Q20 · THE QUIZ POST
The Daily Quiz — 30 September 2026
Play the The Quiz Post quiz for 30 September 2026: 20 free general-knowledge questions covering Film & TV, Business & Economics, Current Affairs and History, with explanations and crowd results.
About this edition
This 20-question The Quiz Post edition was published for 30 September 2026. Answer all four-option questions to reveal sourced explanations and see how other players answered.
Topics in this edition include Film & TV, Business & Economics, Current Affairs and History.
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)
Film & TV · Easy
1. What do you call a film that tells a story set before the events of an earlier film?
A prequel is released after an earlier work but tells a story set before that work's events.
Food & Drink · Easy
2. At a café, what is a flat white?
A flat white combines espresso with textured steamed milk and a thin, silky layer of microfoam, rather than a thick cappuccino-style froth.
Sport · Easy
3. In which racket sport do players hit a shuttlecock over a net?
Badminton is played with a racket and a shuttlecock, a feathered or synthetic projectile hit over a net.
Nature · Easy
4. Which part of a typical flower is often brightly coloured to attract pollinators?
Flower petals are often brightly coloured and scented, helping attract insects and other pollinators.
Business & Economics · Medium
5. Why might a supermarket sell a popular item as a 'loss leader'?
A loss leader is priced very cheaply, sometimes below cost, to draw customers who may purchase other profitable goods.
Current Affairs · Medium
6. Which rail operator did the UK announce on 28 September 2026 would be nationalised in March 2027?
Avanti West Coast's services were scheduled to enter public ownership on 7 March 2027.
Source: Transport Secretary to nationalise Avanti West Coast services at first opportuni
Film & TV · Medium
7. On MasterChef, what must contestants typically do in a Mystery Box challenge?
In a Mystery Box challenge, cooks create their own dishes from a revealed selection of ingredients, sometimes with special conditions.
Science · Medium
8. What does a sunscreen's SPF number primarily indicate?
SPF is a laboratory measure of sunscreen protection against sunburn-causing UVB radiation; broad-spectrum labelling addresses UVA as well.
History · Medium
9. In archaeology's traditional three-age system, which period falls between the Stone Age and the Iron Age?
The three-age system orders European prehistory by dominant toolmaking materials: stone, then bronze, then iron.
Literature · Medium
10. The amateur detectives in Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club first meet in what setting?
The novel's four retired sleuths live in the same retirement village and investigate unsolved crimes together.
Technology · Medium
11. If a digital photo includes EXIF metadata, what information might it contain?
EXIF metadata can record the camera make, exposure settings, date, time and sometimes the location of a photograph.
Geography · Medium
12. The Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, lies primarily in which country?
The Atacama stretches across northern Chile between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes.
Arts · Hard
13. Why did Georges Seurat paint with small dots of separate colours rather than blend all his colours on a palette?
Seurat applied adjacent dots of pure colour so their optical interaction could create a luminous effect when the painting was viewed from a distance.
Society & Culture · Hard
14. In UK politics, what does dissolution of Parliament mean?
Dissolution ends a Parliament and is followed by an election for a new House of Commons.
Current Affairs · Hard
15. On 29 September 2026, Channel 4's chief executive discussed sharing programmes through which BBC streaming platform?
Channel 4 ruled out a merger with the BBC while remaining open to putting content on BBC iPlayer.
Source: UK's Channel 4 won't merge with BBC, but content sharing on table, CEO says
History · Hard
16. Which precious dye made the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre especially famous as a trading centre?
Tyre was known for its prized purple dye, made from the secretions of murex sea snails and traded throughout the Mediterranean.
Business & Economics · Hard
17. If a country's currency falls in value while domestic prices stay unchanged, how will its exports usually appear to overseas buyers?
A depreciating currency means overseas buyers need less of their own currency to purchase the same domestically priced exports, improving their price competitiveness.
Nature · Hard
18. Native holly is dioecious. What does that mean?
Holly's male and female flowers occur on different individual trees.
Source: Holly (Ilex aquifolium) - British Trees - Woodland Trust
Film & TV · Hard
19. What childhood possession is finally revealed to be 'Rosebud' in the film Citizen Kane?
At the end of Citizen Kane, Rosebud is revealed to be Charles Foster Kane's childhood sled, which is burned without the investigating reporter ever learning the answer.
Society & Culture · Hard
20. When 'free lances' appeared in Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, what kind of workers did the term originally describe?
The phrase described mercenary warriors whose lances were not permanently committed to a single lord. It later acquired today's sense of independent paid work.