Fun Summer Trivia All About June
With June comes the official start to summer, so let’s celebrate with some fun summer trivia. Think of it as a light warm-up for one of our outdoor scavenger hunts all over the country, from New York City’s Central Park to the Santa Monica Pier. Or try your hand at one of our virtual trivia games, which include summer-ready fun with Fun in the Sun: A Virtual Summertime Trivia Game and Celebrate Pride: The Virtual LGBTQ Trivia Game.
Now, without further ado, let’s get on with the June-eral knowledge summer trivia!
June Madness Trivia Questions
1. Valerie June Carter won five Grammy Awards and was posthumously inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame in 2009. What line-walking, black-clad singer also happened to be her third husband?
A. Neil Diamond
B. Tom Jones
C. Liberace
D. Johnny Cash
D. Johnny Cash — Born Valerie June Carter, she was best known for much of her career as June Carter Cash.
2. What summer holiday commemorates the emancipation of Black enslaved people in the U.S.?
A. Fourth of July
B. Juneteenth
C. Summer Solstice
D. Black History Month
B. Juneteenth, which is celebrated, appropriately enough, on June 19th.
3. Of the countless film classics released in June, many of the best belong to Steven Spielberg. Which of the following June releases did Spielberg agree to direct in exchange for a promise that the studio would then produce one of his passion projects: Schindler’s List?
A. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
B. Raiders of the Lost Ark
C. Jurassic Park
D. Minority Report
C. Jurassic Park — Spielberg filmed them back to back for Universal Pictures in 1993.
4. In the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice is the longest day of the year and marks the official start of summer. Depending on the year, it can land on either June 20 or 21. What would be your Zodiac sign if the solstice landed on the latter date?
A. Gemini
B. Cancer
C. Leo
D. DiCaprio
B. Cancer — Gemini season ends on June 20, so you just missed it!
5. Napoleon Bonaparte fought—and lost—the final battle of his military career on June 18, 1815. About 159 years later, what pop group won Eurovision with a song inspired by his crushing defeat?
A. Ace of Base
B. The Spice Girls
C. ABBA
D. The Beatles
C. ABBA — They won the 1974 Eurovision contest with “Waterloo,” inspired by Napoleon’s disastrous defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.
6. Fans of the Beatles celebrate June 25 as World Beatles Day. The day commemorates their 1967 appearance on the BBC program Our World, during which they premiered their new song “All You Need Is Love.” Appropriately enough, Our World was the first-ever…what?
A. Live global TV broadcast
B. Singing competition
C. TV appearance by the Beatles
D. BBC TV show
A. Live global TV broadcast — Our World was seen live 31 countries with an estimated audience of 400 million.
7. June bugs, or June beetles, are a group of 100 species of insect across North America. These leaf-chomping pests are so named because they generally reach adulthood in June. Fittingly enough, all species of June bugs are related to the scarab, which was popular in ancient Egypt for its association with whom?
A. Osiris, god of death and resurrection
B. Ra, god of the sun
C. Cleopatra, queen of Egypt
D. King Tut, SNL character of Steve Martin
B. Ra, god of the sun
8. On a June night in 1969, the NYPD harassed lesbian Stormé DeLarverie outside a bar. Two trans women of color, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, have been credited with throwing the first brick in response. The resulting so-called riots sparked the modern LGBTQ rights movement, and is one reason June is recognized as Pride Month in the U.S. What was the name of the bar?
A. Marie’s Crisis
B. McSorley’s Old Ale House
C. Cheers
D. The Stonewall Inn
D. The Stonewall Inn
9. Which one of the following unusual facts is NOT true about Juneau, the capital of Alaska?
A. The municipality of Juneau is bigger than Rhode Island.
B. The summer solstice brings Juneau about 18 hours and 18 minutes of daylight.
C. A single road connects Juneau to the rest of North America.
D. The Northern Lights are visible from Juneau.
C. A single road connects Juneau to the rest of North America — In fact, ZERO roads connect Juneau even to the rest of the state, let alone the continent. Everything coming to or leaving Juneau, including cars, must arrive by air or by water.
10. Uruguay hosted the first in June 1930. Brazil has won the most. And the United States will help host it in June 2026. What is it?
A. The Summer Olympics
B. The World Series
C. The World Cup
D. Lollapalooza
C. The World Cup — Canada, the U.S., and Mexico will share hosting duties in 2026 across 16 cities.
11. What June birthstone did Barbara Billingsley famously wear as a famous June in the 1950s?
A. Alexandrite
B. Diamond
C. Emerald
D. Pearl
D. Pearl — Billingsley, who played June Cleaver on Leave It To Beaver, became famous for always wearing a pearl necklace. What few people realize is that she wore it to help mask what she called a “deep hollow,” or divot, in her neck.
12. June has long been one of the most popular for weddings. One reason is because the name “June” comes from the Roman goddess Juno, who protected women, particularly in marriage and childbearing. It’s said that in Medieval times, poorer folks often married in June for another reason. What was it?
A. They bathed only once a year, in springtime, so they often smelled their best around June.
B. Days were longer so they could party harder without wasting candles.
C. Royalty handed out free coins to married couples in June.
D. Ye Olde David’s Bridal always had a sale in June.
A. They bathed only once a year, in springtime, so they often smelled their best around June. (And that’s if they had an opportunity to bathe at all.)
13. On June 1, 1926, the world said hello to Norma Jeane Mortenson, who would go on to be one of the most famous faces on earth. In 1973, Reginald Kenneth Dwight sang “goodbye, Norma Jeane,” 11 years after her death. Who was she?
A. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
B. Judy Garland
C. Marilyn Monroe
D. Rita Hayworth
C. Marilyn Monroe — She was born Norma Jeane Mortenson, just as Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight. The line “goodbye, Norma Jeane” appears in his original version of the song “Candle in the Wind.”
14. On June 1, 1938, childhood friends Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster forever changed popular culture when they introduced the world to an alien from a faraway planet. When Superman hit the stands in Action Comics #1, which ONE of the following things could he do?
A. Fly through the air
B. Run faster than a locomotive
C. See through things with X-ray vision
D. Reverse the rotation of the Earth to turn back time
B. Run faster than a locomotive — While Superman would eventually exhibit all those powers and more, he was relatively weak in 1938. In his first appearances, he was strong, fast, and largely bulletproof, and he could leap 1/8th of a mile, but that was about it.
15. June 4, 2023, is National Cheese Day. While macaroni and cheese the most popular cheese dish in the U.S., you won’t find any made with the world’s “deadliest cheese.” Casu marzu is outlawed in nearly every country in the world, including its native Italy. Skin-crawlingly enough, it’s illegal because the cheese is infested with…what?
A. Ebola
B. Botulinum toxins
C. Mad Cow Disease
D. Live maggots
D. Live maggots — Casu marzu is crawling with live insect larvae. When you eat the cheese, and people do eat it, your stomach acid better take out all those maggots or they can make you very ill…as if hearing about them didn’t do the trick already. Happy Cheese Day!
Find More Fun
For a more challenging experience, join one of our outdoor scavenger hunts all over the country, from New York City’s Central Park to the Santa Monica Pier. Or try your hand at one of our virtual trivia games, which include summer-ready fun with Fun in the Sun: A Virtual Summertime Trivia Game and Celebrate Pride: The Virtual LGBTQ Trivia Game. Our games are available to private groups of any size at just about any time, and most of our virtual games can also be played in-person.
~
Image credits: Flowers Photo by Sergey Shmidt on Unsplash; Zodiac photo by James Lee on Unsplash; Juneau photo by Fernando Jorge on Unsplash; wedding photo by Luis Tosta on Unsplash