30 questions · true or false · Updated October 28, 2026
True or False General Knowledge Questions
Want to test your friends' or family’s general knowledge? Here are 30 true or false statements about art, books, music, words and numbers, from the easy ones to the really sneaky ones, each with its answer explained. For a party, a game night or a remote quiz: read the statement, let everyone decide, then reveal the explanation.
Tip: read the statement out loud, let people buzz, then open the answer.
01Pinocchio is a character created by Walt Disney.Show the answer
False
He was created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi in a story published in the 1880s. Disney’s famous animated film came out in 1940.
02A standard modern piano has 88 keys.Show the answer
True
That’s 52 white keys and 36 black ones, covering just over seven octaves. It’s the norm on today’s pianos.
03Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is set in Venice.Show the answer
False
Shakespeare set the play in Verona, in northern Italy. Venice is the setting of “The Merchant of Venice”.
04The word “robot” comes from the Czech language.Show the answer
True
It was popularized in 1920 by the play R.U.R., written by Czech author Karel Čapek. It comes from “robota”, meaning drudgery or forced labor.
05In Greek mythology, Poseidon is the god of war.Show the answer
False
Poseidon is the god of the sea, armed with his trident. The god of war is Ares.
06In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein is the name of the monster.Show the answer
False
Frankenstein is the scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who builds the creature. The monster itself has no name in the novel, published in 1818.
07The word “kayak” is a palindrome.Show the answer
True
A palindrome reads the same from left to right and from right to left, like “kayak”, “radar” or “level”.
08The Mona Lisa was painted by Michelangelo.Show the answer
False
It was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the early 16th century. The painting hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
09Leonardo da Vinci died in France.Show the answer
True
Invited by King Francis I, he spent his final years at the Clos Lucé manor near Amboise, where he died in 1519.
10In Roman numerals, the letter D stands for 1,000.Show the answer
False
D stands for 500; M is 1,000. The seven basic symbols are I (1), V (5), X (10), L (50), C (100), D (500) and M (1,000).
11The saxophone belongs to the brass family.Show the answer
False
Even though it’s made of metal, the saxophone is a woodwind: its sound comes from a vibrating cane reed, just like a clarinet’s.
12A heptagon has six sides.Show the answer
False
A heptagon has seven sides (from the Greek “hepta”, seven). It’s the hexagon that has six.
13The Thinker is a sculpture by Auguste Rodin.Show the answer
True
This famous statue of a seated man, chin resting on his hand, was first imagined by Rodin for his monumental work “The Gates of Hell”.
14Coca-Cola invented the red-suited Santa Claus.Show the answer
False
Santa was already often shown in red before the brand’s famous ads, which began in 1931. The ads mainly made that image popular around the world.
15“Big Ben” was originally the nickname of the great bell in London’s clock tower.Show the answer
True
By extension, the name is also used for the tower itself, which has officially been called the Elizabeth Tower since 2012.
16Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only the Great Pyramid of Giza still stands.Show the answer
True
The other six, such as the Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Colossus of Rhodes, are gone. The Great Pyramid is also the oldest of the seven, at about 4,500 years old.
17Sherlock Holmes was created by Agatha Christie.Show the answer
False
The famous detective first appeared in 1887, created by Scottish writer Arthur Conan Doyle. Agatha Christie created Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
18A violin has six strings.Show the answer
False
A violin has only four, tuned G, D, A and E. It’s the classical guitar that has six.
19In music, a whole note lasts as long as four quarter notes.Show the answer
True
A whole note (semibreve) equals two half notes, and each half note equals two quarter notes (crotchets). So a whole note lasts as long as four quarter notes.
20Zero is an even number.Show the answer
True
A number is even if it can be divided by 2 with no remainder, and 0 can (0 = 2 × 0). It also sits between two odd numbers, −1 and 1.
21In Morse code, the distress signal SOS is three dots, three dashes, three dots.Show the answer
True
S is three dots and O is three dashes. Contrary to popular belief, the letters don’t stand for anything: SOS is not short for “Save Our Souls”.
22The Colosseum is in Athens.Show the answer
False
The Colosseum is in Rome. Opened in AD 80, this huge amphitheater could hold tens of thousands of spectators.
23The word “alphabet” comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet.Show the answer
True
Alpha and beta! The Greeks themselves had adapted their alphabet from the one used by the Phoenicians.
24A week has 168 hours.Show the answer
True
Simple math: 7 days × 24 hours = 168 hours.
25The metric system was created in France around the time of the French Revolution.Show the answer
True
Designed in the 1790s to replace a jumble of local units, it originally defined the meter based on the length of one of Earth’s meridians.
26The first adhesive postage stamp was issued in the United States.Show the answer
False
It was issued in the United Kingdom in 1840: the “Penny Black”, featuring Queen Victoria.
27The number 1 is a prime number.Show the answer
False
A prime number has exactly two divisors: 1 and itself. The number 1 has only one, so it isn’t prime. The smallest prime number is 2.
28The 21st century began on January 1, 2001.Show the answer
True
Our calendar has no year zero: the first century ran from year 1 to year 100. So the 21st century began in 2001, even though many people celebrated in 2000.
29Beethoven composed some of his greatest works after he had become almost deaf.Show the answer
True
His hearing loss began before he turned 30 and kept getting worse. Yet he kept composing, including his Ninth Symphony, first performed in 1824.
30The Four Seasons was composed by Mozart.Show the answer
False
These famous violin concertos are the work of Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi. They were published in 1725.
Play these questions with the buzzer
In the same room, the host pulls these questions at random on the TV and everyone buzzes with their phone. Remotely, everyone can pick them on their turn in the group.
To turn it into a real game show, open Buzzloo’s quiz buzzer: every player’s phone becomes a buzzer, right in the browser. You read the statement out loud, the first player to buzz in calls “true” or “false”, then you read the explanation to settle it. For the whole evening, our guide to hosting a quiz night walks you through it step by step.