The Funniest Wrong Answers I've Ever Heard at a Quiz Night
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After hosting more quiz nights than I care to count, I've heard some answers that have stopped me dead in my tracks. Not because they were close. Not because they were clever. But because they were so magnificently, confidently, spectacularly wrong that I had to take a moment to compose myself before reading out the correct answer.
Here, for your reading pleasure, are the finest wrong answers ever submitted at a quiz'd quiz night.
"What is the capital of France?" — Greggs
Paris. The answer is Paris. It has been Paris for a very long time. Greggs is a beloved British bakery chain, home of the sausage roll, and — to one team's eternal credit — apparently also a contender for European capital city status. We respect the commitment. We cannot award the point.
"Who painted the Mona Lisa?" — Bob Ross
Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa sometime between 1503 and 1519. Bob Ross painted happy little trees on a PBS television programme from 1983 to 1994. Both are legends. Only one of them painted the most famous artwork in human history, and it wasn't the one with the afro and the soothing voice. Though, honestly, imagine if it had been.
"Who wrote Harry Potter?" — Harry Potter
J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter. Harry Potter is the fictional protagonist of the series. He did not write it. He was, at the time of the events described in the books, a child attending a school for wizards and dealing with a dark lord — a busy schedule that left little time for authorship. The team's logic, when pressed: "Well, it's his story, isn't it." Technically true. Still wrong.
"What is the currency of Japan?" — Pokémon Cards
The Japanese Yen has been the currency of Japan since 1871. Pokémon cards, while arguably holding their value better than some currencies in recent years, are not legal tender in Japan or anywhere else. This answer was delivered with such sincerity that for a brief moment I questioned everything I knew about international finance.
"Name a country beginning with B." — Birmingham
Birmingham is a city. A great city, in fairness — the second largest in the UK, home to Cadbury's chocolate and the Balti Triangle. But it is not a country. Countries beginning with B include Brazil, Belgium, Bolivia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, and approximately fifteen others. Birmingham is not among them. The team seemed genuinely surprised by this information.
"What is sushi traditionally wrapped in?" — Bubble wrap
Nori. Sushi is traditionally wrapped in nori, which is a type of dried seaweed. Bubble wrap is a packaging material invented in 1957 and is, to my knowledge, not a feature of traditional Japanese cuisine. I will say this: if sushi were wrapped in bubble wrap, it would be significantly more entertaining to eat.
"Which sport uses a shuttlecock?" — Bird launching
Badminton. The answer is badminton. "Bird launching" is not a sport, though I would absolutely watch it if it were. A shuttlecock is the feathered projectile used in badminton, and the sport has been an Olympic event since 1992. The team that answered "bird launching" were so pleased with themselves that it felt wrong to mark it incorrect. We marked it incorrect anyway.
"Which country is shaped like a boot?" — Clarks
Italy. The answer is Italy, famously shaped like a boot on the map, a fact taught in geography classrooms the world over. Clarks is a shoe company founded in Somerset in 1825. It is not a country. It does, however, make excellent boots, and perhaps that's where the confusion arose. We gave them a point for creativity. We did not. But we thought about it.
The Moral of the Story
Wrong answers are the soul of a great quiz night. They're the moments that get quoted for years, the stories that follow teams home, the reason people come back next week. The best quiz nights aren't just about who gets the most right — they're about the moments in between.
Want to create more of those moments? Our ready-made quiz packs are full of questions guaranteed to produce both brilliant right answers and spectacular wrong ones.