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126 free World Records trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
43 free world records trivia questions with answers. Records trivia is the original pub argument: who is the tallest, what is the fastest, where is the hottest? This quiz covers 43 world records, from the Guinness book's own origin story on a 1951 shooting party to Robert Wadlow's 8 ft 11 in frame, Usain Bolt's 9.58 seconds, the blue whale, Angel Falls, Death Valley and the deepest lake on Earth. It works for a quick solo challenge or a round at your next trivia night, and it mixes easy warm-ups with genuinely hard ones about record-holders most people have never heard of. Every answer has been checked against a primary source, and where a famous record is disputed (like Death Valley's 1913 reading) the explanation says so.
30 of 126 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which skyscraper succeeded Taipei 101 as the world's tallest building?
Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa in Dubai rises 828 metres (2,717 feet), roughly 320 metres more than Taipei 101, the skyscraper it replaced as the world's tallest building.
Q 02Who holds the record for the oldest person ever whose age has been fully authenticated?
Jeanne Calment
Jeanne Louise Calment, from France, lived to the extraordinary age of 122 years and 164 days, making her the oldest person ever whose age has been fully authenticated.
Q 03What is the fastest land animal?
Cheetah
Cheetahs sprint at roughly 100–120 km/h (60–75 mph), the fastest of any land animal, but only for a few hundred metres; the pronghorn is faster over long distances.
Q 04Which athlete holds the record for the most Olympic medals won by an individual?
Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps won 28 medals across four Olympic Games, 23 of them gold; gymnast Larisa Latynina's 18 had been the record before him.
Q 05What is generally considered the longest river in the world?
Nile
The Nile flows about 6,650 km through northeastern Africa to the Mediterranean and its basin spans eleven countries, though it carries far less water than several shorter rivers.
Q 06What is the smallest independent state by area in the world?
Vatican City
Vatican City, an independent city-state located within Rome, Italy, is the smallest sovereign state in the world by both area and population.
Q 07Which mountain is recognized as the highest above sea level?
Mount Everest
Mount Everest's summit stands 8,848.86 metres above sea level, a figure jointly announced in December 2020 after new surveys from both sides of the border.
Q 08What is the deepest known oceanic trench on Earth?
Mariana Trench
The Mariana Trench's Challenger Deep lies in the ocean territory of the Federated States of Micronesia, nearly 11 km down.
Q 09Which music group holds the record for the most record sales worldwide?
The Beatles
The Beatles' estimated sales top 600 million units worldwide, making them the best-selling music act of all time.
Q 10Which country set the Guinness record for the longest human chain in 2004?
Bangladesh
On December 11, 2004, over 5 million people in Bangladesh formed a human chain stretching 1,050 km (652.4 miles) from Teknaf to Tentulia.
Q 11Which Savannah cat was recognized by Guinness in 2021 as the tallest living domestic cat?
Fenrir
Fenrir, a Savannah cat from Michigan, USA, was recognized as the tallest living domestic cat in 2021, measuring 47.83 cm (18.83 inches). His late brother Arcturus holds the title of tallest domestic cat ever.
Q 12Which snake is considered the most venomous land snake based on the toxicity of its venom?
Inland Taipan
The inland taipan, also known as the small-scaled snake, is recognized as the most venomous land snake, possessing the most toxic venom of any terrestrial snake.
Q 13Who holds the record for the deepest SCUBA dive (male)?
Ahmed Gabr
Q 21Which two birds were disputed as Europe's fastest game bird, sparking the Guinness Book of Records?
Golden plover and red grouse
Golden plover and red grouse were the rivals: on a 1951 shoot at the North Slob in County Wexford, Guinness's managing director missed a golden plover and could find no book to settle which bird was faster.
Q 22Which twin brothers compiled the first Guinness Book of Records in 1955?
Norris and Ross McWhirter
Norris and Ross McWhirter ran a London fact-finding agency and compiled the 1955 edition; after Ross was murdered in 1975, Norris carried on as sole editor.
Q 23How was the first Guinness Book of Records distributed in 1955?
Ahmed Gabr, an Egyptian diver, reached 332.35 m (1,090 ft 4.5 in) off Dahab in the Red Sea in September 2014, the deepest verified scuba dive.
Q 14Which large rodent is known as the biggest in the world?
Capybara
Capybaras, the world's largest rodents, can weigh over 60 kg; they are native to every South American country except Chile and have become an internet favourite.
Q 15How long were the longest fingernails ever recorded on a pair of female hands, combined?
About 43 feet
About 43 feet in total: Diana Armstrong of the USA had her nails measured at 1,306.58 cm (42 ft 10.4 in) by Guinness in March 2022, the longest ever on a pair of female hands.
Q 16In NBA history, who holds the record for the most points scored in a single game?
Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain holds the NBA record for the most points scored in a single game, achieving an astonishing 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors against the New York Knicks in 1962.
Q 17What is the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction?
CTF Pink Star
The CTF Pink Star, a 59.60-carat fancy vivid pink diamond, sold for a record-breaking $71.2 million at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong in 2017.
Q 18Which country has the most species of venomous snakes?
Australia
Australia has roughly 100 venomous land snake species, more than any other country, plus about 30 venomous sea snakes in its surrounding waters.
Q 19The longest human chain formed across multiple countries was in which region?
Baltic States
On 23 August 1989 about two million people in the Baltic States — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — linked hands in the 675 km 'Baltic Way', protesting the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.
Q 20Which mountain is the tallest on Earth when measured from base to summit?
Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea, a dormant Hawaiian volcano, rises about 10,200 metres from its base on the sea floor, though only 4,207 metres of that stand above sea level.
Given away free to pubs
Given away free to pubs: a thousand promotional copies went out to settle bar arguments, and demand was such that a retail edition topped the UK bestseller list by Christmas 1955.
Q 24Robert Wadlow, the tallest person in recorded history, reached what height?
8 ft 11 in
8 ft 11 in (2.72 m) was Robert Wadlow's height at his last measurement in June 1940; he wore size 37AA shoes and was still growing when he died that year.
Q 25Chandra Bahadur Dangi, the shortest adult human ever recorded, came from which country?
Nepal
Nepal's Chandra Bahadur Dangi measured 54.6 cm (21.5 in) when Guinness verified him in February 2012, aged 72, in his home district of Dang.
Q 26Usain Bolt's 100 m world record of 9.58 seconds was set at the 2009 World Championships in which city?
Berlin
Berlin's Olympiastadion hosted the 2009 World Championships, where Bolt ran 9.58 on 16 August; the city's mayor later presented him with a section of the Berlin Wall.
Q 27Which American holds the record for the most Guinness World Records, having set more than 700 since 1979?
Ashrita Furman
Ashrita Furman, a health-food store manager from Queens, New York, set his first record with 27,000 jumping jacks in 1979 and went on to set hundreds more, including pogo-stick jumping underwater.
Q 28Which species is the largest animal ever known to have lived?
Blue whale
The blue whale's heart alone can weigh 180 kg, going by one stranded specimen, and its calls reach 188 decibels.
Q 29Angel Falls, the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall, is in which country?
Venezuela
Venezuela's Auyán-tepui is the tabletop; the falls sit in Canaima National Park, a UNESCO site, and are named for US aviator Jimmie Angel.
Q 30Jonathan, hailed in 2022 as the oldest living land animal at about 190, is what creature?
A Seychelles giant tortoise
A Seychelles giant tortoise, Jonathan was brought to Saint Helena in 1882 already about 50 years old; Guinness recognised him in 2022 as the oldest living land animal, aged about 190.