Philadelphia, also known as the "City of Brotherly Love," is the sixth-largest city in the United States and the largest city in the state of Pennsylvania. The city is known for its rich history, culture, and landmarks such as Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.
Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn and was the capital of the United States from 1790 to 1800. The city played a major role in the American Revolution, as it was home to the Continental Congress and served as the site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The city also played a major role in American Industrial revolution and was a center of manufacturing and industry.
Philadelphia is also known for its diverse population, with a large number of immigrants from Italy, Ireland, and the Caribbean, as well as African American and Asian communities. This diversity is reflected in the city's food, music, and art, making it a vibrant and exciting place to visit or live. The city is also known for its higher education institutions, such as the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University.
110 Philadelphia Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- The steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art were famously climbed by what movie boxer and franchise cornerstone played by Sylvester Stallone? A statue of this character is still in front of the museum.
Answer: Rocky Balboa
- Philadelphians might use what other word when referring to a submarine or hero sandwich? Legend has it that a jazz musician opened up a sandwich shop during the Great Depression with the slogan that you "had to be a hog" to eat one, inspiring the name.
Answer: Hoagie
- Taken from the literal meaning in Greek, Philadelphia is known as the city of what kind of love?
Answer: Brotherly
- Market Street in Philadelphia is home to what iconic way of getting attention, made out of copper and lead among other elements, whose name used to refer to its use in a state house? Its famously cracked and no longer used, just reverently looked at.
Answer: Liberty Bell
- According to the theme song of the sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," the title character was born and raised in the west part of what East Coast American city?
Answer: Philadelphia
- What “B” ice cream company, acquired by Unilever from Kraft, was founded in 1866 in Philadelphia by its namesake? It has a variety of flavors, but is best known for its strawberry, chocolate, and especially the vanilla.
Answer: Breyers
- The oldest insurance company in the United States, the Philadelphia Contributionship, was first organized in 1752 by what famous Philadelphian and Founding Father?
Answer: "Benjamin Franklin
- Philadelphia's border with New Jersey is created entirely by what river?
Answer: Delaware River
- When it opened in 1874, which facility—the first of its kind in America—charged visitors 25 cents to see almost 1,000 animals?
Answer: Philadelphia Zoo
- What two colors are prominently featured on the flag of the city of Philadelphia? These colors were chosen in commemoration of the city's prior Swedish governance.
Answer: Blue, yellow
- What “F” square on 6th St in Philadelphia, was designed by William Penn while laying out his plan for the city? Its name is the last name of an inventive founding father.
Answer: Franklin Square
- The Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1993 went to what song with Philadelphia in the name, written and sung by Bruce Springsteen?
Answer: Streets of Philadelphia
- Tatyana Ali graduated from Harvard in 2002, six years after starring in what NBC sitcom about a Philadelphia youth who moved to Los Angeles?
Answer: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
- Philly artist Alexander Calder specialized in pretty serious versions of what wiry things seen hanging above baby cribs?
Answer: Mobiles
- It’s not often that the owner of an establishment also acts as the janitor, but that’s the exact description of Charlie Kelly’s relationship to Paddy’s Pub on what FX series whose title is certainly not an accurate description of Mid-Atlantic weather?
Answer: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
- Delaware Crossing Investment Group and Ben Franklin Technology Partners are venture capital firms based in or near what East Coast American city?
Answer: Philadelphia
- The Owls are the sports teams of what public Philadelphia university?
Answer: Temple University
- Robert Indiana's most famous work of art, a sculpture with versions in Philadelphia and other cities, is a bright red, blue, and green rendition of what four-letter word?
Answer: Love
- What is the name for Amtrak's high-speed service connecting Boston and Washington DC with major stops in New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore?
Answer: Acela
- Which private university in Philidelphia has a dragon as its mascot? (Specifically, a dragon named “Mario the Magnificent")?
Answer: Drexel University
- The 1993 film "Philadelphia" was one of the first mainstream movies from Hollywood to directly acknowledge HIV/AIDS and homophobia. Which of the movie's actors won an Oscar for their performance in this film?
Answer: Tom Hanks
- Starting in 2008 and beginning play in 2010, Philadelphia has an expansion Major League Soccer franchise with what team name? The name may be an allusion to the fact they play together or is perhaps reminiscent of which side the city was on during a historic war.
Answer: Philadelphia Union
- What Philly native starred as another Philly native who gets transplanted to a ritzy neighborhood in L.A. while in his teens to avoid trouble back home? He played a character who shared his first name.
Answer: Will Smith
- Before he started his coaching career, Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers played for the Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, and the San Antion Spurs. Which Philly team has he coached since 2020?
Answer: 76ers
- In 1849, Henry Box Brown escaped slavery by encasing himself in a box and shipping himself north from Richmond out of Virginia to an abolitionist in what Northern city? He became a lecturer against slavery, moving to England in 1850 over fears he would be re-enslaved.
Answer: Philadelphia
- In 1775 Philadelphia, John Behrent built the first American version of what instrument which contains hammers, dampers, strings, and pedals?
Answer: Piano
- Focusing more on old time rock n’ roll than doo-wop, “That Thing You Do” was the directorial debut of what beloved actor who was hot off back-to-back Oscar wins playing a Philadelphian and an Alabaman?
Answer: Tom Hanks
- The intersection of 33rd and Chestnut in West Philadelphia is the informal boundary between the University of Pennsylvania and what other university just north of it?
Answer: Drexel University
- Pat and Tiffany launch into a dance routine as the Eagles beat the Cowboys in the climax of what 2012 Bradley Cooper-Jennifer Lawrence rom-dramedy?
Answer: Silver Linings Playbook
- She must have practiced, practiced, practiced: Chinese pianist Yuja Wang performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra on October 7, 2021, for the post-COVID reopening of what legendary New York City music venue?
Answer: Carnegie Hall
- Founded as a store named "Free People" by three students in an entrepreneurship class at the University of Pennsylvania in 1970, what is the retailer that primarily targets "hipster subculture" for teens and young adults? This company received the National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for their office in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
Answer: Urban Outfitters
- In 1994, what popular musician released the song “Streets of Philadelphia”, a tie-in to the 1993 movie “Philadelphia?”
Answer: Bruce Springsteen
- "Ruff Ryders' First Lady" was the subtitle of the 1999 debut album by what one-named Philly rapper who blew up with the 2001 single, "Let Me Blow Your Mind"?
Answer: Eve
- Locals often refer to what NFC East football team affectionately as "the birds?"
Answer: Eagles
- A dude named Steve on Airbnb offers tours of the Philadelphia Macy's in the Wanamaker Building, site of what 1987 movie with Andrew McCarthy dating an animated department store statue played by Kim Cattrall?
Answer: Mannequin
- What “M” museum at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia contains historical anatomical specimens, wax models, and antique medical equipment?
Answer: Mutter Museum
- Gritty, the furry orange character who debuted in 2018 and quickly became the subject of antifa memes, is the mascot of what Eastern Conference NHL team?
Answer: Philadelphia Flyers
- What "tough" furry orange mascot swung into his first appearance at a Philadelphia Flyers home game on a giant wrecking ball?
Answer: Gritty
- Founded in South Philly in 1992, what classic cheesesteak stand with two first names now has outposts at Citizens Bank Park and in Brooklyn, New York?
Answer: Tony Luke's
- What historical Philadelphia prison, designed by John Haviland and opened in 1829, has a direction in its title?
Answer: Eastern
- Debuting in 2016 and attracting more than 100,000 visitors by the third iteration in 2018, what is the annual Philadelphia festival in Franklin Square that celebrates light and culture while featuring artisans from China and the Philadelphia metro?
Answer: Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival
- Winning a total of three championships, what was the name of Philadelphia's Arena Football League team, which operated from 2004-2008 and again from 2011-2019?
Answer: Philadelphia Soul
- American Cone and Pretzel Company was the initial name of what snack brand founded in 1917 in Philadelphia that has been owned by Frito-Lay since the 1960s?
Answer: Rold Gold
- The Eagles are named after the depiction of the animal that appeared on posters during the National Recovery Act which was part of what famous two-word piece of American legislation?
Answer: New Deal
- Philly's Mutter Museum is the place to see thousands of medical oddities, including pieces of the brain of what Nobel laureate who died in 1955?
Answer: Albert Einstein
- Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, is home to a nonprofit institution dedicated to what US historical document, originally ratified in 1788?
Answer: National Constitution Center
- What Seaport Museum in the Penn’s Landing Complex in Philadelphia documents history along the Delaware River, including maritime history? Its name comes from the state of the US getting freedom from its colonial oppressor.
Answer: Independence Seaport Museum
- TV producer and writer Adam F. Goldberg cut his teeth on "Aliens in America" and "Community" before launching what very guessable autobiographical sitcom based on his Philadelphia childhood?
Answer: The Goldbergs
- What dialect, primarily spoken by Mennonites and Amish, is spoken by over 300,000 people and is named as a combination of where it was developed and the language it is a dialect of?
Answer: Pennsylvania German
- What alliterative National League East team did the Toronto Blue Jays defeat in 1993 to win their second World Series title in a row?
Answer: Philadelphia Phillies
- The Delaware Blue Coats, who play in Wilmington, are a G League affiliate of what NBA team that plays approximately 30 miles to the northeast?
Answer: Philadelphia 76ers
- Inquirer.com is the official website of what city's largest newspaper, which passed the Evening Bulletin's circulation in the 1970s?
Answer: Philadelphia
- What “S” Japanese House and Garden is located in Philadelphia’s West Fairmount Park, on the site of the 1876 Centennial Exposition?
Answer: Shofuso
- A bridge connected Philadelphia to Camden, NJ, across the Delaware River, is named for what American founding father who invented the bifocals, among other scientific, literary, and state accomplishments?
Answer: Benjamin Franklin Bridge
- Sesame Place, a children’s theme park and water park in the outskirts of Philadelphia features what two-word puppet character in its logo? The character was controlled and portrayed by Caroll Spinney in a full body costume from 1969 to 2018.
Answer: Big Bird
- Standing for "Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority," SEPTA is the common name for the mass-transit system that serves what East Coast city?
Answer: Philadelphia
- Despite its name, Philadelphia Cream Cheese was actually invented in what state? The inventors used Philadelphia in the name, because at the time (1880s), Philadelphia was known for high-quality dairy farms.
Answer: New York
- If you’re going to hit up Reading Terminal Market with a Philly local and they tell you to “meet me at the pig,” you’ll have to look for a statue of a coin-collecting, good-luck-charm pig named what?
Answer: Philbert
- Which part of Philly situated along the Delaware River includes the following neighborhoods: Kensington, Olde Richmond, Port Richmond, and Fishtown?
Answer: River Wards
- Which Philadelphia-based snack food brand rivals Little Debbie and Drake’s when it comes to yummy baked goods with occasionally alliterated or Kardashian-style spelled names?
Answer: Tastykake
- Philadelphia-born educator Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet founded a school in 1817 for the education of what kind of Americans? A school in D.C. that serves the same population is named for him.
Answer: Deaf
- Fifty subscribers paid 40 shillings each to subscribe to one of the United States' first lending libraries, located in Philadelphia and founded by what founding father?
Answer: Benjamin Franklin
- Before joining the executive team at UnitedHealthcare, Dr. Anne Docimo, MD, was executive VP of Population Health and chief clinical transformation officer for Jefferson Health in Philadelphia. What leadership role does she have at UnitedHealthcare?
Answer: Chief Medical Officer
- What was the name of the Philadelphia-based partnership who won the design contest for the UConn health campus, with the design completed in 1964?
Answer: Kling Partnership
- Swanfest, the music festival headlined by Dance Gavin Dance, was held in the Eastern U.S. for the first time on October 1, 2023, in what city?
Answer: Philadelphia
- What watch company had the first "legal" (as opposed to "experimental") television ad in the U.S., preceding a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies on July 1, 1941?
Answer: Bulova
- Isaiah Zagar and his wife Julia moved to South Street in Philadelphia in 1968. At the time, the neighborhood was slated for demolition to make room for a major highway. Fast-forward 52 years, and Zagar remains associated with South Street because of his work creating what attraction?
Answer: Magic Gardens
- In addition to Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia," the "Philadelphia" movie soundtrack contains a song by what rock musician also known for "Harvest Moon" and "Down by the River?"
Answer: Neil Young
- The Arboretum at the University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill neighborhood, bears what name, also the last name of the first African American “Saturday Night Live” cast member, who joined during their inaugural 1975-76 season?
Answer: Morris Arboretum
- Which regal-sounding residential Philly neighborhood is home to some of the oldest buildings in the city, the Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Sparks Shot Tower?
Answer: Queen Village
- What “B” Foundation is a Philadelphia art collection and institution promoting art and horticulture? It’s also the name repeated twice in the name of the eclectic duo who did the song “Fish Heads” in 1978.
Answer: Barnes Foundation
- Which medical center in City Center is not only top-ranked but also a National Historic Landmark (it's home to America’s first surgical amphitheater)?
Answer: Pennsylvania Hospital
- Named after a Founding Father associated with Philadelphia, what retro computer company manufactured clones of the Apple II series in the 1980s, including its Ace 1200 model?
Answer: Franklin
- What car-care company did Emanuel "Manny" Rosenfeld, two men nicknamed "Moe," and W. Graham "Jack" Jackson found in Philadelphia in 1921?
Answer: Pep Boys
- What is the nickname of retired professional golfer Jack Nicklaus? Its origin goes back to the mascot of his high school in Upper Arlington, Ohio and it is incorporated into his brand's logo.
Answer: The Golden Bear
- With more than 2,050 acres of official space, Fairmount park is the largest park in the city of Philadelphia. Also clocking in at more than 2,000 acres, what is the second largest park in the city?
Answer: Wissahickon Valley Park
- What ABC television series uses the mockumentary style similar to that used in "The Office" to follow the day-to-day lives of elementary school teachers in the Philadelphia public school system?
Answer: Abbott Elementary
- Older even than that of Harvard, a 2015 Lancet article claims that America's oldest medical school was founded in 1765 at the College of Philadelphia, which eventually became what Ivy League institution?
Answer: University of Pennsylvania
- On 3rd Street in Philadelphia, what museum depicting a particular aspect of U.S. history opened on April 19th, 2017, the 242nd anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord?
Answer: Museum Of the American Revolution
- Although well-known for founding the colony of Pennsylvania and leading both the planning and development of Philadelphia, William Penn was in fact born in what city?
Answer: London
- The "Philadelphia Story" (1940) starred Cary Grant, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey, and what four-time Oscar-winning actress?
Answer: Katharine Hepburn
- The TV commercials for which Philadelphia-based life insurance company claim to guarantee policies for older Americans? (Hint: Alex Trebek was the long-time spokesperson and got royalties from those commercials. After his death, the company arranged for those benefits to continue for his family).
Answer: Colonial Penn
- What is the name of the road in the Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia that was a creek used as a public sewer before it was filled in after the Revolutionary War to create a curving street that became a food distribution market?
Answer: Dock Street
- Dressed in sequins and feathers, musicians known as Mummers parade down Broad Street in a New Year's Day tradition in what East Coast city?
Answer: Philadelphia
- 1234 Market Street in Center City is the address for the headquarters of what acronym-ed, publicly funded organization that is managed by a 15-member board of directors?
Answer: SEPTA
- Measured by the number of students, Temple is the largest university in Philadelphia. What school is the second largest?
Answer: Drexel
- Named for the oldest still-existing trade guild in the U.S., what was the name of the first hall the Continental Congress used for their meetings in 1774? Hint: It's NOT Independence Hall, but it's named for a profession in which Ron Swanson excels.
Answer: Carpenter's Hall
- Measured by the daily average high temperature, what is the coldest month of the year in Philadelphia at 40.3* F? We're using data from 1981 - 2010 in case that helps you at all (which would surprise us).
Answer: January
- The famously Philadelphian Liberty Bell was cast with the inscription: "Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof." From what book was this quote lifted?
Answer: The Bible
- Philadelphia's City Hall was designed to be the world's tallest building when construction began in the 1870s, but by the time construction was finished, both the Washington Monument and one other structure had surpassed the municipal structure. However, City Hall did claim the title of tallest habitable building. What is the other structure that passed City Hall's height before completion?
Answer: Eiffel Tower
- Updated in 2013, the $100 bill features Founding Father Benjamin Franklin on the obverse side, and what historic Philadelphia landmark on the reverse side of the U.S. banknote?
Answer: Independence Hall
- Both the Spiral Q Puppet Theater and Lancaster Avenue's "Second Fridays" are well-known artistic attractions in which "village" in West Philadelphia?
Answer: Powelton Village
- Hatched in Neshaminy State Park not far from the skyline of Philadelphia, Eagles Forest is the birth name of a Big Four pro sports mascot better known by what one-word alias?
Answer: Swoop
- MFSB's song "TSOP," by Gamble and Huff, was the theme song of "Soul Train." What does "TSOP" stand for?
Answer: The Sound of Philadelphia
- Which Philadelphia Phillies' third baseman was elected to the Hall of Fame for 2023?
Answer: Scott Rolen
- The Yellow Fever outbreak in 1793 resulted in the deaths of more than 9% of the population in what major American city?
Answer: Philadelphia
- Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia is home to a museum dedicated to what French sculptor of “The Kiss” and “The Burghers of Calais?”
Answer: Auguste Rodin
- What portmanteau team was formed during World War II when the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles briefly merged, thanks to a lack of available players?
Answer: Steagles
- Wissahickon Bridge, 30th Street Station, and Penn's Landing were all filming locations for what 1981 movie about an effects technician that starred John Travolta, Nancy Allen, and John Lithgow?
Answer: Blow Out
- It features 32 houses, is a National Historic Landmark, and has celebrated "Fête Day" in early June for more than 70 years. What is it?
Answer: Elfreth's Alley
- As of 2019, the Albany Empire were the final team to win the championship title of what now-defunct indoor league, after they defeated the Philadelphia Soul in a score of 45-27?
Answer: Arena Football League
- Philadelphia is home to the oldest continuously operating gay bookstore in the United States, named for what James Baldwin novel about his affair with an Italian bartender in Paris?
Answer: Giovanni's Room
- Often considered the U.S.'s largest public art program, MA Philadelphia is the organization that has created nearly 4,000 pieces of public art in Philadelphia by partnering with artists and communities. What does MA stand for?
Answer: Mural Arts Philadelphia
- Cheyney University and Lincoln University are both in Pennsylvania and both claim the distinction of being the nation's first what?
Answer: HBCU
- For many years, no building in Philly could rise higher than the William Penn statue atop City Hall. Which skyscraper broke that rule when it went up in 1986?
Answer: One Liberty Place
- Within Philadelphia, there are 67 National Historic Landmarks. One of the first locations honored with this designation was Cliveden, a home known for being at the center of what major Revolutionary War battle? The battles sounds as if a third nation was involved besides the U.S. and Great Britain.
Answer: The Battle of Germantown
- The border between Pennsylvania and Delaware is based upon a twelve-mile circle drawn from a courthouse in what Delaware city?
Answer: New Castle
- Philadelphia was the most populous city in the U.S. at the time the young nation declared its independence. In what decade did nearby New York City pass Philadelphia as the nation's most populous city?
Answer: 1790s
- What “W” museum, on Germantown Ave in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, focuses on a variety of art forms from the Delaware Valley?
Answer: Woodmere Art Museum
- In which Philly neighborhood—one of the oldest in the city—will you find Franklin streetlamps, the Merchants’ Exchange Building, the Old Pine Street Church, the St. James, and the Athenaeum of Philadelphia?
Answer: Society Hill
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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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