Q40 · SUNDAY BIG QUIZ
The Sunday Big Quiz — 27 September 2026
Play the Sunday Big Quiz for 27 September 2026: 40 free general-knowledge questions covering Current Affairs, Geography, History and Film & TV, with explanations and crowd results.
About this edition
This 40-question The Quiz Post edition was published for 27 September 2026. Answer all four-option questions to reveal sourced explanations and see how other players answered.
Topics in this edition include Current Affairs, Geography, History and Film & TV.
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 · Medium
1. Which pastry is traditionally wrapped around the filling of a beef Wellington?
Beef Wellington is made by enclosing the prepared beef and its accompaniments in puff pastry before baking.
Film & TV · Medium
2. In The Matrix, which colour pill does Neo choose when he decides to learn the truth about the Matrix?
Neo chooses the red pill offered by Morpheus, leading him to discover the reality outside the simulated Matrix.
Society & Culture · Medium
3. Which flower is widely recognised as a national symbol of Wales?
The daffodil's yellow flower is one of the most familiar Welsh national symbols.
Music · Medium
4. The clarinet belongs to which family of orchestral instruments?
The clarinet is a single-reed woodwind instrument, even though modern clarinets are commonly made from wood or synthetic materials.
Current Affairs · Medium
5. The youth strategy examined in the parliamentary inquiry announced on 23 September 2026 sets out a plan over how many years?
The committee described Youth Matters as a ten-year strategy for improving outcomes for young people in England.
Source: National Youth Strategy – One year on: MPs examine support for young people to m
Sport · Medium
6. In rugby union, a scrum is most commonly used to restart play after what kind of infringement?
A scrum is a set-piece restart used after certain minor infringements, including a forward pass or knock-on, unless advantage applies.
Geography · Medium
7. Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park lies mainly north of which Scottish city?
The park is in central Scotland, north of Glasgow and west of Stirling.
Science · Medium
8. What type of rock forms when molten rock cools and solidifies?
Igneous rock forms when molten material—magma underground or lava at the surface—cools and solidifies.
Film & TV · Medium
9. In Local Hero, why does an American oil company want to buy a Scottish village?
The planned refinery sets the plot of Bill Forsyth's comedy in motion.
Business & Economics · Medium
10. If demand for a product increases while supply stays unchanged, what would normally happen to its equilibrium price?
With supply unchanged, an increase in demand shifts the demand curve to the right, producing a higher equilibrium price and quantity.
History · Medium
11. Which English king sealed Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215?
King John agreed to Magna Carta at Runnymede in June 1215 after conflict with a group of rebel barons.
Technology · Medium
12. A GPS receiver works out its position mainly by measuring what from several satellites?
GPS receivers compare the arrival timing of precisely timestamped radio signals from multiple satellites to calculate their distance from them and determine position.
Nature · Medium
13. The swirling evening flocks of which British bird are called murmurations?
Large groups of starlings gather and move together before roosting.
Arts · Medium
14. William Morris was a leading influence on which British design movement?
Morris's ideas about craftsmanship and handmade production strongly influenced the Arts and Crafts movement.
Current Affairs · Medium
15. Which singer-songwriter was announced on 21 September as the first recipient of the MTV Video Music Awards' new Artist-Director honour?
MTV and CBS announced Taylor Swift as the inaugural recipient of the Artist-Director honour, recognising her body of work directing music videos and films.
Literature · Medium
16. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is framed by letters written by which Arctic explorer?
Frankenstein opens and closes with letters from Arctic explorer Robert Walton to his sister, Margaret Saville; Walton encounters Victor Frankenstein during his expedition.
Geography · Medium
17. Which major city lies on both the European and Asian sides of the Bosporus?
Istanbul spans both sides of the Bosporus, with part of the city in Europe and part in Asia.
History · Medium
18. Which engineer is especially associated with the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in North Wales?
Telford's aqueduct carries a canal high above the River Dee and opened in 1805.
Music · Medium
19. Which Beatles album contains She's Leaving Home?
She's Leaving Home appeared on the Beatles' 1967 Sgt. Pepper album.
Food & Drink · Medium
20. Traditionally, what does the cooking method 'confit' involve?
Traditional confit slowly cooks food—classically meat such as duck—in fat and historically used that fat as part of the preservation method.
History · Hard
21. The ancient Linear B script records the earliest known form of which language?
Linear B was used by the Mycenaeans and records the earliest known form of the Greek language.
Science · Hard
22. According to the endosymbiotic theory, mitochondria ultimately evolved from what?
Endosymbiotic theory holds that an ancestral host cell engulfed aerobic bacteria that survived inside it and eventually evolved into mitochondria.
Society & Culture · Hard
23. The voting method historically known internationally as the 'Australian ballot' introduced which key practice?
The 'Australian ballot' refers to the secret-ballot system developed in Australian colonies in the 1850s, using official ballot papers marked privately.
Arts · Hard
24. In Gothic architecture, what is the main structural purpose of a flying buttress?
Flying buttresses transfer outward forces from high stone vaults and walls to exterior supports, allowing Gothic buildings to have taller, thinner walls and larger windows.
Current Affairs · Hard
25. Which British luxury carmaker launched its first fully electric vehicle on 23 September?
Bentley launched its first fully electric vehicle on 23 September, marking a major step in the century-old luxury brand's move into battery-powered cars.
Geography · Hard
26. A rain shadow most commonly forms on which side of a mountain range?
Moist air rises and loses precipitation on the windward side; after crossing the range, drier descending air creates a rain shadow on the leeward side.
Literature · Hard
27. In Treasure Island, what job does Long John Silver sign on to do aboard the Hispaniola?
Long John Silver is hired as the Hispaniola's ship's cook, while secretly helping organise the pirate crew.
Sport · Hard
28. In a coxed rowing crew, what is the coxswain's main role on the water?
The coxswain steers the boat and gives commands to direct and coordinate the crew during manoeuvring and racing.
Business & Economics · Hard
29. What does the Gini coefficient measure in economics?
The Gini coefficient is a measure of how unequally income is distributed, ranging from zero for complete equality to one for complete inequality.
Film & TV · Hard
30. Which British horror film stars Roger Moore as a businessman haunted by a double after a crash?
Roger Moore plays Henry Pelham in Basil Dearden's 1970 film.
Nature · Hard
31. In ecology, what makes a species a 'keystone species'?
A keystone species has a major influence on the structure and functioning of its ecosystem; removing it can cause disproportionately large ecological changes.
Technology · Hard
32. What is the main purpose of a checksum attached to a block of data?
A checksum is calculated from the contents of data and can later be compared to detect errors or changes in that data.
Literature · Hard
33. Which author wrote Tess of the d'Urbervilles and The Mayor of Casterbridge?
Both novels belong to Hardy's fictional Wessex.
Music · Hard
34. What makes a 'prepared piano' different from a conventional piano?
A prepared piano has objects such as screws, bolts, rubber or wood placed on or between its strings so that the instrument produces altered timbres.
Current Affairs · Hard
35. Which company unveiled the small handheld 'Charm' device for using its Muse AI assistant on 23 September?
Meta unveiled Meta Charm at its annual device event on 23 September. The small handheld device is designed to provide direct access to the company's Muse AI assistant.
Food & Drink · Hard
36. What does the French cooking term 'en papillote' describe?
En papillote means cooking food in a sealed parchment-paper parcel, where trapped steam gently cooks the ingredients.
Geography · Hard
37. A Scottish mountain must exceed what height to be classed as a Munro?
Munros are Scottish mountains above 3,000 feet, named after Sir Hugh Munro's mountain tables.
History · Hard
38. The Haitian Revolution began in Saint-Domingue, then a colony controlled by which European power?
Saint-Domingue was France's immensely profitable Caribbean colony. The revolution that began there in 1791 ultimately produced independent Haiti in 1804.
Sport · Hard
39. How long is the traditional Championship Course used for the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race?
The course between Putney and Mortlake measures 4 miles and 374 yards, about 6.8 kilometres.
Society & Culture · Hard
40. Among Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, what is a potlatch?
Potlatches are ceremonial gatherings in which hosts provide food and gifts to guests; they can affirm status, family history, alliances and important life events.