Question 1

Which city in the ancient world was the first to have a population exceeding one million people, reaching that milestone around 133 BC and remaining the world's most populous city for centuries?

Accepted Answer

Rome. Rome is estimated to have reached a population of around one million inhabitants during the late Roman Republic, making it the first city in human history to achieve that milestone. It maintained this status for centuries, with extensive infrastructure including aqueducts built specifically to support this density.

Question 2

Which 1970s television series, set in a Korean War field hospital, ran for 11 seasons and had a finale watched by 106 million viewers — still the most-watched single TV episode in American history?

Accepted Answer

M*A*S*H. The M*A*S*H series finale, 'Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,' broadcast on February 28, 1983, was watched by an average of 105.97 million viewers. It remains the most-watched single episode of a scripted series in American history—a record that still stands in 2026. While it surpassed that year's Super Bowl XVII in viewership (~81.7 million), its record as the most-watched broadcast overall was eventually overtaken by Super Bowl XLIV in 2010.

Question 3

Which actor played the character Tyler Durden in the 1999 film 'Fight Club' — a role so charismatically villainous that the character's anti-consumerist philosophy accidentally inspired real-world underground groups?

Accepted Answer

Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt played Tyler Durden, the anarchic alter ego of the narrator in David Fincher's Fight Club. The film's critique of masculinity and consumer culture resonated so strongly that actual 'fight clubs' appeared globally, prompting the filmmakers to publicly distance themselves from the movement.

Question 4

Which U.S. state banned the sale of alcohol for the longest stretch during Prohibition, keeping statewide alcohol bans in place until 1966 — 33 years after federal Prohibition ended?

Accepted Answer

Mississippi. Mississippi was the last U.S. state to repeal Prohibition, not doing so until 1966, nearly four decades after the 21st Amendment ended federal Prohibition in 1933 — making it by far the driest state in the nation for the longest time.

Question 5

Which country's army accidentally invaded itself in 1788 when two of its own battalions met in the dark, mistook each other for the enemy, and opened fire — resulting in thousands of casualties with no opposing force involved?

Accepted Answer

Austria. During the Battle of Karánsebes, the Austrian army suffered a chaotic friendly-fire incident after a dispute over schnapps led to panic, with soldiers shooting their own comrades in complete darkness.

May 20, 2026 Trivia

1. Which city in the ancient world was the first to have a population exceeding one million people, reaching that milestone around 133 BC and remaining the world's most populous city for centuries?

2. Which 1970s television series, set in a Korean War field hospital, ran for 11 seasons and had a finale watched by 106 million viewers — still the most-watched single TV episode in American history?

3. Which actor played the character Tyler Durden in the 1999 film 'Fight Club' — a role so charismatically villainous that the character's anti-consumerist philosophy accidentally inspired real-world underground groups?

4. Which U.S. state banned the sale of alcohol for the longest stretch during Prohibition, keeping statewide alcohol bans in place until 1966 — 33 years after federal Prohibition ended?

5. Which country's army accidentally invaded itself in 1788 when two of its own battalions met in the dark, mistook each other for the enemy, and opened fire — resulting in thousands of casualties with no opposing force involved?