# Trivia Set: Poland  
**Used:** 2025-06-10

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## Regular Questions

### 1. What is the capital and largest city of Poland?  
**Answer:** Warsaw  

**Taglines:**  
- Phoenix City: rising from rubble *and* bureaucratic red tape.  
- One million Varsovians can’t all be wrong.  
- Political center, economic engine, pierogi paradise.  
- Warsaw: where old world meets new hipster vibes.  
- The city that refused to stay erased.

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### 2. In what year did Poland officially join the European Union?  
**Answer:** 2004  

**Taglines:**  
- May 1, 2004: Poland upgraded to “EU Member.”  
- EU life expectancy begins here.  
- More Brussels, slightly less vodka.  
- Open borders, open pierogi options.  
- Schengen later, but EU first.

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### 3. Who famously founded the Jagiellonian University in Kraków in 1364?  
**Answer:** Casimir III the Great  

**Taglines:**  
- Even in the 1300s, Poland prioritized higher education.  
- Casimir: the OG brainiac king.  
- One step beyond mythical—he built actual schools.  
- University so old it doesn’t even use Wi-Fi.  
- Crowned thinker, not just king.

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### 4. Which scientist born in Poland formulated the heliocentric model of the solar system?  
**Answer:** Nicolaus Copernicus  

**Taglines:**  
- Earth goes around sun? Thanks, Polish brainiac.  
- Copernicus: sending logic into orbit since 1543.  
- The guy who dethroned Earth from cosmic center stage.  
- Zero gravity, 100% genius.  
- The only man to ever spin the solar system and be taken seriously.

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### 5. What percentage of Poland's population identifies as Roman Catholic?  
**Answer:** Over 71% (approx. 72.4%)  

**Taglines:**  
- Catholic enough to make the Pope blush.  
- Holy water runs thick here.  
- Poland: where Sunday mornings aren’t for brunch.  
- Still breaking confession booth records.  
- Pew-sitters and proud of it.

---

## Fill-in-the-Blank Questions

### 1. Poland’s official currency is the ______.  
**Answer:** Złoty  

**Taglines:**  
- Not Euro—yet.  
- Four syllables of Polish pride.  
- It buys pierogi and patriotism.  
- Złoty: like Monopoly money, but real.  
- The “ł” is silent, but your wallet isn’t.

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### 2. The national dance, the ______, was inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2024.  
**Answer:** Polonaise  

**Taglines:**  
- Dance like a noble, feel like a legend.  
- Two-step for the historically inclined.  
- Polonaise: where dignity meets drama.  
- Basically courtly jazz hands.  
- Float like a sash, march like a monarch.

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### 3. Poland was the second country in the world to adopt a modern ______, after the U.S.  
**Answer:** Constitution  

**Taglines:**  
- Democracy before it was trendy.  
- 1791: Poland goes full Enlightenment.  
- Law and order, Polish style.  
- “We the people,” but with pierogi.  
- Take that, 18th-century chaos!

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### 4. Poland’s highest peak is called ______, reaching approximately 2,499 m on the Slovakian border.  
**Answer:** Rysy  

**Taglines:**  
- One mountain, two passports.  
- Scratch the sky from either side.  
- Hiking goal: cry halfway, summit anyway.  
- Gravity’s Polish nemesis.  
- Don’t forget your legs (and snacks).

---

### 5. Poland regained independence on 11 November ______ after 123 years of foreign partitions.  
**Answer:** 1918  

**Taglines:**  
- Freedom, now with extra historical trauma.  
- 123 years is a long time to be grounded.  
- Independence Day, but make it emotional.  
- Poland’s grand reentry.  
- Three digits of resistance.

---

## Multiple Choice Questions

### 1. Which mighty medieval union formed in 1569 created one of Europe’s largest states?  
A. Polish–Saxon Crown  
B. Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth  
C. Polish–Bohemian Confederation  
D. Polish–Prussian Pact  
**Answer:** B. Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth  

**Taglines:**  
- Where monarchs shared power and snacks.  
- Golden Age in glorious overdrive.  
- Democracy with sabers.  
- The original union of unholy coordination.  
- Pre-Brexit partnership goals.

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### 2. What is the area of Poland in square kilometers?  
A. ~200,000  
B. ~312,700  
C. ~400,000  
D. ~500,000  
**Answer:** B. ~312,700 km²  

**Taglines:**  
- More than enough room for history and snow.  
- You’ll need a map—and good boots.  
- Size matters: Poland delivers.  
- Land of fields, forests, and frustrating borders.  
- Bigger than expected, just like its impact.

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### 3. When did Poland join NATO?  
A. 1991  
B. 1999  
C. 2004  
D. 2010  
**Answer:** B. 1999  

**Taglines:**  
- NATO got an upgrade.  
- Peace through intimidating alliances.  
- Poland: now with Article 5 protection.  
- From Warsaw Pact to Warsaw Pact–buster.  
- Because neutrality is for Switzerland.

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### 4. Which Polish scientist was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize?  
A. Marie Skłodowska-Curie  
B. Helena Rubinstein  
C. Wisława Szymborska  
D. Olga Tokarczuk  
**Answer:** A. Marie Skłodowska-Curie  

**Taglines:**  
- Double Nobel or bust.  
- Radioactive in talent and results.  
- Glow girl energy.  
- Discovered polonium—and possibly ambition.  
- Not just a lab coat.

---

### 5. What percentage of Poland’s land area is covered by forests?  
A. 15%  
B. 31%  
C. 45%  
D. 60%  
**Answer:** B. 31%  

**Taglines:**  
- Basically Narnia with border control.  
- One-third green, two-thirds historical angst.  
- Trees: the silent majority.  
- If it’s not forest, it’s a church.  
- Poland: breathing deep since forever.
