Questions from AAJA-HI’s inaugural Trivia Bowl 2026

Categories:

  1. 2026 Current Events
  2. Politics, History and Literature
  3. 2026 Pop Culture
  4. Science and Sports
  5. Hawaii Kine Tings

2026 Current Events

  1. What U.S. aircraft carrier was relieved after a record deployment in the Middle East?
    USS Abraham Lincoln

  2. What was the mission of NASA’s Artemis II in April 2026?
    Crewed test flight around the moon (crewed lunar flyby)

  3. Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama recently died. What motif was she famous for using in room-sized installations?
    Polka dots

  4. Name Canada’s prime minister who’s been locked in a tariff war with President Trump. (Full name)
    Mark Carney

  5. Jurors declared a mistrial in the high profile U.S. murder trial of a woman who killed her three children. What is her full name?
    Lindsay Clancy

  6. The U.S. debt crossed what threshold after doubling under Presidents Trump and Biden?
    A. $998 billion
    B. $15 trillion
    C. $40 trillion
    D. $75 trillion

  7. The Metropolitan Museum of Art canceled its planned 2027 Met Gala theme honoring which designer? (Last name is OK)
    John Galliano

  8. Who was the first living U.S. president to be depicted on a U.S. coin? (Full name)
    Calvin Coolidge

  9. Who is John Ternus and what is the full name of the product he just launched?
    Apple CEO, iPhone duo

  10. During internal cybersecurity testing, advanced OpenAI models broke out of their isolated environment, accessed the open internet, and hacked into what company’s systems?
    A. GitHub
    B. CoreWeave
    C. Civitai
    D. Hugging Face

 

Politics, History and Literature

  1. In Greek mythology and Homer’s epic, what is the name of Odysseus’s wife who waits for him for twenty years?
    Penelope
  2. In which year did the United States officially withdraw its troops from Vietnam?
    A: 1972
    B: 1973
    C: 1974
    D: 1975
  3. MAP PROVIDED
    On the map, what country am I in If I’m along the Baltic coast between Poland and Lithuania?

    Russia
    Kalingingrad is a province of Russia, The Soviet Union annexed the northern part of German East Prussia after World War II under the Potsdam Agreement.
  4. Name the book and author where this famous closing quote is from: “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”
    Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
  5. One country has a temple on their national flag. Name the temple.
    Angkor Wat
  6. What are the Pandora Papers?
    A: Whistleblower act papers submitted to Congress divulging the harmful effects of social media
    B: Leaked documents which unmask the hidden owners of secret wealth
    C: The 112 page document leaked to the press regarding the duopoly of stock manipulation of Twitter prior to sale
    D: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) report on illicit activity in Venezuela
  7. Which dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood is set in the totalitarian Republic of Gilead and was adapted into a popular streaming series?
    The Handmaid’s Tale
  8. This year marks the 10th anniversary of an international arbitral ruling that affirmed the Philippines’ sovereign rights to its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea and invalidated China’s claims of a so-called line. What was the name of that line?
    Nine-dash line
  9. In the “Harry Potter” series, what is the name of Lord Voldemort’s snake and Horcrux?
    Nagini
  10. MAP PROVIDED
    Don’t balk, name the countries (1 point each)
    Albania
    Bosnia
    Bulgaria
    Croatia
    Kosovo
    Macedonia
    Montenegro
    Serbia
    Romania
    Greece

    A: Croatia
    B: Bosnia
    C: Montenegro
    D: Albania
    E: Serbia
    F: Kosovo
    G: Macedonia
    H: Bulgaria

 

2026 Pop Culture

  1. What is the name of Olivia Rodrigo’s recently held women-led music festival?
    Daisy Chain Fields
  2. What Paul Thomas Anderson film won the Best Picture Oscar this year?
    One Battle After Another
  3. What traditional Japanese wooden toy is seeing global resurgence?
    Kendama
  4. Who won Album of the Year at this year’s Grammys?
    Bad Bunny
  5. What magazine did activist Gloria Steinem co-found in 1972 and became a landmark of the women’s movement?
    Ms. magazine
  6. In Squid Games, which symbol is on the guards’ masks of armed soldiers tasked with eliminating players and enforcing rules.
    Triangle
  7. What popular annual international song contest features mainly European countries competing with original songs?
    Eurovision Song Contest
  8. What is the name of the fictional town where Stranger Things is set?
    Hawkins
  9. Which member of BTS didn’t serve in the South Korean army, but instead performed alternative service?
    SUGA
  10. What is the name of the baby Japanese snow monkey that became a viral sensation for clinging to his stuffed orangutan toy?
    Punch

 

Science and Sports

  1. What is the most commonly used fuel for nuclear power?
    A: Plutonium
    B: Uranium
    C: Thorium
    D: Adamantium

  2. The 2034 FIFA World Cup will take place in which country:
    Saudi Arabia

  3. Toxoplasmosis, is one of the world’s most common parasites and exposure is possible from all but which one?
    A: eating undercooked meat
    B: exposure to infected cat feces
    C: exposure from an infected person
    D: eating unwashed organic fruits or veggies

  4. What number is the next Super Bowl? Write it in Roman numerals as the NFL would.
    LXI

  5. What is the chemical symbol for gold?
    Au

  6. Name the current starting quarterback for the University of Hawaiʻi Rainbow Warriors football team. (Full name)
    Micah Alejado

  7. How many bones are in the adult human body?
    A. 206
    B. 153
    C. 98
    D. 281

  8. Who won the 2026 PGA Championship? (Full name)
    Aaron Rai

  9. What is the colloquial name of the fine volcanic glass fibers formed during volcanic eruptions?
    Pele’s hair

  10. Who defeated Alex Eala in the U.S. Open? (Full name)
    Iva Jovic

Hawaii Kine Tings

  1. What traditional Hawaiian dessert is made from grated kalo and coconut milk?
    Kulolo

  2. What is the pidgin way of saying if it’s possible, we’ll do it, If not, we won’t.
    “If can, can, if no can, no can”

  3. Who was the U.S, president when the Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in 1893? (Full name)
    Benjamin Harrison

  4. The Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts gives local artists a premier music award often called Hawaii’s Grammy. What is it?
    Na Hoku Hanohano award

  5. How many letters does the Hawaiian language have?
    13

  6. Hawaii tests its outdoor warning sirens on the first business day each month at what time?
    11:45 a.m.

  7. If someone heard something through word of mouth in Hawaii, how would a local say they hear it?
    Through coconut wireless

  8. The ukulele can be traced back to what Portuguese island?
    Madeira

  9. He aha ka pua moku’aina? (What is the State Flower?)
    A: Nene
    B: Hibiscus
    C: humuhumu nukunuku apua’a
    D: taro

  10. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) is responsible for monitoring six active volcanoes. Name at least 5 to get credit.
    Kīlauea, Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, Hualālai, Haleakalā, Kama‘ehuakanaloa (formerly Lō’ihi)

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