Detroit, located in the state of Michigan, is known as the "Motor City" for its historical role as a center of the American automobile industry. It was the home of major car manufacturers such as Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, and was once the fourth-largest city in the United States. Today, the city's economy is diverse and includes manufacturing, healthcare, and technology.
The city is also known for its rich cultural heritage, particularly in the areas of music and art. Detroit has produced many influential musicians such as Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and Eminem, and is known as the birthplace of techno music and the Motown sound. The Detroit Institute of Arts is one of the top art museums in the country and is home to over 65,000 works of art.
Despite the challenges it has faced in recent years, Detroit is a city of resilience and determination. It has a strong community spirit and a vibrant downtown area with a growing number of restaurants, shops and small businesses. The city is also working to revitalize its neighborhoods through community development projects and historic preservation. Detroit is a city with a rich history and a bright future, and is well worth a visit for anyone interested in American culture and industry.
51 Detroit Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- freep.com is the website of what paper that has been a Michigan institution since 1835?
Answer: The Detroit Free Press
- Serial Killer Ted Bundy is referenced in the song "Stay Wide Awake" by what famous Detroit rapper?
Answer: Eminem
- Located in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, the Museum of American Innovation is named after what famous industrialist?
Answer: Henry Ford
- "Mr. Tiger" was the nickname of what Hall of Fame right fielder who played 22 seasons for Detroit and is considered one of the greatest players ever to wear a Tigers uniform?
Answer: Al Kaline
- What island in the Detroit River shares its name with the Disney Princess who starred in a 1991 animated film set in France?
Answer: Belle Isle
- Set in Detroit, what 1990s sitcom featured real-life identical twins Tia and Tamera Mowry as siblings who were separated at birth and reunited as teenagers?
Answer: Sister, Sister
- For over 100 years, what popular soda brand with over 50 flavors (e.g., cotton candy, firework, jazzin' bluesberry) has been "a Michigan thing," with its headquarters in Detroit?
Answer: Faygo
- What record label based in Detroit featured acts such as Smokey Robinson & the Temptations? The record label's name doubles as a nickname for its home city.
Answer: Motown
- The city of Dearborn, Michigan, just outside of Detroit, is home to the country's largest community per capita who follow what religion?
Answer: Islam
- 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
- Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson was given what nickname after the leader of the evil Decepticons in Transformers?
Answer: Megatron
- Caw-caw! Featuring Brandon Lee as the resurrected Eric Draven, what 1994 movie had such a dark portrayal of inner-city Detroit that one critic wrote it "makes Gotham City look like the Emerald City"?
Answer: The Crow
- What Western Conference team did the Detroit Pistons defeat in 2004 to win their third and, to date, most recent NBA Championship?
Answer: Los Angeles Lakers
- In a 1987 film starring Peter Weller and Nancy Allen, the city of Detroit signs a deal with the company Omni Consumer Products to re-build parts of the city into a utopia and introduce a law enforcement robot ED-209. What is this film?
Answer: RoboCop
- Kirk Gibson hit a three-run home run off of San Diego’s Goose Gossage to clinch the 1984 World Series, and the last championship to this date, for what Detroit baseball franchise?
Answer: Detroit Tigers
- Led by superstar point guard Isaiah Thomas and physical center Bill Laimbeer, the 1980 - 1991 Detroit Pistons took on what alliterative moniker due to their rough-and-tumble play?
Answer: The Bad Boys
- What Mexican artist and husband of Frida Kahlo painted the Detroit Industry Murals that illustrate four walls of the Detroit Institute of Arts?
Answer: Diego Rivera
- What extremely successful nickname/town name did Motown founder Berry Gordy give to a retrofitted house he made his first studio in 1959? It is currently the name of the Motown museum in Detroit.
Answer: Hitsville, USA
- No relation to that "Little Lion Man" band, a Detroit school board member was the namesake of what Detroit high school whose t-shirt Eddie Murphy sported in "Beverly Hills Cop"?
Answer: Mumford High School
- Tom Selleck showed off his Detroit heritage with the signature Tigers cap sported donned during his Oahu investigations on what '80s detective show?
Answer: Magnum, P.I.
- Quicken Loans is the largest online retail mortgage lender in the U.S. but is not based in a high-tech hub such as Silicon Valley or New York. Rather, it is headquartered in the downtown financial district of what U.S. city?
Answer: Detroit
- Winner of the Best Original Song Oscar for "Lose Yourself," what 2002 film starring Eminem gets its name from a highway that passes near Detroit's northern boundary?
Answer: 8 Mile
- What “B” Isle in the Detroit River was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974? It shares its name with a Disney Princess of the 1990s?
Answer: Belle
- Since 2017, the Detroit Pistons have played their home games in an arena named for what "Pizza! Pizza!" chain?
Answer: Little Caesars
- Buick came into existence in 1903 as a brand manufactured by what large American automotive corporation, based in Detroit with a two-word name?
Answer: General Motors
- When General Motors tried to dispute Cadillac Fairview's name, they were told "Cadillac" was public domain since it's the surname of the founder of what guessable U.S. city?
Answer: Detroit
- In one of the most disputed calls in baseball history, which MLB umpire is said to have robbed Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga of his perfect game? The alliterative ump is still haunted by the missed call today, for which he has offered numerous tearful apologies since it occurred in 2010.
Answer: Jim Joyce
- More than three-quarters of residents of what Midwestern metropolis identify as Black—the highest percentage of any city in America, according to the 2020 Census?
Answer: Detroit
- Born and raised in Detroit, her days at the University Liggett School and the Seville Hotel (which her father ran) inspired some of her most memorable SNL characters. You know her as Roseanne Roseannadanna or Emily Litella, but what was the comedienne's real name?
Answer: Gilda Radner
- J.W. Westcott II, a boat that sails out of Detroit, is the only “floating zip code” or “floating post office” in the U.S. because it delivers what to ships while they’re at sea?
Answer: Mail
- What’s the name of Michigan’s NBA team that plays at Little Caesars Arena and has a mascot named Hooper?
Answer: Detroit Pistons
- Which United Shore Professional Baseball League team in Detroit has a double-U name inspired by a magical single-horned creature?
Answer: Utica Unicorns
- Which Michigan city west of Detroit that starts with L is home to Schoolcraft College, the Orsen Everitt House, and the Rosedale Gardens Historic District?
Answer: Livonia
- There are several bridges you can take to get from Michigan to Canada. Which bridge that connects Detroit to Windsor, Ontario is the busiest such international crossing in North America?
Answer: Ambassador
- Which public university in Detroit is home to the green and gold Warriors?
Answer: Wayne State
- Mainly set in Detroit, name the ‘90s ABC sitcom which starred comedian Tim Allen as an avid, yet destructively clumsy television host and handyman named Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor.
Answer: “Home Improvement”
- “Mr. Hockey” is the notable nickname of what Saskatchewan-born Hall of Famer who played most of his 26-year NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings?
Answer: Gordie Howe
- A type of regional pizza that is rectangular in shape and made with Wisconsin brick cheese is associated with what Midwestern city?
Answer: Detroit
- On Halloween in 1926, a certain 52-year-old man died from impacts of a ruptured appendix at Grace Hospital in Detroit. This man's spookily timed death was strictly coincidental, but during his life he was often suspected of otherworldly or spiritual connections. Who is this man?
Answer: Ehrich Weiss
- Detroit legend Diana Ross's 1980 studio album, "Diana," includes what hit single that was written to celebrate the LGBTQ community?
Answer: I'm Coming Out
- What is the one-word title of the Detroit-centric Pulitzer Prize-winning 2002 novel written by Jeffrey Eugenides that is largely a bildungsroman and family saga centered on the intersex protagonist Cal Stephanides?
Answer: Middlesex
- Between 1981 and 1994, what six-foot-one Detroit Pistons point guard played in 12 All-Star Games and was named NBA Finals MVP in 1990?
Answer: Isiah Thomas
- A large sculpture known as The Fist in Detroit's Hart Plaza honors what boxer, nicknamed The Brown Bomber, who defeated German boxer Max Schmeling in a highly publicized fight in 1938?
Answer: Joe Louis
- In 2017, the Red Wings moved their home games to Little Caesars Arena from a bygone arena named for what pugilist?
Answer: Joe Louis
- The Detroit Tigers last made the MLB playoffs in 2014, when they were swept in the divisional series by what AL East team?
Answer: Baltimore Orioles
- What Best Director winner for "The Hurt Locker" also directed the 2017 film "Detroit," about the 1967 riots that took place in the city?
Answer: Kathryn Bigelow
- Sanders Candy and Dessert Shops dates back to 1875 in Detroit. The shop gained popularity in part due to a single dessert, which featured an airy pastry shell, vanilla ice cream, and some warmer-than-average chocolate sauce. What is the name of this treat?
Answer: Hot fudge cream puff
- Detroit was founded in 1701 when a fort was established by a man with a last name that later became a car brand. This brand is the second oldest in the U.S. (after Buick). What is the brand?
Answer: Cadillac
- What two-level theatre was built in Detroit in 1927, features stylings of Spanish Revival architecture, is located across the street from Ford Field and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985?
Answer: Gem Theatre
- Christina Hendricks, Retta, and Mae Whitman play suburban Detroit moms who get into a life of crime on what NBC series that began airing in 2018?
Answer: Good Girls
- The squat, futuristic 1956 Predictor was the not-so-apt name of the final concept model produced by what Detroit luxury automaker?
Answer: Packard
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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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