prints of the same subject, British pop artist Pauline Boty commemorated the legacy of what actress in paintings such as Epitaph To Something’s Gotta Give (1962), Colour Her Gone (1962), and The Only Blonde In The World (1963), the latter of which is pictured above?
[7]. In 1965, the Icee company reached a licensing deal with 7-Eleven to produce their flavored frozen slushie drinks under what onomatopoetic name that also ends with a double-‘E’?
[8]. The Zaner-Bloser method and the now-popular D’Nealian method are used to teach the vast majority of schoolkids what everyday skill? For manuscript in Zaner-Bloser, characters are straight up-and-down using the “stick-and-ball” scheme, whereas manuscript characters in D’Nealian are given a slight slant (about 5 degrees clockwise off the vertical) and are adorned with “monkey tails” intended to make the transition to learning cursive much more effective.
[9]. In May 2026, the appropriately-named Matt Brittin will take over as director-general of what London-based broadcasting service whose flagship channel (now called Channel One) was launched in 1936?
[10]. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the city of Potosí was the site of the National Mint of Bolivia, producing for the Spanish Empire many dollar coins (or eight-reals) from what metal that allowed the city to initially flourish? Another country that borders Bolivia derives its name from the Latin for this metal.
[11]. Provide either of the athletic verbs (roughly synonymous with each other) that complete the name of the John “Verm” Sherman book Hueco Tanks [BLANK]ing And [BLANK]ing Guide (1991). The book introduced Sherman’s namesake “V”-grade for assessing the technical difficulty of scaling rock faces, ranging from VB (beginner) to V17, which was introduced in 2016 to describe a 13-foot Finnish stone known as the “Burden Of Dreams.”
[12]. A 1968 Grammy-winning song by Dionne Warwick follows a person who, after failing to catch their big break in the LA area, realizes they’ve “got lots of friends” in their hometown and rhymingly asks the title “Do You Know The Way To…” what city over 300 miles northwest of LA?
[13]. [Picture] In 2003, pre-renovation photos of a HobbyTown in Oshkosh, Wisconsin were posted to a 4chan thread in 2019, kickstarting the creepy internet lore of what entity often described as an impossibly large series of sparse hallways, windows, floors, and various objects? Kane Parsons (under the username Kane Pixels) gained virality for a 2022 found footage horror short film set in this location, and his feature-length directorial debut set here will be released in May 2026.
[14]. Seen as the “reverse” of a trochee – a metrical foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable (as in the word “poet”) – what is the term for a metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (as in the word “above”)? The adjectival form of this word precedes “pentameter” in a common poetic line consisting of five of these feet, such as the line “two households, both alike in dignity” from Romeo And Juliet (1597).
[15]. Also called Irish oats, what hyphenated adjective is used to describe a method of preparing oats which are sliced by a metal blade, producing chunks roughly the size of rice grains? Rolled oats – which by contrast are flattened, steamed, then lightly toasted – are a more common choice for oatmeal due to their quicker cooking time.
II. The Midsection
[16]. Winning by just 1 stroke over 2-time champion Scottie Scheffler, and beating him by 3 strokes in the previous year, what Northern Irish athlete became in 2026 only the 4th person to win back-to-back Masters tournament titles, following Jack Nicklaus (1965 & 1966), Nick Faldo (1989 & 1990), and Tiger Woods (2001 & 2002)?
[17]. The lyrics to the Kendrick Lamar song “Mortal Man” (2015) and the Tyler, The Creator song “Foreword” (2017) both reference what man who in 1831 led a rebellion of both free and enslaved African Americans that lasted several days? A firsthand account of the rebellion allowed attorney Thomas Gray to publish The Confessions Of this slave the same year.
[18]. What populous UK city fills in the blank in the name [BLANK] Of The Seven Seas – the name of a lone northern settlement on the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha – and is also appropriately sister cities with the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin?
[19]. Printed by Russell & Morgan since the 1880s, what American company is one of the top manufacturers of playing cards and takes their name from a mode of transport? Their most common product, their namesake “Rider Pack,” is marked with the reference number 808 (which can be seen on the deck’s Ace of Spades and Joker cards), and the company has denied any mystical or sinister meaning behind this number.
[20]. A Persian fairy tale believed to be introduced by Amīr Khusrau in the 1300s follows “The Three Princes Of” what place, an old Persian name for Sri Lanka? A famous story of the princes’ brilliance involves them using their exceptional observational skills to identify the characteristics of a lost camel they had never seen. Horace Walpole appended the suffix “-ity” to this name, coining a word for an accidental yet fortunate discovery.
[21]. In the Léo Delibes opera Lakmé (1883), the title character and her servant Mallika sing what soft duet, which fittingly includes the lines “Sous le dôme épais où le blanc jasmin / à la rose s’assemble”?
[22]. [Picture] Characters central to the Orhan Pamuk novel My Name Is Red (1998) work in creating what art form, defined as a small illustration within an illuminated manuscript (as pictured on the left)? Despite the word’s connotations of small size, the word actually derives from the name of an orange-red lead-based pigment (pictured right) that was commonly used in these manuscripts.
[23]. Humans, night elves, and a bull-like group called tauren are some of the playable races on the planet of Azeroth in what quest-based MMORPG developed by Blizzard Entertainment, whose most recent expansion pack subtitled Midnight was released in March 2026?
[24]. Albrecht Dürer painted a young one in the realistic Feldhase (1502), Piet Mondrian depicted one shot dead with its legs splayed in Geschoten haas (1891), and a Joseph Beuys performance involved him carrying a dead one of these around a gallery in Wie man dem toten Hasen die Bilder erklärt (1965). What animal appears in the common English titles of these works?
[25]. Before TV audiences knew the wealthy New York schoolgirl Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl (2007-2012), the wealthy New York schoolgirl Blair Warner was known as a character central to what series, a spin-off of Diff’rent Strokes (1978-1986)?
[26]. The slave Pseudolus helps his master woo a girl in what Best Musical Tony winner with lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim, based on works by the Roman comedic playwright Plautus? Zero Mostel played the role of Pseudolus in its 1962 Broadway debut and in its film adaptation four years later.
[27]. What extremely simple, rustic bread (with a holey cross-section resembling sourdough, but with a much milder taste) comes from the Italian word for “slipper,” as its long oval shape resembles the footwear?
[28]. Under Title 49 of the US Code Of Federal Regulations, what is the name of the legal document (abbreviated CDL) that is required for people to operate large vehicles such as trucks and buses with more than 16 passengers, or vehicles transporting hazardous materials? A learner’s permit (CLP) can be administered to those 18 years of age, but cannot engage in interstate travel alone and according to §383.25 cannot transport hazardous materials until the age of 21.
[29]. [Picture] What singer’s Arabic-derived first name wasn’t given to him directly by his parents, but at the suggestion of Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo, an Indonesian man who founded the spiritual movement Subud to which the singer’s parents belonged? In April 2023, the death of his partner Evans Richardson influenced the writing of his most recent studio album, Javelin (2023), released on his label Asthmatic Kitty.
[30]. The standard conversion of 1 pound to 16 ounces is rooted in what French-named system of weights and measures, contrasted with the 1 pound to 12 ounces conversion used by the Troy system of precious metals?
III. The Tough Stuff
[31]. Bishoftu International Airport – slated to become Africa’s largest airport and aiming to be completed by 2030 – broke ground this year in which country? Zaha Hadid Architects, the firm behind its construction, describe the vision of all facilities of a terminal connected to a single central spine, reminiscent of the Great Rift Valley.
[32]. What member of the House Of Savoy is sometimes called the “May King,” as he reigned as the King Of Italy for just over a month until a 1946 referendum voted 54%-46% in favor of an Italian Republic? (Name and regnal number are required.)
[33]. Developed by a New Zealand economist for a 1958 paper, what decreasing, concave up figure provides a short-run inverse relationship between unemployment and inflation in an economy?
[34]. Originating in Roman amphitheatres, what is the name for any of the wide tunnels through which large crowds would enter or exit a large stadium en masse? The word derives from a Latin verb meaning “to spew forth,” and the beginning of this word is itself associated with an unpleasant spewing.
[35]. [Picture] Seen above in Suspiria (2018), what cinematographic technique uses a semicircular convex lens, allowing two subjects at very different distances from the camera to be in focus simultaneously? Its name comes from the non-circular shape of the lens and from a unit of optical power applied to lenses themselves.
[36]. What title was given to the unfinished, posthumously-published collection of 72 short stories by French woman Marguerite de Navarre, written up to her death in 1549? She was intending to write more stories after taking inspiration from a work of Italian literature of roughly 200 years prior.
[37]. In the sentence “I wrote a quiz for the reader,” the noun “quiz” is the direct object of the verb “wrote,” so the noun “quiz” is in the accusative case. “The reader,” which is the indirect object, is in what other grammatical case? This case is often colloquially defined as answering the “to whom?” part of the sentence.
[38]. What old building method is named for its two main components: a collection of small strips of wood, vines, bamboo, or other material woven together into a lattice between large stakes, and the act of applying thick layers of a wet soil and clay mixture to the lattice and allowing it to dry, creating a large weather-resistant panel that can be used for the side of a house?
[39]. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, runner Faith Kipyegon won gold in the women’s 1,500 meters and finished on silver in the 5,000 meters after losing by 1 second to what fellow Kenyan long-distance runner? This woman also won gold for the 10,000 meters in Paris, and is the current world record holder in both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters times for women.
[40]. Served hot and commonly eaten for breakfast or lunch, what Georgian dish (literally “cheese bread”) consists of an elongated, boat-shaped dough (sometimes with folded edges to create a stuffed crust) inside which cheese, herbs, and sometimes meat are baked? Halfway through baking, it’s common to create a small depression in the center and crack an egg to be cooked sunny side up.
[41]. [Picture] A sartorial statement from Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary (2026) boosted online searches for a style of heavy-knit sweater (and many unfortunate knock-offs) named for which indigenous Canadian group that resides on Vancouver Island? Often featuring animals and symmetric geometric patterns, the sweaters named for this group are renowned for their extreme warmth and were even knitted for Canadian sailors during World War II.
[42]. The Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall anthem “Juju On That Beat” (2016) and a more recent song from Tyler, The Creator titled “I’ll Take Care Of You” (2025) both prominently sample what 2004 nightclub banger from the hip hop group Crime Mob, whose quick-looping percussion and heavy bass have cemented its status as a classic of the Atlanta trap scene?
[43]. Often spelled with a double-‘A’, what style of dance that emerged from the ‘70s disco scene involves poses interspersed between rapid arm movements, often by repeatedly rotating the arms above the head with elbows bent close to 90 degrees? Unlike voguing, which traces its roots to Harlem, this style is predominantly associated with gay clubs in and around Los Angeles.
[44]. In “The Murders In The Rue Morgue” (1841), the detective Dupin determines that two women were murdered by an orangutan, citing its hair and mimicry alongside a sketch of the orangutan supposedly provided by what French naturalist and zoologist? This man lends his name to the species name for the tiger shark and to a beaked whale noted for its extremely long and deep dives.
[45]. With her a cappella group Roomful Of Teeth, North Carolina-born Caroline Shaw won a Pulitzer in 2013 for what 4-movement collection named for its intended number of singers? The third movement, “III. Courante,” has been used in Season 1 of the Netflix series Dark (2017-2020) and in the Cate Blanchett film Tár (2022).
Answers
[1]. pi (π)
[2]. Thomas Jefferson
[3]. Ludwig van Beethoven
[4]. Monty Python
[5]. pit
[6]. Marilyn Monroe
[7]. Slurpee
[8]. handwriting / penmanship
[9]. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
[10]. silver (NOTE: the neighboring nation in question is Argentina)
[11]. climb, boulder (NOTE: V-grades are assigned without assessing the risk of injuries from falling; for example, the “Burden Of Dreams” is only 13 feet tall and injury is easily avoidable by placing mats around the perimeter of the boulder)
[12]. San José
[13]. The Backrooms
[14]. iamb
[15]. steel-cut
[16]. Rory McIlroy
[17]. Nat Turner
[18]. Edinburgh (NOTE: the New Zealand city of Dunedin is derived from Dùn Èidann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh itself)
[19]. Bicycle
[20]. Serendip
[21]. “Flower Duet”
[22]. miniature (NOTE: the name of the pigment is minium)
[23]. World Of Warcraft (or WoW)
[24]. hare (NOTE: the works are Young Hare (1502), Dead Hare (1891), and How To Explain Pictures To A Dead Hare (1965))
[25]. The Facts Of Life
[26]. A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
[27]. ciabatta
[28]. commercial driver’s license
[29]. Sufjan Stevens (NOTE: Asthmatic Kitty was co-founded by Stevens with his stepfather Lowell Brams, who is referenced in Stevens’ earlier album Carrie & Lowell (2015))
[30]. avoirdupois
[31]. Ethiopia
[32]. Umberto II
[33]. Phillips curve
[34]. vomitorium
[35]. split diopter
[36]. The Heptaméron
[37]. dative case
[38]. wattle and daub
[39]. Beatrice Chebet
[40]. khachapuri
[41]. Cowichan
[42]. “Knuck If You Buck”
[43]. waacking (whacking)
[44]. Georges Cuvier
[45]. Partita For 8 Voices