Q20 · THE QUIZ POST
The Daily Quiz — 29 August 2026
Play the The Quiz Post quiz for 29 August 2026: 20 free general-knowledge questions covering History, Nature, Current Affairs and Food & Drink, with explanations and crowd results.
About this edition
This 20-question The Quiz Post edition was published for 29 August 2026. Answer all four-option questions to reveal sourced explanations and see how other players answered.
Topics in this edition include History, Nature, 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)
Business & Economics · Easy
1. How many pence make one pound in Britain's decimal currency?
The modern pound is divided into 100 pence.
Nature · Easy
2. Which bird is famous for being able to fly backwards as part of normal flight?
Hummingbirds can hover and reverse direction in flight because their unusual wing motion generates lift through much of each stroke.
Geography · Easy
3. Which country divides its national capital functions among Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein?
South Africa has three capital centres: Pretoria is administrative, Cape Town legislative and Bloemfontein judicial.
Nature · Easy
4. How many hearts does an octopus have?
An octopus has three hearts: two pump blood through the gills and one sends oxygenated blood around the rest of the body.
History · Medium
5. The world's first underground railway opened in 1863 in which city?
London's Metropolitan Railway opened in 1863, becoming the world's first underground passenger railway.
Sport · Medium
6. At the Tour de France, the green jersey is worn by the leader of which classification?
The green jersey identifies the leader of the points classification, which rewards consistent high finishes and intermediate sprint results.
Nature · Medium
7. Which animal is the real-life model for Ratty in The Wind in the Willows?
Despite his name, Kenneth Grahame's Ratty is a water vole.
Society & Culture · Medium
8. Traditional Harris Tweed is made from which fibre?
Authentic Harris Tweed uses pure virgin wool and is handwoven by islanders in their homes in the Outer Hebrides.
Food & Drink · Medium
9. Which fish is a traditional ingredient in Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce?
Anchovies are part of the traditional Lea & Perrins recipe, contributing savoury depth to Worcestershire sauce.
History · Medium
10. Which social reformer is closely associated with the mill village of New Lanark?
Owen managed New Lanark and used the village to demonstrate his ideas about workers' welfare and education.
Food & Drink · Medium
11. Wasabi belongs to the same plant family as which familiar group?
Wasabi is a member of the Brassicaceae family, alongside cabbages, mustards, broccoli and horseradish.
Science · Hard
12. A narwhal's spiralled tusk is actually a greatly enlarged what?
The narwhal tusk is an elongated canine tooth, most conspicuous in males, rather than a horn.
Science · Hard
13. Which blood vessels carry oxygen-rich blood from the lungs back to the heart?
Pulmonary veins are unusual among veins because they return oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the left side of the heart.
Literature · Hard
14. Agatha Christie's unusually accurate knowledge of poisons came largely from wartime work as what?
Christie worked in a hospital dispensary during the First World War and trained in pharmacy, experience she later used in her crime fiction.
Geography · Hard
15. France shares a land border with Brazil because of which French territory?
French Guiana is an overseas department of France on the northeast coast of South America, giving France a land border with Brazil.
History · Hard
16. The Glorious Revolution of 1688-89 replaced which king with William and Mary?
James II fled, and William and Mary took the throne after the events known as the Glorious Revolution.
Music · Hard
17. Queen guitarist Brian May later completed a PhD in which field?
Decades after putting his doctorate on hold for Queen, Brian May returned to Imperial College London and completed a PhD in astrophysics.
Technology · Hard
18. Which basic electronic component is designed to store electric charge?
A capacitor stores electric charge and can release it later; capacitors are used widely in timing, filtering and energy-storage roles in circuits.
Current Affairs · Medium
19. Which company launched the AI-powered Gemini for Home voice assistant in August 2026?
Google announced Gemini for Home in August 2026, bringing its Gemini AI technology to smart-home devices and replacing the traditional Google Assistant experience.
Current Affairs · Hard
20. Which country became the first to formally recognise Somaliland as an independent state in August 2026?
Israel became the first country to formally recognise Somaliland's independence in August 2926, a significant diplomatic development for the self-governing territory in the Horn of Africa.