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50 free Wisconsin trivia questions with answers. Wisconsin gave America the QWERTY keyboard, the first kindergarten, a major political party and the foam cheesehead, and this quiz covers all of it. You will move from statehood and the lead miners behind the Badger State nickname to the official state symbols (the state beverage is not what you would guess), the Packers' one-of-a-kind ownership, Milwaukee's brewing giants and the geography of Door County, the Apostle Islands and the Wisconsin Dells. There is a full course of food and drink too: supper-club fish fry, bratwurst, kringle, ButterBurgers and the state cocktail. Questions range from ones any Wisconsinite can answer to deep cuts on the state soil and the county that grows almost all of America's ginseng, so it works for a bar quiz, a classroom or a long car ride up north. Every answer has been checked against Wikipedia or an official Wisconsin source, and each question shows its citation, so you can settle arguments with the receipts in hand.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Wisconsin was admitted to the Union as which numbered state?
30th
It was the last state carved entirely from the old Northwest Territory, joining a decade after neighboring Michigan.
Q 02What is the capital of Wisconsin?
Madison
It is only the state's second-largest city; the founder named it for a president who had died just months earlier.
Q 03Wisconsin's 'Badger State' nickname originally referred to what group?
Lead miners who sheltered in dugouts
The nickname predates statehood and has nothing to do with wildlife counts; the animal was only made the official state animal in 1957.
Q 04Wisconsin borders which two of the Great Lakes?
Superior and Michigan
The Mississippi River forms most of the western border, so three of the state's four sides are water.
Q 05What is Wisconsin's largest inland body of water?
Winnebago
Oshkosh, Fond du Lac and Neenah all sit on its shore, and the lake feeds the Fox River on its way to Green Bay.
Q 06What is Wisconsin's official state motto?
Forward
It has been the motto since 1851 and appears on the state flag and seal.
Q 07Which bird has been Wisconsin's official state bird since 1949?
American robin
Wisconsin shares it with Connecticut and Michigan, and it beat several flashier candidates to the title.
Q 08Which fish is Wisconsin's official state fish?
Muskellunge
Musky anglers call it 'the fish of 10,000 casts'; Hayward's Fishing Hall of Fame is built inside a giant fiberglass one.
Q 09What did Wisconsin name its official state beverage in 1987?
Milk
Given the state's brewing fame it surprises many, but the dairy lobby got there first.
Q 10Which dance became Wisconsin's official state dance in 1993?
Polka
It reflects the German, Polish and Czech immigrants who filled the state's dance halls; the state also has an official waltz and ballad.
Q 11Which mineral, an ore of lead, is Wisconsin's official state mineral?
Galena
The southwestern hills were dug so heavily for it in the 1820s and 1830s that the state got its nickname from the diggers.
Q 12What is Wisconsin's official state soil?
Antigo
Named for a city in Langlade County, it is a glacial soil that suits both potatoes and dairy pasture.
Q 13Roughly what share of the US cranberry crop does Wisconsin grow?
About 60%
The cranberry has been the official state fruit since 2003, and most of the crop is grown in the central sands around Wisconsin Rapids.
Q 21The Packers take their name from a company that packed what?
Meat
Curly Lambeau's employer put up money for uniforms in 1919 on the condition the team carry its name.
Q 22What makes the Packers' ownership unique among major-league US teams?
Non-profit public shareholders
More than 500,000 people own stock that pays no dividend, cannot be resold and grants no ticket privileges.
Q 23Which coach led the Packers to victory in the first two Super Bowls?
Vince Lombardi
The Super Bowl trophy was renamed for him in 1970, months after his death.
Q 14Wisconsin grows around 90 to 95 percent of America's ginseng; which county produces almost all of it?
Marathon
The Wausau-area crop is prized in Asia, and Chinese buyers reportedly pay a premium for roots grown in that specific soil.
Q 15Roughly what fraction of all cheese made in the United States comes from Wisconsin?
About a quarter
It is also the only state with a master cheesemaker program, modeled on the apprenticeship systems of Europe.
Q 16Wisconsin's official state pastry, an oval Danish, is most associated with which city?
Racine
A traditional one weighs about a pound and a half and takes three days to make because the dough must rest overnight.
Q 17Which city calls itself the 'Bratwurst Capital of the World'?
Sheboygan
Locals insist a brat belongs on a hard roll, not a bun, and the city's Brat Days festival includes a world eating championship.
Q 18Culver's opened its first restaurant in 1984 in which small town?
Sauk City
The company still keeps its headquarters just across the Wisconsin River in Prairie du Sac.
Q 19At a Wisconsin supper club, what all-you-can-eat meal is the Friday-night staple?
Fish fry
The tradition grew out of Catholic meatless Fridays and Prohibition-era taverns that needed a cheap draw.
Q 20In 2023 Wisconsin lawmakers named which drink the official state cocktail?
Brandy old fashioned
Wisconsinites drink so much of the base spirit that the state has long been one of Korbel's biggest markets.
Q 24Which Packers safety invented the Lambeau Leap in 1993?
LeRoy Butler
He scored after Reggie White recovered a fumble and lateraled to him against the Raiders; the NFL later exempted the leap from its celebration crackdown.
Q 25Who made the first foam Cheesehead hat in 1987, cutting it out of his mother's couch?
Ralph Bruno
His company Foamation still makes them in St. Francis, and the Packers themselves bought the business in 2023.
Q 26What does University of Wisconsin mascot Bucky Badger do after every Badgers score?
Push-ups
He does one for each point on the scoreboard, so a 70-point blowout means hundreds of them by the fourth quarter.
Q 27Harley-Davidson and which rival were the only two major US motorcycle makers to survive the Great Depression?
Indian
William Harley drew up his first small engine at age 20, meant to power a bicycle rather than a motorcycle.
Q 28Frederick Miller launched his Milwaukee brewing business in 1855 by buying which small brewery?
Plank Road
He paid $2,300 for it; the name was revived in the 1990s for the Icehouse and Red Dog labels.
Q 29Pabst Blue Ribbon got its name from what?
Silk ribbons tied on bottle necks
The beer was originally called Best Select, and customers simply started asking bartenders for 'the blue-ribbon beer.'
Q 30Which machine was patented in Milwaukee in 1868 by Christopher Latham Sholes and his partners?
The typewriter
It introduced the QWERTY layout, which spread only because Remington's version of the machine sold so well.