Welcome to our page of Kentucky trivia questions! Kentucky is a state known for its rich history, diverse culture, and iconic landmarks, making it a fascinating destination for trivia enthusiasts. Our selection of questions covers a wide range of topics including the state's history, culture, geography, and landmarks. Whether you're a native of Kentucky or just a curious learner, our trivia questions will help you discover new and exciting information about this great state.
For those interested in the history of Kentucky, our trivia questions will take you through the state's past, from its early days as a frontier state to the present. We also cover the state's famous landmarks such as the Mammoth Cave National Park, the Kentucky Derby, and the Lincoln Homestead State Park. Culture enthusiasts can learn about the state's rich cultural heritage, traditional customs, and local art forms.
Kentucky's geography and wildlife are also an important part of the state's identity, and our questions cover information about the state's natural wonders like the Daniel Boone National Forest, the Cumberland Gap and the unique wildlife such as the White-tailed deer and the state bird, the Northern Cardinal.
Our trivia questions are designed to be challenging yet entertaining, making them perfect for individuals, families, or groups of friends. Whether you're looking for a fun way to pass the time or you want to test your knowledge of Kentucky, our trivia questions are sure to provide hours of entertainment.
210 Kentucky Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- He earned the rank of colonel not because of military service but rather because in 1935 Governor Ruby Laffoon bestowed the title upon him as the highest honor from the Commonwealth of Kentucky! What was this famous colonel’s last name?
Answer: Sanders
- "The Run for the Roses" and "The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports" are both colloquial names for a horse race that occurs on the first Saturday of May in which U.S. State?
Answer: Kentucky
- Which Chevy car has its own national museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky?
Answer: Corvette
- Which fast-food chain’s original chicken seasoning recipe is purported to be a top-secret blend of 11 herbs and spices?
Answer: KFC
- Which Kentucky national park is home to the longest cave system in the world (at least, that we know of)?
Answer: Mammoth Cave
- The Tigers—not the Hoyas—of what private liberal arts college can be found in its small namesake town north of Lexington, Kentucky?
Answer: Georgetown College
- The United States Bullion Depository, which holds most of the country's gold reserves, sits next to what Kentucky army installation?
Answer: Fort Knox
- A Moscow Mule consists of vodka, ginger beer, and lime served chilled in a copper mug. What liquor could be subbed in to make a Kentucky Mule?
Answer: Bourbon
- The original was invented across the border in Juarez's Kentucky Club, but the "frozen" version of what drink is credited to Dallas restaurateur Mariano Martinez?
Answer: Margarita
- The entirety of the border between Ohio and Kentucky is demarcated by what body of water?
Answer: Ohio River
- What casual steakhouse chain has its corporate headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, despite having the Lone Star State in its name?
Answer: Texas Roadhouse
- What University of Kentucky alumna and star of "Double Jeopardy" was an instrumental "silence breaker" in the #MeToo movement, as one of the earliest to speak out against Harvey Weinstein?
Answer: Ashley Judd
- Reflecting the huge flower arrangement in which its winner is draped, the Kentucky Derby is often referred to by what alliterative nickname?
Answer: Run for the Roses
- Timothy Olyphant wore the heck out of a Stetson as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens on what FX cops-and-crooks in Kentucky show?
Answer: Justified
- Country music star and Kentuckian Crystal Gayle might be best remembered as the sister of what other country great?
Answer: Loretta Lynn
- Democrat Andy Beshear was re-elected for a second term as Kentucky Governor in November 2023, defeating what Republican candidate?
Answer: Daniel Cameron
- A dual reference to a flying mammal and a piece of baseball equipment, what is the name of Louisville's Minor League Baseball team, which is a triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds?
Answer: Bats
- In 2004, Governor Ernie Fletcher launched a large branding campaign in the state of Kentucky. A KY-based PR firm ultimately landed a $500k contract and came up with what two-word slogan that is now found on many state entrance signs?
Answer: Unbridled spirit
- What actor, nominated for Oscars for playing Jack Sparrow, J.M. Barrie, and Sweeney Todd, was born in 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky?
Answer: Johnny Depp
- Lightning Run, Storm Chaser, and Thunder Run are weather-themed roller coasters at what alliteratively named Louisville theme park?
Answer: Kentucky Kingdom
- What Kentucky-born presidential candidate swung his support to John Quincy Adams after finishing fourth in the 1824 election, helping Adams to prevail in a House of Representatives vote?
Answer: Henry Clay
- What “W” Kentucky park, near downtown Louisville as well as the Ohio River, shares its name with part of a 1954 movie title, an Elia Kazan movie during which Marlon Brando famously “coulda been a contender.”
Answer: Waterfront Park
- What specific type of vehicle is the Belle of Louisville, the 22-time winner of a race that traditionally takes place three days before the Kentucky Derby?
Answer: Steamboat
- In which protected river and recreation area of the Cumberland Plateau can you hike the Blue Heron Loop and Split Bow Arch trails?
Answer: Big South Fork
- Carter G. Woodson, who studied at Kentucky's Berea college, went on to found what yearly 28-day-long observance?
Answer: Black History Month
- What influential—and, to say the least, controversial—filmmaker was born in 1875 in Oldham, Kentucky, the son of a Confederate colonel?
Answer: D. W. Griffith
- In 1792, when Kentucky became the 15th state admitted to the Union, it split off from what existing state?
Answer: Virginia
- What famous man was born in a small cabin on Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky in February 1809?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln
- Jefferson and Fayette Counties are the two most populous counties in the state of Kentucky -- by far. There are three additional counties in the state with at least 125,000 people. With a single guess, name any of these three counties.
Answer: Kenton, Boone, Warren
- What actress, who starred as Carol Brady on "The Brady Bunch," has both first and last names that are towns in Kentucky?
Answer: Florence Henderson
- According to the lyrics of "My Old Kentucky Home," the young folks roll around the floor of what structure associated with Abraham Lincoln?
Answer: Cabin
- Which gilded sneeze and eye itch-producing plant is Kentucky's state flower?
Answer: Goldenrod
- In 2002, Louisvillians Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt founded a festival—complete with screening, live music, and a bowling party—that celebrates what 1988 movie? Since it first began, the festival has spread to a number of other U.S. cities.
Answer: The Big Lebowski
- Kentucky produces over 95% of the world's supply of what type of alcoholic spirit that shares the same name as a major French dynasty?
Answer: Bourbon
- The eastern boundary of Kentucky is formed in part by what mountain range, the highest point of which is Mount Mitchell?
Answer: Appalachian
- Located in eastern Kentucky in a town of the same name, what liberal arts college founded in 1855 is notable in that it awards full-tuition scholarships to all of its students?
Answer: Berea
- What is the name of the 23,000-seat arena in central Lexington that is the home of the University of Kentucky Wildcats?
Answer: Rupp Arena
- What former Kentucky Wildcat, who played much of his NBA career for the Detroit Pistons, was nicknamed "Tay" and "The Compton Kid?"
Answer: Tayshaun Prince
- Troubled Kentucky native Beth Harmon is an orphan who grows into a world-class chess player on what popular Netflix miniseries?
Answer: The Queen's Gambit
- What tiny Kentucky town hosts a yearly "little" version of the massive motorcycle rally that happens every year in the South Dakota town that shares its name?
Answer: Sturgis
- Only the Grand Ole Opry has been running longer than the "Gatherin'," a country music radio show which has been broadcast continually since 1943, and which is based in what Kentucky valley?
Answer: Renfro Valley
- Pine Mountain State Resort Park, Breaks Interstate Park, and Carter Caves State Resort Park are all places you can visit to hike which mountain range that stretches through eastern KY?
Answer: Appalachian
- Which bovine beverage has been Kentucky’s official state drink since 2005?
Answer: Milk
- Bottled in Frankfort, Kentucky, which famous whiskey brand was the target of a burglary in 2013, with thieves stealing hundreds of bottles worth over $100,000?
Answer: Pappy Van Winkle
- What's the better-known nickname of the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge connecting Cincinnati with Newport, Kentucky, named for its familiar arched shape and golden color?
Answer: Big Mac Bridge
- The world’s largest cave system, the Mammoth Cave, is located in which U.S. state, whose second largest city is Lexington?
Answer: Kentucky
- The Kentucky Derby's traditional mint julep recipe calls for mint, sugar, water, and what type (not brand) of whiskey famously distilled in the Bluegrass State, not France?
Answer: Bourbon
- A 120-foot-tall, 68,000-pound baseball bat stands outside the museum of what famous Kentucky sporting equipment brand?
Answer: Louisville Slugger
- What Congolese basketball player and Kentucky Wildcat was the consensus national player of the year in 2022?
Answer: Oscar Tshiebwe
- Louisville's Pendennis Club claims to be the origin of what cocktail, made with Kentucky bourbon, sugar, and bitters?
Answer: Old Fashioned
- Dip them raw into an egg-milk cornmeal batter, roll them in cracker crumbs, and deep fry: these are the instructions for a Louisville-area delicacy made with three what?
Answer: Oysters
- Kentucky native Jim Varney took over the patriarchal role originated by Buddy Ebsen for the 1993 movie adaptation of what oil-rich Southerners move west sitcom?
Answer: The Beverly Hillbillies
- Speleology is the scientific study of which type of natural feature? The world's largest system of which, by total length, is located in Kentucky.
Answer: Caves
- Frankfort is the fourth-least populous state capital in the U.S. Name ANY of the three states that has a smaller capital city.
Answer: Vermont, South Dakota, Maine
- With a population estimated at 4.5 million persons in 2019, Kentucky is the 26th most-populous state. With one guess, name either the 25th or 27th most populous state. So, your goal is to guess which state has nearly the same population as the Bluegrass state.
Answer: Louisiana (25th) and Oregon (27th)
- Hugging a bend in the Ohio River, what Kentucky city is home to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame?
Answer: Owensboro
- Now owned by ConAgra foods, what brand of cake mixes, pie fillings, and other sweet treats, is named after a man who was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1880?
Answer: Duncan Hines
- Named for the Kentucky city in which it takes place, what 2005 romantic tragicomedy stars Kirsten Dunst as a flight attendant who falls in love with a man flying home after his father's death?
Answer: Elizabethtown
- When it became a state in 1792, Kentucky was the first state in the union located west of which mountain range?
Answer: Appalachian
- A native of Fairdale, Kentucky, what prolific novelist's bestselling titles include "A Knight in Shining Armor" and "Remembrance?"
Answer: Jude Deveraux
- The official Twitter account of Louisville-based KFC only follows eleven accounts: the five Spice Girls and eleven guys with what name?
Answer: Herb
- Perhaps also known as Mr. Amal Alamuddin these days, what star of "Good Night and Good Luck," "Michael Clayton," and "Hail, Caesar!" was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1961?
Answer: George Clooney
- What Civil War-era camp near Nicholasville, Kentucky became a recruiting ground for new Union soldiers from East Tennessee, including many formerly enslaved Black Americans?
Answer: Camp Nelson
- In 1934, Kaelin’s became an eatery of legend when it served up the first of what dairy-draped version of a classic beef patty sandwich?
Answer: Cheeseburger
- Kentucky leads in the production of what kind of light air-cured tobacco that’s mainly used to make cigarettes?
Answer: Burley
- What is the name for the genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the U.S. Appalachian region and derived its name from the band of Bill Monroe? Traditionally, this genre is only played on acoustic string instruments and has roots in traditional African American blues and jazz.
Answer: Bluegrass
- Over the two days of Kentucky Derby weekend, Churchill Downs Racetrack sells approximately 120,000 of what bourbon-based cocktail?
Answer: Mint julep
- Kentucky's Perry County is named for the Commodore Perry who was a hero of the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. When the county needed a county seat, it bypassed the Commodore's first name of "Oliver" and chose what "dangerous" middle name?
Answer: Hazard
- Located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, what racetrack has hosted every Kentucky Derby since 1875?
Answer: Churchill Downs
- What Kentucky landmark's name refers to its gargantuan size and NOT an extinct mammal? In fact, no remains of this mammal have ever been found anywhere near this landmark.
Answer: Mammoth Cave
- A small metal sign in Paint Lick, Kentucky marks the location of the titular log structure, long since demolished, of what Harriet Beecher Stowe novel?
Answer: Uncle Tom's Cabin
- Just north of Louisville, which suburb with a French-sounding name is known for being one of the last places in the U.S. where a mainline rail track runs right through the middle of town?
Answer: La Grange
- Texas Western University defeated the University of Kentucky in 1966 to become the first school with an all-Black starting five to win the NCAA basketball championship. Today, Texas Western is known as the University of Texas in what city?
Answer: El Paso
- In what year did Kentucky become a state? (Hint: It appears in the name of an award-winning KY brand of bourbon)
Answer: 1792
- Although he had a massive hit with "Achy Breaky Heart" in in 1992, Kentucky's Billy Ray Cyrus didn't bag a Billboard #1 until he was featured on what 2019 track?
Answer: Old Town Road
- Aided by future NBA superstar Anthony Davis, the Kentucky Wildcats defeated what university’s team nicknamed the “Jayhawks” 67-59 in the finals to win the 2012 NCAA Men’s March Madness tournament championship?
Answer: University of Kansas
- Kentucky-based Falls City Brewing Company capitalized on the 1977 political climate by releasing “Billy Beer.” The beer was named after and heavily promoted by the brother of what sitting U.S. president?
Answer: Jimmy Carter
- Which Kentucky city in Barren County is—not surprisingly—home to the annual Scottish Highland Games?
Answer: Glasgow
- Which city in Kentucky is home to the Floodwall Murals, The Carson Center, and the National Quilt Museum?
Answer: Paducah
- Produced at the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky, what bourbon brand is named after a stream located near Abraham Lincoln's childhood home?
Answer: Knob Creek
- The international airport that serves the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, is located to the southwest of the city, across the Ohio River. In what state is that airport located?
Answer: Kentucky
- The official anthem (song) of the state of Kentucky was first published in the 1850s and was celebrated by Frederick Douglass as a stirring song for the abolitionist movement. What is this song?
Answer: My Old Kentucky Home
- Although "the Purchase Region" typically refers to the southwestern part of Kentucky, the titular purchase itself also contained a large part of what other state?
Answer: Tennessee
- What Kentucky state park bills itself as “the birthplace of American paleontology” and is also a popular tourist location? The name of the park comes from the Pleistocene megafauna fossils found there.
Answer: Big Bone Lick State Park
- Frankfort is the capital of Kentucky. Which other capital of a U.S. state is closest in distance to Frankfort? We're using "as the crow flies" or haversine distance, rather than driving distance. And we're looking for the city, not the state.
Answer: Indianapolis
- When Kentucky was admitted to the U.S. as the 15th state in June 1792, it was technically breaking off from what other state?
Answer: Virginia
- The Hatfields or the McCoys: Which family predominantly lived in Kentucky?
Answer: The McCoys
- What Stephen Foster tune, whose lyrics have been altered because the originals contained racist language, is the official state song of Kentucky?
Answer: My Old Kentucky Home
- What third-largest city in Kentucky has been home to the manufacture of every Cheverolet Corvette since 1981?
Answer: Bowling Green
- Eating Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas Day has been a tradition since the 1970s in what nation on the other side of the world from Kentucky?
Answer: Japan
- After being forced to change the sign on their water tower, the developers of Florence Mall in Florence, Kentucky famously decided to change their sign to say what catchphrase that has since been adopted as the town's minor league baseball team name?
Answer: Florence Y'all
- Loretto, Kentucky is the headquarters of what bourbon brand famous for dipping the necks of its bottles in bright red sealing wax?
Answer: Maker's Mark
- Kentucky native Jennifer Lawrence famously played archer Katniss Everdeen in four different films in what franchise?
Answer: The Hunger Games
- What is the feline name of the sports teams of the University of Kentucky?
Answer: Wildcats
- Which brand of whiskey, named after the heaviest member of the bird order Galliformes, is manufactured in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky?
Answer: Wild Turkey
- Short for Covington, Kentucky, CVG is the airport code for what city that isn't actually in Kentucky, but rather, across the river in Ohio?
Answer: Cincinnati
- What Kentucky city hosts an airport that is home to Worldport, the worldwide air hub for UPS?
Answer: Louisville
- Although one might guess that it's bourbon, the official state drink of Kentucky is what animal-sourced nonalcoholic beverage?
Answer: Milk
- Despite its name, the house known as Kentuck Knob is located in Pennsylvania, and is one of many designed by what architect famous for the Prairie Style?
Answer: Frank Lloyd Wright
- "Seven lonely days and a dozen towns ago" begins the 1970 top-20 hit "Kentucky Rain" by what kingly singer?
Answer: Elvis Presley
- What Kentucky aquarium, located in its city across the Levee from Cincinnati, shares its name with cities in California and Rhode Island, as well as a brand of cigarettes?
Answer: Newport Aquarium
- Bowling Green, Kentucky is home to a museum for what classic Chevrolet sports car, which began production in 1953? They come in models such as the Stingray.
Answer: National Corvette Museum
- What popular fast food chicken franchise, owned by Yum!, was co-founded in 1952 by a well-known Colonel who obtained that honorific title from the US state referenced in the restaurant’s name?
Answer: Kentucky Fried Chicken
- Paducah, Kentucky sits at the confluence of the Ohio River and what other river named for a state that borders Kentucky?
Answer: Tennessee River
- Sometimes called Little Niagara or the Niagara of The South, what “C” Falls is located on its namesake river in southeast Kentucky? It shares a name with a Gap in the Appalachian mountains.
Answer: Cumberland Falls
- What horse, who is named for a holy city of Islam, won the 2021 Kentucky Derby only to fail a test for the steroid betamethasone a few days later?
Answer: Medina Spirit
- A corsage featuring a tetrad of red flowers is said to be the origin of the name of what bourbon brand that's distilled in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky?
Answer: Four Roses
- What oldest art museum in the state of Kentucky, located in the University of Louisville, shares its name with a 1994 Keanu Reeves film about a bus that could not slow down?
Answer: Speed Art Museum
- Former University of Louisville star and Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson currently plays quarterback for what AFC North team?
Answer: Baltimore Ravens
- A National Forest located in London, KY is named after what 18th century American frontiersman, who explored and settled in Kentucky before it joined the thirteen colonies? His name is often associated with Davy Crockett, as one of the one the two biggest pioneers of the American frontier.
Answer: Daniel Boone National Forest
- During the Cold War, what nickname did Paducah, Kentucky acquire when the federal government selected the city as the site of a uranium enrichment plant for nuclear energy?
Answer: Atomic City
- Named after the Louisville hotel where it originated, what open-faced sandwich features turkey breast, ham or bacon, and Mornay sauce that is heated until the sauce begins to change color?
Answer: Kentucky Hot Brown
- Once a dormitory for students at the Kentucky School for the Deaf, the Jacobs Hall Museum is located in what town that calls itself "The City of Firsts?"
Answer: Danville
- Sissy Spacek played Loretta Lynn on her path from growing up in rural Kentucky to becoming a country-music superstar in what 1980 film?
Answer: Coal Miner's Daughter
- Starting with the Kentucky Derby, what horse whose name is a seven-letter verb became the most recent winner of racing's Triple Crown in 2018?
Answer: Justify
- Which Oscar-winning actress known for "The Hunger Games" and "The Silver Linings Playbook" was born and raised in Louisville?
Answer: Jennifer Lawrence
- Which country star with an “achy, breaky heart” and a daughter named Miley was born in Flatwoods in 1961?
Answer: Billy Ray Cyrus
- Which bright-red bird is the mascot for the University of Lousiville's’ NCAA sports teams?
Answer: Cardinal
- Which American bakery brand headquartered in Kentucky is known for its “snack cakes” like Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Sno Bowls?
Answer: Hostess
- The 1935 film “The Little Colonel” is set in Kentucky and famously features a glorious tap dance sequence by Bill Robinson and which curly-haired child star?
Answer: Shirley Temple
- At Lexington's Kentucky Horse Park you can visit the grave of what racehorse (1917-1947), often considered the greatest of all time, and who shares a name with a deadly species similar to jellyfish?
Answer: Man o' War
- What meat-and-vegetable stew native to Kentucky is likely to be made today with pork, chicken, and/or beef, rather than traditionally available meats like venison, opossum, or raccoon?
Answer: Burgoo
- What "spooky" university, whose name comes from an early colony in Kentucky, and which means "over the woods" in Latin, is often overshadowed by its bigger Lexington neighbor?
Answer: Transylvania University
- Which small, eastern Lincoln County town has a name that sounds like a place where crustaceans would grow on trees, is known for its many mineral springs, and was the birthplace of Thomas “Pegleg” Smith?
Answer: Crab Orchard
- Louisville's 1883 Southern Exposition hosted the first large-scale exhibition of what invention, created by former Louisville resident Thomas Edison?
Answer: Light Bulb
- What small Barren County, Kentucky town hosts a yearly "Highland Games" that mirror those of its Scottish namesake?
Answer: Glasgow
- The Breaks Interstate Park, which is considered the “Grand Canyon of the South,” is managed by an interstate compact between Kentucky and what neighboring state?
Answer: Virginia
- The Fugate family of the Kentucky hills was famous in the 19th century for possessing a rare genetic trait that led to cyanosis, meaning their skin appeared what primary color?
Answer: Blue
- In which Kentucky county will you find Nicholasville, a city that’s home to The Providence School, First Vineyard Winery, and the Keene Trace Golf Club?
Answer: Jessamine
- Winchester, Kentucky is the birthplace of what spread that combines dairy with booze, and is traditionally served with saltines?
Answer: Beer Cheese
- Which Democrat has been Kentucky’s governor since 2019? (Hint: He’s also the son of the state’s 61st governor)
Answer: Andy Beshear
- Williamstown, Kentucky is home to a reproduction of what legendary structure, built to the Biblical standard of 300 cubits by 50 cubits by 30 cubits?
Answer: Noah's Ark
- KFC was started by a man named Colonel Sanders in Kentucky and was first franchised in 1952. What was Colonel Sanders’ first name?
Answer: Harland
- A museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky memorializes what Chevrolet model, which has been produced in that town since 1981?
Answer: Corvette
- What river that branches off of the Ohio at the southwest corner of Hamilton County begins where Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana meet?
Answer: Great Miami River
- Of the Triple Crown races (the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, the Belmont Stakes), which is the oldest? Although the oldest, this race was not run in 1911 and 1912, so it has not been continuously run since its inception.
Answer: Belmont
- What Kentucky-born mandolinist is credited with creating the genre of country music known as Bluegrass? The name of the music genre came from his band, the Blue Grass boys.
Answer: Bill Monroe
- Which for-profit health insurance company based in Louisville, Kentucky was founded in 1961 as Extendicare Inc., and almost got bought out by Aetna (a major competitor) in 2015?
Answer: Humana
- What popular Louisville pedestrian bridge gets its name from the former nickname of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, which once passed over it?
Answer: Big Four Bridge
- Which Kentucky city nestled between Pine Mountain and the Cumberland Mountains is the only U.S. city built inside a meteor crater?
Answer: Middlesboro
- Sissy Spacek won a Best Actress Oscar in 1981 for playing what legendary musician, born into poverty in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky in the year 1932, before growing up to be one of her genre's greatest stars?
Answer: Loretta Lynn
- What is Kentucky’s state flower—a gilded choice that might make you wind up for a sneeze, since it’s often confused with allergy enemy ragweed?
Answer: Goldenrod
- What sweet and custard-like fruit native to Appalachia has also been called a custard-apple, a Kentucky banana, a Quaker delight, and a hillbilly mango?
Answer: Paw paw
- Sharing a name and a similar logo to Arizona's NFL franchise, what is the name of the sports teams of the University of Louisville?
Answer: Cardinals
- What brand of premium Kentucky bourbon is immediately identifiable by the necks of their bottles dipped in red wax?
Answer: Maker's Mark
- What unique and unusual mascot of Western Kentucky University comes from the school's geographic position overlooking the Barren River valley?
Answer: Hilltoppers
- Frankfort's Jesse R. Zeigler house, designed and built in 1909, is Kentucky's only home designed by what 20th-century architect?
Answer: Frank Lloyd Wright
- Thornton and Lucie Blackburn were freedom seekers who fled Kentucky when slavery was still the law. After being caught and escaping imprisonment, they headed north to find safety and went on become instrumental figures in bringing the Underground Railroad to which country above the United States?
Answer: Canada
- The "Kentucky Thunder" are the back-up band for what bluegrass musician and mandolin player born in the Kentucky town of Cordell?
Answer: Ricky Skaggs
- A Frankfort, Kentucky distillery founded by Julian Something sells an aged 10-year bourbon named for what sleepy Washington Irving character?
Answer: Rip Van Winkle
- Which Virginia-born racehorse not only won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes in 1973, but set record times in all three which still stand today?
Answer: Secretariat
- Abraham Lincoln was famously born in Kentucky and lived much of his adult life in Illinois. However, he spent most of his childhood and early teenage years in what third state?
Answer: Indiana
- Often selling for many times its purchase price, the Kentucky bourbon brand Old Rip Van Winkle is often known by what "fatherly" nickname?
Answer: Pappy Van Winkle
- What was the most recent election year in which the state of Kentucky's electoral college votes were awarded to the Democratic candidate?
Answer: 1996
- There are approximately 9.1 million barrels of bourbon aging in Kentucky. This works out to how many barrels per each person living in the state? We're rounding to the nearest "whole person."
Answer: 2
- Cumberland Falls is often considered the only place in the Western Hemisphere in which a certain phenomenon can be seen which involves a refraction of light via water droplets, but the sun is not directly involved. What is this phenomenon?
Answer: Moonbow
- What is the name of the 550-acre state park in the Freys Hill area of Louisville that opened in 1974 with a name honoring the Jefferson County Judge who died in a car accident in 1969 while still in office?
Answer: E. P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park
- The fifth-most populous city in Kentucky prospered in the 19th century as an emporium for tobacco and cigar production but declined in importance in the middle of the 20th century after the Great Depression. What is this city on the south bank of the Ohio River?
Answer: Covington
- Better known as "My Old Kentucky Home," what farmhouse once owned by Senator John Rowan in the 18th century appears on the state quarter coin of Kentucky?
Answer: Federal Hill
- Kentucky's official state instrument is the Appalachian variety of what stringed zither relative, which has also been nicknamed the "harmonium", "music box", and "hog fiddle"?
Answer: Dulcimer
- A replica of the cabin where future president Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 be found in what Kentucky town?
Answer: Hodgenville
- An 1879 gatehouse in the Gothic style leads visitors to what historic 110-million-gallon Louisville reservoir?
Answer: Crescent Hill Reservoir
- Willa Beatrice Brown, born in Glasgow, Kentucky, in 1906, was the first African American woman to earn what kind of license in the U.S.?
Answer: Pilot's License
- What is the airport code for the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport? This fourth-largest cargo airport in the United States also has 3.6 million passengers per year?
Answer: CVG
- What's the name of former senator and representative Henry Clay's estate, now a national historic landmark in Lexington, Kentucky?
Answer: Ashland
- Visitors can tour a life-sized version of the Biblical boat that Noah used to transport pairs of animals in the book of Genesis, in what Williamstown, Kentucky theme park?
Answer: Ark Encounter
- Actor and Lexington native George Clooney's only acting Oscar came for what 2005 political thriller, set thousands of miles away from Kentucky?
Answer: Syriana
- "Jax & Brittany Take Kentucky," in which cast member Jax Taylor and his girlfriend Brittany Cartwright leave California for her Kentucky farm, is a spinoff of what Bravo show?
Answer: Vanderpump Rules
- "Swag" and "The Yoga Instructor" are nicknames for what alliteratively named point guard and Louisville native who currently plays with the Cleveland Cavaliers?
Answer: Rajon Rondo
- The official state flower of Kentucky has scientific name Soldiago gigantea, is the name of a town in the Pokémon franchise, and is also a yellow flowering plant. What is it?
Answer: Goldenrod
- The two most populous cities in Kentucky both start with the letter L. The third most populous does not. What is this third most-populous city in the state?
Answer: Bowling Green
- What Kentucky city was named after a New York City site where colonists dismantled and melted down a statue of King George III to make bullets for the Revolutionary War?
Answer: Bowling Green
- Premiering in January 2021, what Fox series stars Mayim Bialik as the titular owner of a cat cafe in Louisville?
Answer: Call Me Kat
- What cave system in Bowling Green, KY has its namesake river flow into it? Despite the river’s name, people do know where it is (mainly on Nashville Road).
Answer: Lost River Cave
- Loretta Lynn and Emmylou Harris have both scored hits on the country charts with what "colorful" song about a girl left behind in Kentucky by her lover?
Answer: Blue Kentucky Girl
- What Louisville native got his start in the world of writing and journalism with a 1970 magazine article titled "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved?"
Answer: Hunter S. Thompson
- Which U.S. president was born in Virginia but was raised on the Kentucky frontier before joining the army in 1806?
Answer: Zachary Taylor
- Ridden by jockey Sunny Leon, what wealthy-sounding horse won the Kentucky Derby in 2022?
Answer: Rich Strike
- Prior to American Pharoah pulling off the feat in 2015, what was the most recent horse to win the vaunted Triple Crown of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes?
Answer: Affirmed
- What Kentucky politician unsuccessfully ran for President five times in the 19th century? Although he served as a Senator, Secretary of State, and the Speaker of the House, he was never able to ascend to the nation's highest political office.
Answer: Henry Clay
- What southeastern Kentucky town near the Cumberland Gap was known as "Little Las Vegas" for its brothels, saloons, and slot machines in the 1930s?
Answer: Middlesboro
- The state of Kentucky is generally divided into five geographic regions. Which one is the easternmost, and is also part of neighboring Tennessee (where it goes by the same name) (Hint: In the other states it crosses, it’s called the Appalachian Plateau)
Answer: Cumberland Plateau
- Which state park is considered Kentucky’s first and is more than just hiking and fishing—you can also play 18 holes of golf.
Answer: Pine Mountain State Resort Park
- The annual culinary festival Goettafest is sponsored by what regional meat maker with the slogan that was established in 1946 and produces more than one million pounds of goetta annually?
Answer: Glier's
- The Little Green Men Festival attracts UFO enthusiasts to what Kentucky town that ironically shares its name with a shade of green?
Answer: Kelly
- What horse won the Kentucky Derby in May 2021 under suspicious circumstances, and died suddenly after a workout six months later in Santa Anita, California?
Answer: Medina Spirit
- Similar in appearance to a monarch and with a name that can also mean the representative of a monarch in a territory, what is the official state butterfly of Kentucky?
Answer: Viceroy
- Located in Boone County, what’s the name of the community where every mayor has been a (literal) dog?
Answer: Rabbit Hash
- A statue of what composer of "My Old Kentucky Home" stands in Cincinnati's Alms Park, looking over the river into Kentucky?
Answer: Stephen Foster
- Rising more than 4,000 feet above Harlan County, which peak is the highest mountain in Kentucky?
Answer: Black Mountain
- What Henry County novelist and poet set many of his novels, like Jayber Crow, That Distant Land, and A Place on Earth, in the fictional town of Port William, Kentucky?
Answer: Wendell Berry
- Although it was replaced by the tulip poplar, until 1994 the state tree of Kentucky was Gymnocladus dioicus, whose seeds could be roasted and used—according to its common name—as a substitute for what invigorating stuff?
Answer: Coffee
- Which double-named bookstore at Rookwood Pavilion also has a location in Lexington, Kentucky?
Answer: Joseph-Beth Booksellers
- Whose “bookery” in Lexington has over 80,000 books on just about any subject imaginable?
Answer: Glover
- What Mayfield, Kentucky native and author of the novel In Country was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for her 1999 memoir, Clear Springs?
Answer: Bobbie Ann Mason
- What popular Kentucky bourbon distillery gets its name from an ancient pathway, crossing the Kentucky River, created by a particular mammal species that no longer can be found in Kentucky?
Answer: Buffalo Trace
- Based on its former name, Standiford Field, SDF is the code for Muhammad Ali International Airport in what U.S. city?
Answer: Louisville, Kentucky
- Located in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky (five miles south of Cincinnati), the Vent Haven Museum opened in 1973 and features nearly 1,000 figures from twenty countries specialized for what type of stagecraft?
Answer: Ventriloquism
- Kentucky isn't the only Kentucky in the world: "Kentucky in Africa" was the name of a colony settled by former American slaves in what is now what present-day African country?
Answer: Liberia
- Author, activist, and professor bell hooks started writing “Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism” when she was just 19. She was born and raised in which Kentucky city in Christian County that’s also home to the Alhambra Theater?
Answer: Hopkinsville
- Kentucky changed its voting age requirement to 18 in 1955, over 20 years before what numbered constitutional amendment was ratified to do that nationally?
Answer: 26
- What band, which formed in Bowling Green in the 2000s, got its name when a fan approached singer Matthew Shultz at a show to say that they needed to imprison a pachyderm?
Answer: Cage the Elephant
- In 2020, the National Park Service established a new national monument near Somerset, Kentucky preserving the site of an 1862 Union victory at what battle?
Answer: Mill Springs
- What was the last name of 9th century Kentuckian Rufus, his brother Origen, and Rufus's two sons, who (according to one story at least) were the founders of a successful distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky?
Answer: Rose (Four Roses)
- What Lexington native, known for movies like Loving and Take Shelter, has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Revolutionary Road and Nocturnal Animals?
Answer: Michael Shannon
- Tiny Benton, Kentucky hosts the oldest trade day in the United States, a festival dedicated to what locally grown tuber?
Answer: Sweet Potato
- Which small town in Lyon County, Kentucky is known as the “village between the lakes?”
Answer: Eddyville
- In 2013, there was an animal shot in Hart County that was the first verified sighting of the species in Kentucky in modern times. What was the animal?
Answer: Gray wolf
- What 1862 Civil War battle marked the "high water mark" for the Confederacy in the Western Theater after the Union Army of the Ohio (under Buell) won a tactical victory over the Confederate Army of Mississippi (under Bragg) in the largest battle in Kentucky history?
Answer: Perryville
- January 13th is a Federal Observance Day to commemorate the life of what 19th century songwriter of minstrel showtunes like “Oh! Susanna”, “My Old Kentucky Home”, and “Camptown Races?”
Answer: Stephen Foster
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
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