Category: Brain Teasers

Trivia: What show features a college known for paintball fights and pillow forts?

Boy Meets World
Friday Night Lights
Law and Order
Community

Correct Answer: Community

So why is this answer correct? : “Community” (2009-2014) revolves around a group of unlikely friends at Greendale Community College, a fictional school in Colorado where classes take a backseat to increasingly wacky shenanigans. Over the course of the show’s six seasons, Jeff, Annie, Britta, Shirley, Troy, Abed, and Pierce participate in epic paintball fights, near-record-breaking pillow forts, and campus-wide games of “The Floor Is Lava.”

Trivia: Where do the characters of “Beverly Hills, 90210” go to college?

California University
Adams College
Dupont University
Beverly Hills University

Correct Answer: California University

So why is this answer correct? : After graduating from the fictional West Beverly Hills High School — created because the real Beverly Hills High School declined to let the show use its name — most of the “Beverly Hills, 90210” gang enrolls at another fictional institution, California University. (There is a Cal U in Pennsylvania, but this one is supposedly in Los Angeles.) Coincidentally, California University is also the name of the fictional college in “Saved by the Bell: The College Years,” but that school is somewhere near the Bay Area.

Trivia: What director used the fictional Shermer High School in his films?

Chris Columbus
George Lucas
John Hughes
Spike Lee

Correct Answer: John Hughes

So why is this answer correct? : John Hughes’ enduring cinematic classic “The Breakfast Club” is set in Shermer, Illinois — a fictional town that also serves as the backdrop for several of his other films, including “Sixteen Candles,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” and “Weird Science.” Shermer High School isn’t explicitly mentioned by name in every film, but it is featured prominently in “Weird Science” and “The Breakfast Club,” the latter of which takes place entirely within the confines of the campus. In fact, the opening shot of the movie is of Shermer’s facade, and the opening line is, “Saturday, March 24, 1984. Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois, 60062.”

Trivia: In “Bring It On,” what is Rancho Carne High’s mascot?

A clover
A toro
A lion
A bear

Correct Answer: A toro

So why is this answer correct? : As the captain of Rancho Carne High’s varsity cheerleading squad in the 2000 comedy “Bring It On,” Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst) shows her school spirit with chants like, “Brrr, it’s cold in here! There must be some Toros in the atmosphere!” Unfortunately, she later learns the squad’s cheers and routines were stolen from the rival East Compton Clovers by her predecessor, and she and her fellow Toros have to start over from scratch.

Trivia: What fictional college has a vampire problem?

California University
Barden University
UC Sunnydale
University of New York

Correct Answer: UC Sunnydale

So why is this answer correct? : Students should think twice before applying to the University of California, Sunnydale. The school — where Buffy Summers and her friends go to college after graduating from Sunnydale High on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003) — has a bit of a monster problem. Vampires are the most common supernatural beings at the school, but since Sunnydale is located on a hellmouth, Buffy also has to fight various demons, ghosts, zombies, and other mythical beasts.

Trivia: The Plastics are a clique at North Shore High School in what movie?

Mean Girls
Pretty in Pink
Heathers
The Breakfast Club

Correct Answer: Mean Girls

So why is this answer correct? : The Plastics — led by the popular but devious Regina George (Rachel McAdams) — are the titular mean girls who rule North Shore High School in the 2004 teen comedy “Mean Girls.” Written by Tina Fey and based in part on the nonfiction book “Queen Bees and Wannabes,” the film stars Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron, a new student who tries to infiltrate the clique but finds herself becoming one of them for real.

Trivia: “Glee” and “The Wonder Years” feature schools named after what President?

George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
William McKinley
Lyndon Johnson

Correct Answer: William McKinley

So why is this answer correct? : William McKinley, who served in the White House from 1897 to 1901, is a popular namesake for fictional schools. “Glee” (2009-2015), “The Wonder Years” (1988-1993), and “Freaks and Geeks” (1999-2000) all feature high schools named after the 25th U.S. President. For “Freaks and Geeks,” at least, the choice was a matter of necessity: Creator Judd Apatow said “it was the only President’s name which was legally clearable.”

Trivia: What school do Bart and Lisa attend on “The Simpsons”?

Wayside School
Springfield Elementary
McCarthy Middle School
Springville High

Correct Answer: Springfield Elementary

So why is this answer correct? : Although Bart and Lisa Simpson debuted on “The Simpsons” in 1989, and should be well into middle age by now, they’re still canonically children on the show. Lisa has been eight years old since the 1991 episode “Stark Raving Dad,” and Bart turned 10 just a few months later. Both attend Springfield Elementary School, though they also did a brief stint at Waverly Hills Elementary School in season 20.

Trivia: What TV show is set at Bayside High?

The Simpsons
Saved by the Bell
Beverly Hills, 90210
Dawson’s Creek

Correct Answer: Saved by the Bell

So why is this answer correct? : The original “Saved by the Bell,” which ran from 1989 to 1993, follows Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and his group of friends at Bayside High, a fictional school in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood. The series spawned multiple spinoffs — including “Saved by the Bell: The College Years,” set at the fictional California University — as well as two TV movies and a reboot, which premiered on NBC’s streaming service Peacock in 2020. In the reboot, also set at Bayside, Zack Morris is the governor of California.

Trivia: Where do Harry Potter and his friends learn witchcraft and wizardry?

Hogsmeade
Durmstrang
Hogwarts
Gringotts

Correct Answer: Hogwarts

So why is this answer correct? : Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley are all students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Located in the Scottish Highlands, the school has its own train, the Hogwarts Express, that students board via a hidden platform at London’s King’s Cross station. Durmstrang is a rival school in the “Harry Potter” universe, while Hogsmeade is a wizarding village near Hogwarts, and Gringotts is a wizarding bank in Diagon Alley.