Q20 · THE QUIZ POST
The Daily Quiz — 25 August 2026
Play the The Quiz Post quiz for 25 August 2026: 20 free general-knowledge questions covering Geography, History, Current Affairs and Food & Drink, with explanations and crowd results.
About this edition
This 20-question The Quiz Post edition was published for 25 August 2026. Answer all four-option questions to reveal sourced explanations and see how other players answered.
Topics in this edition include Geography, History, Current Affairs and Food & Drink.
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)
Geography · Easy
1. Which Scottish city has a castle above its centre and the volcanic hill Arthur's Seat?
Edinburgh's skyline includes its hilltop castle and Arthur's Seat.
Society & Culture · Easy
2. A standard braille cell is built from how many possible raised-dot positions?
A traditional braille cell has six dot positions arranged three high by two wide.
Geography · Easy
3. The Lake District National Park is in which part of the UK?
The Lake District protects lakes and mountain landscapes in north-west England.
Source: Lake District National Parks // National Trust Lake District
Nature · Easy
4. Most octopuses have how many hearts?
Octopuses typically have three hearts: two pump blood through the gills and one pumps it around the rest of the body.
History · Medium
5. Despite its name, the Bayeux Tapestry was made mainly using which textile technique?
The Bayeux Tapestry is technically an embroidery: coloured wool threads were stitched onto linen rather than woven as a tapestry.
Current Affairs · Medium
6. Recent disruption to oil shipping focused attention on which narrow waterway at the entrance to the Persian Gulf?
The Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and is one of the world's most important oil-shipping chokepoints.
Geography · Medium
7. What rock forms the famous columns of the Giant's Causeway?
The columns formed as basalt lava cooled and contracted.
Film & TV · Medium
8. Who directed the British film I, Daniel Blake?
Ken Loach directed this drama about the welfare system and its effect on ordinary people.
Music · Medium
9. Traditional violin bows are most commonly strung with hair from which animal?
Horsehair is traditionally used for violin and other bowed-string instrument bows because it grips the strings when treated with rosin.
Food & Drink · Medium
10. The grapefruit is generally understood to be a natural hybrid of sweet orange and which other citrus fruit?
Grapefruit arose as a hybrid between sweet orange and pomelo, probably in the Caribbean.
Technology · Medium
11. The original Panama Canal locks primarily move water into and out of their chambers using what force?
The canal’s lock system relies mainly on gravity to move freshwater between Gatun Lake and the lock chambers rather than pumping every lockful.
Food & Drink · Medium
12. Saffron spice is harvested from which part of the Crocus sativus flower?
Saffron consists of the dried red stigmas of the saffron crocus; each flower provides only three, helping explain the spice’s cost.
Science · Hard
13. Mercury rotates three times for every two trips around the Sun. What is this relationship called?
Mercury is locked in a 3:2 spin-orbit resonance: three rotations on its axis for every two revolutions around the Sun.
Geography · Hard
14. About what share of the world’s unfrozen freshwater reserve is held in Lake Baikal?
UNESCO describes Lake Baikal as containing about 20% of the planet’s unfrozen freshwater reserve.
Current Affairs · Hard
15. LandSpace's Zhuque-3 reusable-rocket milestone was achieved by a private space company from which country?
LandSpace is a Chinese private launch company; its Zhuque-3 booster landing marked an important step in China's reusable-launch development.
History · Hard
16. Which European capital was created in 1873 by the unification of Buda, Óbuda and Pest?
Buda, Óbuda and Pest were formally united in 1873 to create Budapest.
History · Hard
17. The Peace of Westphalia of 1648 is most closely associated with ending which major European conflict?
The Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire and reshaped European diplomacy.
Literature · Hard
18. Lucy Snowe is the narrator of which Charlotte Brontë novel?
Lucy Snowe travels abroad and becomes a teacher in Charlotte Brontë's Villette.
Arts · Hard
19. Diego Velázquez painted which celebrated work showing the Spanish royal court and the young Infanta Margarita?
Velázquez painted Las Meninas in 1656, depicting the Infanta Margarita and members of the Spanish court.
Science · Hard
20. In oceanography, what does a thermocline mark?
A thermocline is a layer where water temperature changes rapidly with depth, often separating warmer surface water from colder deep water.