Q20 · THE QUIZ POST
The Daily Quiz — 20 August 2026
Play the The Quiz Post quiz for 20 August 2026: 20 free general-knowledge questions covering UK, Science, Geography and Literature, with explanations and crowd results.
About this edition
This 20-question The Quiz Post edition was published for 20 August 2026. Answer all four-option questions to reveal sourced explanations and see how other players answered.
Topics in this edition include UK, Science, Geography and Literature.
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)
UK · Easy
1. The White Cliffs of Dover are mainly made of which rock?
Dover's cliffs are made of chalk, formed from ancient marine deposits.
Science · Easy
2. Which chemical element has the symbol Fe?
Fe is the chemical symbol for iron, derived from the Latin word ferrum.
Literature · Medium
3. Which novel opens with the words “Call me Ishmael”?
“Call me Ishmael” is the famous opening sentence of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, first published in 1851.
Sport · Easy
4. In cricket, how many legal balls are in a standard over?
Under the Laws of Cricket, an over consists of six valid balls bowled from one end of the pitch.
Science · Easy
5. Which is the largest planet in our Solar System?
Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System, with a diameter of about 143,000 kilometres at its equator.
UK · Medium
6. In which year did Britain's Equal Franchise Act give women the vote on the same terms as men?
The 1928 Act equalised voting rights; the 1918 Act had enfranchised only some women.
Sport · Medium
7. The French Open tennis tournament is played on which surface?
Roland-Garros, home of the French Open, is the only Grand Slam tournament played on clay courts.
Geography · Easy
8. What is the capital of New Zealand?
Wellington is New Zealand’s capital. It sits at the southern end of the North Island beside Cook Strait.
Art · Medium
9. Who painted Guernica?
Pablo Picasso painted Guernica in 1937 in response to the bombing of the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War.
UK · Medium
10. Who is usually regarded as Britain's first prime minister?
Walpole became First Lord of the Treasury in 1721 and is conventionally called the first prime minister.
Source: UK Parliament — The role and powers of the Prime Minister
Nature · Medium
11. Which of these is the UK's only native venomous snake?
The adder is venomous; Britain's other native snakes are not.
UK · Easy
12. The White Cliffs of Dover look out over which body of water?
The cliffs face the English Channel towards the French coast.
Film · Medium
13. Who directed the animated film Spirited Away?
Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directed Spirited Away for Studio Ghibli. The film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Science · Medium
14. Which gas makes up the largest share of Earth’s atmosphere?
Nitrogen makes up about 78% of Earth’s dry atmosphere, while oxygen accounts for about 21%.
Geography · Medium
15. Mount Kilimanjaro is in which country?
Mount Kilimanjaro is in northern Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border. Its highest point, Uhuru Peak, is Africa’s highest summit.
Literature · Hard
16. Who wrote One Hundred Years of Solitude?
Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez wrote One Hundred Years of Solitude, first published in Spanish in 1967.
Science · Medium
17. What is the SI unit of electrical resistance?
Electrical resistance is measured in ohms, represented by the Greek capital letter omega (Ω).
History · Hard
18. Which of these writing systems does NOT appear on the Rosetta Stone?
The Rosetta Stone carries the same decree in three scripts: Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic and Ancient Greek. Latin does not appear on it.
Geography · Hard
19. What is the largest desert on Earth by total area?
A desert is defined by very low precipitation, not by heat. Antarctica is therefore the world’s largest desert; the Sahara is the largest hot desert.
UK · Hard
20. Which principle is central to Magna Carta's lasting significance?
Magna Carta gave written expression to the idea that royal power was constrained by law.