Q20 · THE QUIZ POST
The Daily Quiz — 14 August 2026
Play the The Quiz Post quiz for 14 August 2026: 20 free general-knowledge questions covering Science, Arts, Current Affairs and Geography, with explanations and crowd results.
About this edition
This 20-question The Quiz Post edition was published for 14 August 2026. Answer all four-option questions to reveal sourced explanations and see how other players answered.
Topics in this edition include Science, Arts, Current Affairs and Geography.
Questions and sourced explanations
This archive edition remains playable. The notes below contain spoilers and provide the question text, explanatory context and source used for each item.
Read this edition’s question notes (spoilers)
Science · Easy
1. Which metal is liquid at ordinary room temperature?
Mercury is a metal that is liquid at typical room temperatures.
History · Easy
2. Which ancient civilisation built Machu Picchu?
Machu Picchu was built by the Inca civilisation in the 15th century.
UK · Easy
3. Cardiff is the capital of which part of the UK?
Cardiff is the Welsh capital, in the south-east of Wales.
Science · Easy
4. Which part of the eye controls how much light enters through the pupil?
The iris changes the size of the pupil, controlling the amount of light entering the eye.
Literature · Medium
5. Who wrote The Great Gatsby?
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, published in 1925.
Current Affairs · Medium
6. Which London location provisionally recorded 38.1°C during the 13 August 2026 heatwave?
The Met Office's initial report listed 38.1°C at Kew Gardens on 13 August.
Source: Latest heatwave peaks with 38.1°C recorded and rain on the horizon in the south
Geography · Medium
7. Borough Market, beside Southwark Cathedral, is in which British city?
Borough Market is a historic food market in London's Southwark district.
Science · Medium
8. Which element has the chemical symbol Fe?
Fe is the chemical symbol for iron, from the Latin ferrum.
Geography · Medium
9. The Red Sea lies between northeast Africa and which peninsula?
The Red Sea separates northeast Africa from the Arabian Peninsula.
Nature · Medium
10. What unusual nesting behaviour is the common cuckoo known for?
Cuckoos lay eggs in host birds' nests, leaving those birds to rear their chicks.
Arts · Medium
11. Claude Monet is most closely associated with which art movement?
Monet was a leading figure of Impressionism; the movement's name was derived from his painting Impression, Sunrise.
Sport · Medium
12. In snooker, which colour ball is worth seven points?
The black ball is worth seven points, the highest value of any colour in snooker.
Literature · Hard
13. Who wrote The Master and Margarita?
Mikhail Bulgakov wrote The Master and Margarita, which was published posthumously.
Science · Hard
14. Which element is the most abundant in Earth's crust by mass?
Oxygen is the most abundant element in Earth's crust by mass, followed by silicon.
Current Affairs · Hard
15. England's August 2026 drought update used 'flash drought' for what kind of development?
The Environment Agency described rapid drought development under low rainfall and high temperatures.
Source: More areas in England declared in drought after record dry July - GOV.UK
Arts · Hard
16. Who created the sculpture The Thinker?
The Thinker is one of French sculptor Auguste Rodin's most famous works.
Arts · Hard
17. Which British artist painted The Hay Wain?
The Hay Wain is one of John Constable's best-known landscapes.
World · Hard
18. Which present-day country was formerly known as Ceylon?
Ceylon was the former name of Sri Lanka; the country adopted the name Sri Lanka in 1972.
Science · Hard
19. What is the SI-derived unit of electrical capacitance?
Capacitance is measured in farads, named after Michael Faraday.
History · Hard
20. Which Chinese dynasty built most of the Forbidden City as it stands today?
Construction of the Forbidden City began under the Ming Yongle emperor in the early 15th century.