Each year on my birthday since 2016, I post my own set of trivia questions. Most are just about my favorite topics or other things I find interesting. Some might even be about me (though not too many).

For example, what is my favorite color/flavor of Haribo brand gummy Gold Bears? 

If you answered “clear/pineapple,” you’d be correct! 🍍

Lately I’ve discovered gummy Life Savers – Jesus Christ are they f—ing good! 😋

I swear, ever since I stopped drinking, sometimes I just can’t say no to an occasional sweets fix! 🍭🍬

I digress!

A dear and now departed friend of mine named Archie wrote his own birthday question set for his own birthday party for friends years ago. His idea inspired me to do my own birthday questions! For a couple of years, he served as MC at gatherings with friends and he read my questions aloud while friends of nine competed for trivia supremacy – and even prizes!

Now that he’s gone, I just can’t bring myself to try  finding a replacement for him to read the questions. 😢 But I still enjoy writing them and sharing them here!

Question difficulty ranges from easy to…very difficult. That is by design! The hard core trivia lovers who follow this site deserve no less than the most difficult trivia stumpers!

Hey – some questions are multiple choice, so you have a 25 percent chance of being correct! Even more if you know that at least one of the choices will be obviously incorrect.

That being said, see how you do on these – special thanks to my husband Mike for making the visual round for me 🙏

There are six regular rounds, six mystery rounds and three final questions. One of the mystery rounds is “just for fun” no wrong answers!

Round One

1 Not to Be Confused With that Michigan City that Has Big 🦫 Road – The ancient city of Troy is located closest to which modern day city? Multiple choice – Baghdad, Iraq; Istanbul, Turkiye; Tehran, Iran or Tripoli, Lebanon?

2 Something Completely Different – Identify which of the following living Monty Python’s Flying Circus founding members is the oldest – John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam or  Michael Palin?

3 90s TV – What female lead TV character used vocalizations called ululations in episodes of a fantasy series that aired six seasons from 1995 to 2001?

4 Eurotrash 80s Bands – The pop band Spandau Ballet reportedly got its name from a line of graffiti on a Berlin bathroom wall which described what German Nazi – who was “all alone, dancing the Spandau Ballet?” The man named in the graffiti was a famous inmate of Spandau Prison located in what was then West Berlin – until his death in the prison.

Mystery Round 1 –

Bands of Brothers

Identify the names of the bands with brothers of each other among its members when given the years the bands were founded, the first names of the brothers and a sampling of their songs (which may or may not be their biggest hits, some may just be my favorites lol). 

M1 1969, Gregg, Duane – Ramblin’ Man,  Midnight Rider, Melissa

M2 1979, Gary, Martin – Gold, True, Only When You Leave

M3 1984, Chris, Rich – Hard to Handle, Remedy, Thorn in My Pride

M4 1991, Liam, Noel – Don’t Look Back in Anger, Wonderwall, Champagne Supernova

Round Two

5 If You’re a Star Trek Nerd, You’ll Probably Know This One – What member of the crew of Star Trek – Voyager was originally named Annika Hansen before being assigned what other name for which she is best known to viewers?

6 More of a Polyglot Than Our First Lady – Which U.S. president born July 11, 1767 reportedly spoke eight foreign languages – more than any other U.S. president, and was able to converse fluently in Russian?

7 More Nerdy Stuff – A new installment in the Lord of the Rings franchise is scheduled for a 2027 release with its title mentioning “the hunt” for which character?

Bonus point – who’s directing this? Hint – It’s NOT Peter Jackson.

8 General Grant Slept Here – Which southern U.S. city, the site of a prominent Civil War battle, celebrated the Fourth of July seldom or sporadically until 1947 because of July 4 being the day in which the city surrendered to Union General Ulysses Grant?

Mystery Round 2 – Concept Albums

Identify the artists who recorded the following concept albums when given the name of the albums and year of release. 

M1 Kilroy Was Here, 1983

M2 If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, 2021

M3 Thick as a Brick, 1972

M4 The Downward Spiral, 1994

Final Question Game One –

Category – That Time I was Inspired by a Subtitle While Watching Adventure Time

Czech composer and bandmaster for the Austro-Hungarian Army Julius Fucik composed a march originally titled “Grande Marche Chromatique” in 1897. The march, prominently featuring chromatic scales,  was later renamed “Entrance of the Gladiators, Op. 68.

Beginning around the turn of the 20th century, this march would begin to become widely associated with a specific type of entertaining community event involving a variety of performers – especially a specific type of costumed  performing artist. Name either the type of entertainment event featuring these performers –  or the specific type of costumed  performing artist. 

Round Three

9 Are Those Cookies Made From Actual Girl Scouts? – Within 1, in which decade was the first ever Girl Scout cookie sale? A Muskogee, Oklahoma troop made the cookies in their own kitchens and sold them in their school cafeteria to fund their projects. 

10 You Probably Work at Home Depot, Ace or Lowe’s If You Know This One – What do the letters LED stand for in lighting parlance?

11 Who Didn’t Love Saturday Morning Cartoons as a Kid? – Which animated TV franchise which debuted in 1969 had a spinoff called “Mystery Incorporated” airing two seasons debuting in 2010? Bonus, which actor provided voice work for both the 1969 series and the spinoff? Double bonus,  which musician, who had a #4 hit with “Girlfriend” on U.S. modern charts in 1992 served as composer for the spinoff series?

12 I’m Gonna Ask About a Song With “Fist F—” In Its Lyrics (Yes Really) – Nine Inch Nails won a 2026 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song for “As Alive as You Need to Be.” Name either song for which the group previously won Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance in 1993 and 1996. The 1996 song was performed live at Woodstock ’94. 

One of these songs has a naughty word in it! ✊ 🍆 😂 

Mystery Round Three – Before And After

Combine the two given clues to form one answer which may share a word, syllable, etc. (You should all know how these things work by now)! 

M1 Actor who  played the Tenth Doctor on the long-running BBC series Doctor Who and superhero played by Paul Rudd in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

M2 Musician who performed in the Halftime Superbowl 2026 show and first and last name of trophy wife played by Tara Reid in a 1998 Coen Brothers cult comedy film

M3 Singer of 2026 song “Streets of Minneapolis” and deodorant brand marketed for adolescent girls mentioned by name in a 1991 Nirvana hit song

M4 creator of Curb Your Enthusiasm and co-creator of Twin Peaks

Round Four

13 Now to Ask About a B-Movie Actor From Michigan – Name one of the two TV series airing in the year 2000 or later – both filmed in filmed in New Zealand – in which actor Bruce Campbell played the starring title role. Name both series if you’re as into Bruce Campbell as I am 💕 😂

14 Here’s a Sign That I Watched Way Too Much TV in the 80s – What was the single name of the Romanian man described in TV ads during the 1980s as “(BLANK), the master of the pan flute?”

15 One Time At Band Camp, I Stuck My Friend’s Flute In My… – British musician Ian Anderson is notable for having played flute solos in the songs Locomotive Breath, Cross Eyed Mary and Witch’s Promise recorded by what band that he founded in 1967?

16 Pointless Celebrations of Rodents – The first Groundhog Day celebration was February, 2 at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania in what decade – within two?

Mystery Round Four – Visual – Catherine O’Hara Movies

Final Question Two

Category: Stuff My Husband Loves Talking About

What two-word phrase originating with roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970 describes the psychological feelings of unease, eeriness or even revulsion when seeing non-human or CGI characters that look and act like humans – but not completely like them?

The 2004 animated movie The Polar Express and the live action adaptation Cats (2019) are two examples of films in which viewers reported such feelings of unease when viewing characters depicted as humans (or human animal hybrids as in Cats).

Round Five

17 Pitter Patter, Let’s Get At Her – “I Kill the Bear” is the name of an upcoming series filmed in Sudbury, Ontario featuring an all Canadian cast including actors from what previous Canadian TV series which aired from 2016-2023? It is a standalone project and not a spinoff. Chad Kroeger from Nickelback is part of the cast for the new series.

18 This Song Came on Shuffle While I Was Driving, So Here I Go Asking About It  – The 1979 Abba song ” Does Your Mother Know” is notable for what specific reason? Multiple choice – It’s instrumental, It’s a cappella, Its lead vocals are sung by one of the male members of the band, or it failed to chart in the US?

19 Even More Nerdy Stuff – Excepting the letters A for “and” and I for “in,” give the word represented by any two of the remaining four letters in Doctor Who’s TARDIS used for interdimensional travel (among other things) in the BBC series Doctor Who.

20 Disco is Not Dead, It’s Just Called “Dance Pop” Now – What song was the last song for the Florida-based KC and the Sunshine band to reach the top 40 in the US, peaking at #18 in 1983 – and also hitting #1 in the UK? After Queen Elizabeth’s death in 2022, anti British Irish football fans (Shamrock Rovers) parodied the song’s chorus by singing “Lizzie’s in a box.”

Mystery Round Five – Just for Fun (no wrong answers)

Rank the following Billboard top 10 Billy Ocean hit songs in order from the least to most “rapey sounding.”

Suddenly, Caribbean Queen, Get out of My Dreams, Get Into My Car, Loverboy

Round Six

21 Inspired While Making My Morning Coffee – what small appliance brand started out in Racine, WI in 1906 as a small motor company when two guys with the first names Louis and Chester worked together to perfect a “universal” motor that would work across all power grids? Its current name sounds like it would be a fun location for summer activities. 

22 Another Time at Band Camp – What two-word title does the leader of a marching band hold? It is typically held by one of the senior members of the band, who typically must audition for the role. Once they earn the title, they conduct the band during practices and performances and lead the band during parades and onto fields for performances.

23 Movie Titles that Might Make Beavis and Butt-head Snicker – In the 1970 film Five Easy Pieces, what are the “pieces?” Answer now if ya already know this one, or choose from these multiple choices – puzzle pieces, pieces of ass, musical pieces, or pieces of a broken heart?

Bonus point – What one-hit wonder singer from the early 1980s acted in this film?

24 It’s All French and Shit – Which French derived word describing a military ranking literally can mean “placeholder?”

Mystery Round Six

Rob Reiner Films – In Order

Put the following films directed by the late Rob Reiner in order from the earliest to most recent.

This is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, The Princess Bride

Final Question Three

Category – World Geography

The disputed Kashmir region in Asia is surrounded by four different sovereign Asian nations. Put those four nations in order according to population, starting with the least populous to the most populous.

Answers:

R1 Istanbul, Cleese, Xena, hess

M1 allman brothers, Spandau Ballet, black crowes, oasis

R2 seven of nine, Quincy adams, gollum/serkis, vicksburg

M2 styx, halsey, Jethro tull, NIN

F1 clowns/circus

R3 1910s, light emitting diode, Scooby doo/frank welker/Matthew sweet, wish/happiness in slavery

M3

David tenantman and the wasp, bad Bunny lebowski, Bruce Springsteen spirit, Larry David lynch

R4 jack of all trades/ash vs the evil dead, zamfir, Jethro tull, 1880s

M4 for your consideration, best in show, waiting for guffman, mighty wind

F2 uncanny valley

R5 letterkenny, dude singing, relative dimensions space, give it up

M5 dealers choice

R6 hamilton beach, drum major, music/toni Basil, lieutenant

M6 spinal tap, princess Bride, Harry, men

Afghanistan, Pakistan China, india