July 17, 2026 Trivia

The 5 dubtrivia questions from July 17, 2026, with answers and explanations.

1. Wild Card

   1. The word 'quiz' is now used worldwide — but its origins are mysterious. What is the most widely accepted (though debated) theory about where it came from?

   ✓From a Dublin theater owner who allegedly wrote it on walls as a prank

   Did you know?

   The most popular folk etymology claims that a Dublin theater owner named Richard Daly bet he could introduce a nonsense word to the city overnight — so he had 'QUIZ' chalked on walls across Dublin in 1791. By morning everyone was asking what it meant, and the word supposedly stuck. Linguists have disproven this legend, however, tracing the true origin back to 1780s university slang for an eccentric person.

2. Wild Card

   2. The Allied code name for the D-Day Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, was 'Operation Overlord.' But which country, aside from the U.S. and Britain, contributed the third-largest number of troops to the landings that day?

   ✓Canada

   Did you know?

   Canada contributed the third-largest force at D-Day, landing on Juno Beach with approximately 14,000 soldiers — a fact often overshadowed by American and British coverage, though Juno saw some of the fiercest fighting and Canadian troops advanced further inland than any other Allied force that day.

3. Wild Card

   3. In Norse mythology, Valhalla is the great hall where fallen warriors go — but who specifically selects which warriors are taken there after battle?

   ✓The Valkyries, female figures who ride over battlefields

   Did you know?

   The Valkyries — whose name means 'choosers of the slain' — were female figures who rode over battlefields selecting the most heroic fallen warriors to bring to Valhalla, though the myth also says Freya claims half of the dead for her own realm, Fólkvangr.

4. K12

   4. The first American woman to walk in space was not Sally Ride. Which astronaut became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk, in 1984?

   ✓Kathryn Sullivan

   Did you know?

   Kathryn Sullivan stepped outside the Space Shuttle Challenger on October 11, 1984, becoming the first American woman to perform a spacewalk. Sally Ride was the first American woman in space a year earlier, but never did a spacewalk.

5. News & Pop Culture

   5. What is the name of the fictional kingdom in Disney's 'Frozen' where Elsa and Anna live — a place inspired by the geography and culture of Norway?

   ✓Arendelle

   Did you know?

   Arendelle is the kingdom in Frozen, modeled closely on the fjords, architecture, and folk costumes of western Norway. Disney animators visited Norway specifically to research the look and culture before designing the film's world.