Lists of 10

This started as an idea for interview questions to ask engineers that had nothing to do with engineering, to get a quick sense of how much a person reads and retains. In all of these questions the goal is to name 10 objects of the given type. In my formulation of the game naming at least 10 implies you can name 10 or more before guessing anything that is incorrect.

I like questions of this type because naming a couple of things is usually easy and it grows progressively more difficult to think of more, although there are usually 20 or more answers that will be recognizable if you see them. Many of these you feel like you should be able to name at least 10 if you're up on current affairs, such as heads of state or senators.

• Foreign Heads of State
  • Name ten current heads of state of foreign countries, along with the country they represent (this was the original question of this type I thought up).
  • For countries which retain a figurehead monarch with little political power as the official head of state, ie UK, Sweden, Japan, I think the head of government is a better answer but either is probably acceptable.
  • Dictators are acceptable.
  • There are at least 192 countries, depending on definitions, and some have more than 1 answer which is reasonable.
  • Answers
• US Senators
  • Name ten current US Senators and the state they represent.
  • There are 100 senators.
  • Bonus (much harder) version: Name ten members of the House of Representatives
  • Answers
• African Cities
  • Name ten major cities (population > 200,000) in Africa and the countries they are located in.
  • There are 179 acceptable answers.
  • Bonus: Name 10 capital cities.
  • Answers
• Assassinations
  • Name ten people from any time in history who were assassinated.
  • The definition can be questionable, but I consider anybody in a position of power murdered with the objective of removing them from power and with no pretense of trial or justice to be assassinated.
  • There are an unbounded number of answers due to the lack of a clear defintion, but probably thousands of reasonable ones.
  • Bonus: Name the person or group responsible for each assassination.
  • Answers
• Shakespeare Plays
  • Name ten plays written by William Shakespeare
  • There are 38 acceptable answers.
  • Bonus: Also classify the plays as comedy, tragedy, or history.
  • Answers
• Species of cat
  • Name ten extant species in the cat family (Felidae).
  • Hybrids like Ligers and Tigons do not count.
  • There are 37 species of cat.
  • Answers
• Corporate Headquarters
  • Name ten different states and a Fortune 1000 company from each state
  • They have to be from 10 different states, otherwise its relatively easy to name about 10 companies based in the Silicon Valley.
  • There are only 44 states with a Fortune 1000 company, plus DC which has several and Puerto Rico which has one. Guessing the 6 states without a major company is a good trivia question on its own.
  • Bonus: Also name the city where the companies are headquartered.
  • Answers
• Landlocked Countries
  • Name ten landlocked countries.
  • There are only 43 landlocked countries, although most of them are relatively obscure.
  • Answers
• Cities in the same state
  • Name ten cities (population of at least 50,000) that are all in the same state.
  • California is too easy, it doesn't count. Also your home state shouln't count.
  • By my count this is possible in 26 different states. Although most of these are extremely difficult.
  • Trivia: There are 606 total cities of at least 50,000 in the US. Of these, 143, or almost 25%, are in California. Interesting because California has "only" around 10% of the total population. Texas is next with 48.
  • Answers
• Presidential Losers
  • Name ten people who have run one or more serious campaigns for U.S. President without ever winning.
  • I would define a "serious campaign" as one which actually gained at least one electoral vote, eliminating most recent third party candidates.
  • Bonus: Also name one election each person lost, giving the year and opponent.
  • Extra Bonus: Name the three people who have lost in two different elections, and two have lost in three different elections.
  • Trivia: There are 47 people who fit this definition (from 55 total elections). In three elections (1789, 1792, 1820) the winner took all of the electoral votes. In 1836, 4 different losing candidates received electoral votes.
  • Answers