Q20 · THE QUIZ POST
The Quiz Post — Tuesday 13 October 2026 — 13 October 2026
Play the The Quiz Post quiz for 13 October 2026: 20 free general-knowledge questions covering Arts, Current Affairs, Food & Drink and Geography, with explanations and crowd results.
About this edition
This 20-question The Quiz Post edition was published for 13 October 2026. Answer all four-option questions to reveal sourced explanations and see how other players answered.
Topics in this edition include Arts, Current Affairs, Food & Drink and Geography.
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. When a traditional British Battenberg cake is sliced, what pattern appears inside?
Strips of pink and yellow sponge are arranged in a two-by-two chequerboard, then wrapped in marzipan.
Sport · Easy
2. In chess, what happens when the player to move has no legal move but their king is not in check?
This is stalemate, which ends the game in a draw.
Technology · Easy
3. Which clothing fastener joins two rows of teeth when a slider is pulled along them?
A zip's slider brings the two rows of teeth together, or separates them when pulled the other way.
Literature · Easy
4. What is the name for a concluding section added after the main story of a novel?
An epilogue follows the main narrative and may show what happened to its characters afterwards.
Geography · Medium
5. The volcanic and earthquake zone known as the Ring of Fire mainly surrounds which ocean?
The Ring of Fire follows plate boundaries around much of the Pacific basin.
Current Affairs · Medium
6. Which former UN human rights chief was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on 9 October?
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the prize to South African jurist Navi Pillay for her work promoting peace and international law.
Business & Economics · Medium
7. What is the term for directly exchanging goods or services without paying money?
Bartering exchanges goods or services directly rather than settling the trade with money.
Music · Medium
8. Which singer is the long-standing frontman of the British band The Cure?
Robert Smith co-founded The Cure and became its distinctive singer, guitarist and songwriter.
Nature · Medium
9. Which snake is known for building a nest of dead leaves and guarding its eggs?
A female king cobra gathers leaves and branches into a nest and remains nearby to guard the eggs.
Geography · Medium
10. St Michael's Mount, reached by a causeway at low tide, lies off the coast of which English county?
The tidal island stands in Mount's Bay, opposite Marazion in Cornwall.
History · Medium
11. The naval incendiary weapon known as Greek fire is most closely associated with which empire?
Greek fire was famously used by the Byzantine, or Eastern Roman, navy. Its exact formula remains uncertain.
Arts · Medium
12. How is a sgraffito design made on a wall coated with contrasting layers of coloured plaster?
Sgraffito reveals a contrasting lower layer by scratching a design through the surface.
Food & Drink · Hard
13. Pigs raised for Spain's jamón ibérico de bellota are finished on a diet particularly associated with which food?
During the montanera season, the pigs forage on acorns in oak woodland pasture. This feeding is central to bellota ham.
Film & TV · Hard
14. In the 1973 British film The Wicker Man, Summerisle's climactic procession celebrates which festival?
The islanders' May Day procession draws Sergeant Howie into the trap at the centre of the film.
Literature · Hard
15. In the Odyssey, how does the old nurse Eurycleia recognise Odysseus beneath his beggar's disguise?
While washing his feet, Eurycleia recognises the scar left by a boar during a hunt in his youth.
Science · Hard
16. When CFCs break down in the stratosphere, atoms of which element drive their ozone-destroying reactions?
Ultraviolet light breaks down CFCs, releasing chlorine atoms that can repeatedly destroy ozone molecules.
Current Affairs · Hard
17. A bronze signet ring recovered by underwater archaeologists, reported on 9 October 2026, depicts which lost ancient wonder?
The bronze ring depicts the Lighthouse of Alexandria. The excavation team announced it on 7 October; further reporting followed on 9 October.
History · Hard
18. Britain's 1943 Operation Mincemeat planted false invasion plans pointing to which pair of targets?
Documents planted on a body pointed to Greece and Sardinia, drawing attention away from the real Allied invasion of Sicily.
Sport · Hard
19. Which stroke order is used in a four-person medley swimming relay?
A medley relay begins with backstroke, followed by breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle. The individual medley starts with butterfly.
Arts · Hard
20. A grisaille painting is chiefly characterised by what kind of colour palette?
Grisaille uses monochrome or a very limited palette, with forms defined by changes in tone. Grey grisaille can imitate sculpture.
From the creators of DailyTrivia.com.au.