The longer you spend on this Earth, the more you know. And our trivia questions for older adults give you the opportunity to show how much you've discovered throughout your life. These printable trivia questions for seniors are a great way to spend time with friends and family and share all the things you've learned.

Easy-to-Use Free Printable Trivia Questions for Seniors

These printable trivia questions make it easy to take with you for parties and get-togethers. To download, click on the thumbnail. If you need help downloading the printables, check out these helpful tips.

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General Trivia Questions for Seniors

We love trivia questions that test our general knowledge. So we've gathered some random facts to test yours.

What are the ingredients in a Boulevardier?

Bourbon, Campari, and sweet vermouth

Which state has the northernmost latitude in the contiguous states?

Minnesota

In AKC dog shows, what group would a Rottweiler be in?

Working group

What three crops, when planted together, are known as the “Three Sisters?”

Corn, beans, and squash

In Major League Baseball, how far is it from the pitcher’s mound to home plate?

60 feet, 6 inches

Who declined the 1964 Nobel Prize for Literature?

Jean-Paul Sartre

What is the British dish of sausages and mashed potatoes better known as in the UK?

Bangers and mash

What did Jack Dempsy do before he was a boxer?

He was a copper miner.

What is the name of the oldest commissioned warship still afloat?

The USS Constitution

What branch of the U.S. Military boasts the Blue Angels?

Navy

What is the most abundant element in the universe?

Hydrogen

Who said, “Well done is better than well said?”

Benjamin Franklin

What is the geographically largest U.S. state?

Alaska

What movie famously ends with the line, “Well, nobody’s perfect?”

Some Like It Hot

What are the three flavors in Neopolitan ice cream?

Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry

What was the name of the very first Saturday morning cartoon?

Crusader Rabbit

What breakfast cereal commercial’s dialog ended with the line, “He likes it. Hey Mikey!”

Life cereal

Easy Trivia for Seniors

Not sure you're great at trivia? Start with these easy questions for a boost of confidence.

What was Charlotte’s first message in her web in Charlotte’s Web?

Some Pig

What soft drink was billed as “the real thing?”

Coca Cola

Which ingredient do you adjust in a martini to make it dry or wet?

Vermouth

Which fast food restaurant’s commercial asked, “Where’s the beef?”

Wendy’s

What type of dog is Scooby Doo?

Great Dane

What type of fruit is a pomelo?

Citrus

What type of moss hangs from tree branches throughout the South?

Spanish moss

Where is the tallest known living tree in the world located?

Redwood National Park

What are the three states of matter?

Solid, liquid, gas

In math’s order of operations, what is the first thing you solve?

Anything in parentheses

What is the most populated U.S. state?

California

What country makes the most wine, Italy, France, or the United States?

Italy

In basketball, when you dribble the ball with both hands, what is it called?

Double dribble

What airline did Northwest Airlines merge with in 2010?

Delta

50s History Trivia

Lots of stuff happened in the 50s. How much do you remember?

Which president of the United States was in office from Jan. 20, 1953, to Jan. 20, 1961?

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Which disease did Dr. Jonas Salk successfully create a vaccine for in 1952?

Polio

What was the name of the first satellite launched into orbit by Russia in 1957?

Sputnik

Who overthrew Fulgencio Batista in 1959 and became dictator of Cuba?

Fidel Castro

What year did Disneyland open?

1955

What famous explorer first climbed Mount Everest in 1953?

Sir Edmund Hillary

Who became Premier of the Soviet Union in 1958?

Nikita Khrushchev

Senator Joseph McCarthy, who conducted a nationally televised hearing in 1954 to root out Communists in the government, represented what state?

Wisconsin

What is the name of the woman who refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955?

Rosa Parks

Which member of the royal family became head of state in Great Britain in 1953?

Queen Elizabeth II

50s Music Questions

Rock 'n' roll was huge in the 1950s, but there were lots of other popular genres, too. Show your knowledge about the 50s music scene.

Which famous song sung by Doris Day was introduced in the 1956 Hitchcock thriller, The Man Who Knew Too Much?

Que Sera Sera

What singer had a country music chart hit with Sixteen Tons in 1955?

Tennessee Ernie Ford

Which group had a hit with Twilight Time in 1958?

The Platters

Which smoky-voiced singer sang Too Young in 1951?

Nat King Cole

What Cleveland disc jockey first used the term rock 'n' roll in 1951?

Alan Freed

Tony and Maria were the lead characters in what Broadway musical that premiered in 1957?

West Side Story

Who recorded Rock Around the Clock in 1955?

Bill Haley and the Comets

Who originally sang That'll Be the Day in 1957?

Buddy Holly and the Crickets

The Coasters recorded a song in 1959 with the line, "You're gonna need an ocean of Calamine lotion." What is the name of the song?

Poison Ivy

B.J. Thomas sang I Can't Help It If I'm Still in Love With You in 1967. Who first recorded it in 1951?

Hank Williams Sr.

50s Pop Culture Questions

How much do you remember about the awesome decade that was the 50s? Test your knowledge with these pop culture trivia questions.

Which aspiring rock 'n' roll singer appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1956 but could only be shown from the waist up?

Elvis Presley

Which rising young star from the movie Rebel Without a Cause died in an automobile accident in 1955?

James Dean

Which television game show first aired in 1956 and is still running today?

The Price Is Right

What famous baseball player married Marilyn Monroe in 1954?

Joe DiMaggio

What piece of women's clothing — named after a dog — became popular in the 1950s?

Poodle skirt

What teen idol sang, Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb?

Edd "Kookie" Burns

What type of hat/cap did both Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone wear on TV in the 50s?

Coonskin

Eating what type of live fish became popular in the 1950s?

Goldfish

What famous cowboy of the 1950s was really named Leonard Slye?

Roy Rogers

What was the name of the circular plastic 1950s toy that was placed around the waist and operated by gyrating the hips?

Hula Hoop

60s History Questions

The 1960s was a tumultuous time. Test your knowledge of the decade.

Who was the first African-American named Supreme Court Justice in 1967?

Thurgood Marshall

In 1964, Jack Ruby was convicted of murdering which other accused assassin?

Lee Harvey Oswald

Israeli forces defeated Arab forces in this extremely short but decisive war that took place in June 1967. What is the name of that war?

Six Day War

What was the name of the conflict in 1961 in which CIA-trained forces tried but failed to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro?

Bay of Pigs

Who was assassinated in November 1963?

President John F. Kennedy

What new type of telephone was invented in 1963?

Touch-tone

Who delivered the famous I Have a Dream speech in 1963?

Martin Luther King Jr.

What iconic anti-war novel did Joseph Heller publish in 1961?

Catch-22

Russia imprisoned Gary Powers in 1960 for spying. What type of plane did he fly?

U-2

What did the U.S. Postal Service add in 1963 that is part of every address today?

Zip codes

60s Movies Questions

Test your knowledge about the 60s silver screen.

Which film won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1960?

The Apartment

Which actor won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird?

Gregory Peck

Which film was the highest-grossing release of 1963, yet still lost money because it was one of the most expensive films ever made?

Cleopatra

Who played the role of Norman Bates in the 1960 horror movie, Psycho?

Anthony Perkins

What was the name of Butch Cassidy's gang in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?

Hole in the Wall Gang

What type of airplane appears in Dr. Strangelove?

Boeing B-52

Who landed at 17 Cherry Tree Lane in a well-known Walt Disney movie from 1964?

Mary Poppins

What famous actor starred in Lilies of the Field and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Sidney Poitier

Easy Rider starred Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson, and Dennis Hopper. Which one directed the movie?

Dennis Hopper

What 1968 movie co-starred a computer named H.A.L?

2001: A Space Odyssey

60s Pop Culture Questions

Check to see how much you know about 60s pop culture (and 60s counterculture).

Which iconic blonde actress and rumored lover of President John F. Kennedy was found dead in her bedroom on August 5, 1962?

Marilyn Monroe

Which former first lady married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis on October 20, 1968?

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

In which year did the Woodstock Festival take place?

1969

Which product did Proctor and Gamble launch in 1966 that revolutionized baby care?

Pampers

What famous band arrived from England to the U.S. in February 1964?

The Beatles

What famous TV series debuted in 1966 with these words … "Space, the final frontier …?"

Star Trek

This bluesy rock singer was discovered at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Her initials are J.J. Who was she?

Janis Joplin

British fashion designer Mary Quant invented a daring and revealing new type of women's clothing in 1964. What was it called?

Miniskirt

What 60s artist was famous for his renderings of everyday objects such as soup cans?

Andy Warhol

What was this famous boxer's name before he changed it to Muhammad Ali?

Cassius Clay

70s History Questions

The changes from the 60s continued into the 70s. Test your knowledge about 70s history.

Which president resigned in 1974 over the Watergate scandal?

Richard Nixon

During which Apollo spaceflight did an oxygen tank explode, putting the crew in severe danger even though they managed to survive?

Apollo 13

Which Pennsylvania nuclear-generating plant suffered a partial meltdown in 1979?

Three Mile Island

What war ended in April 1975 with the fall of Saigon?

Vietnam

What is the name of the deadly disease that struck a convention in Philadelphia in July 1976 and was named for the convention where it struck?

Legionnaire’s Disease

Who replaced the Shah of Iran in 1979?

Ayatollah Khomeini

What newspaper heiress took part in a San Francisco bank robbery in April 1974?

Patricia Hearst

Who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971?

Daniel Ellsberg

In June 1971, the 26th Amendment passed, giving 18-year-olds what right?

The right to vote

Paul Allen and Bill Gates founded what company in 1973?

Microsoft

70s Sports Questions

Are sports more your thing? Perhaps these sports questions from the 70s are up your alley.

Which Olympic athlete set a record in 1972 by winning seven gold medals?

Mark Spitz

What major sports award did Stanford quarterback Jim Plunkett win in 1970?

Heisman trophy

Which athlete was the first to earn a perfect score in the history of Olympic gymnastics?

Nadia Comaneci

Who was the first member of the Negro League inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Leroy "Satchel" Page

Related: 101 Grand Slam Baseball Trivia Questions & Answers

In 1979, who became the first man to win the Daytona 500 six times?

Richard Petty

The first back-to-back Triple Crown winners in horse racing history happened in 1977 and 1978. What horses won?

Seattle Slew (1977), Affirmed (1978)

In 1972, Franco Harris put the Steelers in the AFC Championship game with a miracle catch. What was that catch called?

Immaculate reception

What hide was first used to cover baseballs in 1975?

Cowhide

Who beat the Babe Ruth's home run record in 1974?

Hank Aaron

In what park was the New York City Marathon run until 1970?

Central Park

70s Pop Culture Questions

Test your pop culture knowledge of the grooviest decade.

Which video game system debuted in the 1970s and featured now iconic games like Pong and Pac-Man?

Atari

Which book about a bird on a journey of self-discovery topped The New York Times best-seller list for 38 weeks in 1970?

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

What musical genre peaked with the 1977 release of the film Saturday Night Fever?

Disco

Which 70s TV series aired Saturday mornings and taught children lessons about math, grammar, government, and more?

School House Rock

What was the name of the character played by Herve Villechaize in the TV series Fantasy Island?

Tattoo

What singer-songwriter, considered by many to be the greatest electric guitar player of all time, died in 1970?

Jimi Hendrix

What was the top-selling song of the 1970s decade?

American Pie (Don McLean)

Who created the Muppets?

Jim Henson

What movie from the 1970s made many people afraid to go swimming in the ocean?

Jaws

What was the name of Stephen King's first published novel that came out in 1974?

Carrie

80s History Trivia Questions

What do you recall about the historic things that happened in the 80s?

Who was the first president elected in the 1980s?

Ronald Reagan

What disease did WHO declare was eradicated in 1980?

Smallpox

What natural disaster occurred on May 18, 1980?

The eruption of Mount St. Helens

Which space shuttle launched in 1981?

Columbia

What did the CDC first recognize as a disease in 1982?

AIDS

What was discovered in the North Atlantic in September of 1985?

The wreck of the Titanic

On January 28, 1986, school children across the country were watching television as what exploded?

The Challenger

What was dismantled on November 19, 1989?

The Berlin Wall

What constitutional amendment failed ratification in 1982?

The Equal Rights Amendment

What was the name of the first female astronaut who headed into space in 1983?

Sally Ride

What led to the boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics?

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

Who was murdered outside of the Dakota Hotel in NYC on December 8, 1980?

John Lennon

80s Pop Culture Questions

From the launch of MTV to the greatest-selling album of all time, the 80s had it all. Test your pop culture knowledge.

What was the first video aired when MTV launched in 1981?

Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles

What event on July 29, 1981, saw Americans getting out of bed in the predawn hours so they could watch it live?

The wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles

The top-selling album of all time was released in 1982. What was it?

Michael Jackson’s Thriller

What benefit concert in 1985 featured performances from Queen, Elton John, David Bowie, and many more at Wembley Stadium.

Live Aid

What was the 80s term for highly-paid baby boomers with expensive taste?

Yuppies

What was the top-grossing movie of the 1980s?

ET the Extra-Terrestrial

What television network, which started in the early 80s, was the first instance of the 24-hour news cycle?

CNN

Who shot JR?

Kristin Shepard

What was the name of Bill and Ted’s band?

Wyld Stallyns

Who did the U.S. hockey team defeat in the “Miracle on Ice?”

U.S.S.R.

What was Tom Cruise’s character’s name in Risky Business?

Joel Goodsen

The most-viewed episode of television ever aired on February 28, 1983. What was it?

The final episode of M*A*S*H

Rediscover the Past With Printable Trivia Questions for Seniors

We love gathering with friends and playing a rousing round of trivia. Prove you're still the champ with decades' worth of trivia questions and answers.