Q20 · THE QUIZ POST
The Daily Quiz — 31 August 2026
Play the The Quiz Post quiz for 31 August 2026: 20 free general-knowledge questions covering Geography, Science, Current Affairs and Food & Drink, with explanations and crowd results.
About this edition
This 20-question The Quiz Post edition was published for 31 August 2026. Answer all four-option questions to reveal sourced explanations and see how other players answered.
Topics in this edition include Geography, Science, 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)
Food & Drink · Easy
1. Prunes are dried versions of which fruit?
Prunes are dried plums, typically made from plum varieties suited to drying.
Nature · Easy
2. A Komodo dragon is what type of animal?
The Komodo dragon is the world's largest living lizard species.
Technology · Easy
3. In navigation technology, what does GPS stand for?
GPS is the Global Positioning System, a satellite-based navigation and timing system.
Geography · Easy
4. The Cairngorms National Park is in which UK nation?
The Cairngorms protect a large area of the Scottish Highlands.
Source: The Cairngorms National Park // The Cairngorm Mountains
Geography · Medium
5. Which English county is traditionally called the Garden of England?
Kent's gardens, orchards and countryside underpin its traditional nickname.
Current Affairs · Medium
6. Which British actor, famous for playing Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, died this week aged 80?
British actor Tim Curry died aged 80. He was best known for roles including Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Pennywise in the 1990 adaptation of It.
Science · Medium
7. Why can a metal bench feel colder than a wooden one even when both are at the same temperature?
Metal has much higher thermal conductivity than wood, so it draws heat from your skin more quickly.
Arts · Medium
8. Which artist is most associated with the painting 'The Persistence of Memory'?
Salvador Dalí painted The Persistence of Memory in 1931, with its famous soft watches.
Nature · Medium
9. What feature most clearly distinguishes a British red squirrel from a grey squirrel?
Red squirrels have distinctive ear tufts and are smaller than grey squirrels.
History · Medium
10. Johannes Gutenberg's European movable-type printing work is most closely associated with which German city?
Gutenberg worked in Mainz, where his press and type system helped transform European book production.
Music · Medium
11. Which woodwind instrument normally uses a double reed?
The oboe produces sound with a double reed, unlike the single-reed clarinet and saxophone.
Business & Economics · Medium
12. In which year did the UK change to decimal currency?
Decimalisation replaced the old pounds, shillings and pence system in 1971.
History · Hard
13. What was the codename for the Allied evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940?
Operation Dynamo evacuated Allied troops from Dunkirk across the Channel in May and June 1940.
Science · Hard
14. Carbon-14 used in radiocarbon dating decays into which element?
Carbon-14 undergoes beta decay to nitrogen-14, providing the clock used in radiocarbon dating.
Current Affairs · Hard
15. In the sentencing announcement of 30 August 2026, 'IPP' referred to which abolished sentence?
The government announced work to end the continuing injustice of IPP sentences.
Source: Prime Minister blocks hundreds more criminals from sentencing changes - GOV.UK
Geography · Hard
16. The autonomous, demilitarised Åland Islands belong to which country?
Åland is a Swedish-speaking autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland, lying between Finland and Sweden.
Film & TV · Hard
17. Which director became the first woman to win the Palme d'Or, for The Piano in 1993?
New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion became the first female director awarded the Palme d'Or when The Piano shared the prize in 1993.
Food & Drink · Hard
18. The spice mace is made from which part of the same fruit that produces nutmeg?
Nutmeg is the seed, while mace is the brightly coloured aril that surrounds that seed in plants of the nutmeg family.
Science · Hard
19. Which atmospheric layer contains the ozone layer that absorbs much of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation?
Most atmospheric ozone is concentrated in the stratosphere, above the troposphere.
Technology · Hard
20. What optical effect allows light to remain guided inside the core of an optical fibre?
Optical fibres guide light because rays striking the core-cladding boundary above the critical angle undergo total internal reflection.