Oklahoma, located in the South Central United States, is known for its rich Native American culture, diverse landscapes, and contributions to American history. The state's capital is Oklahoma City and the largest city is also Oklahoma City. Oklahoma was admitted to the Union as the 46th state in 1907. The state has a rich history, from the Native American tribes that have called it home for centuries, to the arrival of European settlers in the late 19th century.
Oklahoma is home to many notable landmarks, such as the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, the Philbrook Museum of Art and the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. The state is also known for its contributions to American music, particularly country music, and many famous country music singers and songwriters are from Oklahoma. The state is also rich in natural resources, particularly oil and natural gas, and is one of the largest oil-producing states in the country.
Trivia questions about Oklahoma can include questions about its history, geography, culture, and famous residents. This article will test your knowledge of the state's past and present, from its role in the American West to its contributions to American culture. Get ready to learn more about Oklahoma and see how well you fare against these challenging trivia questions. Whether you're a resident of the state or just a curious trivia buff, this article is sure to be an engaging and informative read.
1. Maria Tallchief, a member of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, pirouetted her way to fame as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and in the title role of The Firebird. Working with her mentor and husband, George Balanchine, Tallchief is considered America’s first superstar in what art form?
Answer: Ballet
2. Technically classified as a domestic terrorist rather than a serial killer, Timothy James McVeigh was an American who killed 168 people in what city?
Answer: Oklahoma City
3. Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt star as tornado chasers in the 1996 film "Twister", set in what state, also called the "Sooner State"?
Answer: Oklahoma
4. What Chiricahua Apache leader led raids against the U.S. Army in the Southwest until his final surrender in 1886? Today, this leader's grave can be found on the army base at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Answer: Geronimo
5. "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" and "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top" are songs from what classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical named after a U.S. state?
Answer: Oklahoma!
6. Which 1983 film (based on the book of the same name by S.E. Hinton) about rival gangs in Oklahoma in the ‘60s was chock full of young stars including Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, and Emilio Estevez?
Answer: The Outsiders
7. 2021’s House Bill 1775 came sweepin’ down the plain to regulate the discussion of race and gender in the public school classrooms of what state where the Osage murders in David Grann’s book “Killers of the Flower Moon” took place?
Answer: Oklahoma
8. In 1985, Wilma Mankiller became the first woman to be elected chief of what U.S. tribal nation based in Oklahoma? With over 400,000 enrolled members, it's the second-largest tribal nation in the U.S. after the Navajo.
Answer: Cherokee Nation
9. Born to Egyptian Muslim parents in Norman, Oklahoma, what broadcast journalist who originally joined NBC News in 1998 has risen all the way to co-anchoring “Today” each morning with Savannah Guthrie?
Answer: Hoda Kotb
10. Founded in 1901 and named for a French novelist, what Oklahoma city in Choctaw County is known for being the winter quarters for many circus companies and performers? The city's cemetery features Showmen's Rest where many circus and rodeo performers are laid to rest.
Answer: Hugo
11. A scissor-tailed flycatcher and the year 1907, the year in which it became a state, appear on the quarter coin that commemorates what panhandled U.S. state?
Answer: Oklahoma
12. What Oklahoma city in Payne County is considered the Pipeline Crossroads of the World due to its status as a price settlement point for the New York Mercantile Exchange?
Answer: Cushing
13. The "Territory of Arkansaw", was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1819, until June 15, 1836. Most of this territory naturally became Arkansas, but the remainder lives on in what current state?
Answer: Oklahoma
14. The Arkansas Territory of 1819 contained land that includes today's Arkansas and parts of what other state?
Answer: Oklahoma
15. In the 2004 Sugar Bowl, LSU won its second national championship title by defeating Jason White, the star quarterback for what school?
Answer: Oklahoma
16. The Dust Bowl, a period of severe drought in the 1930s that devastated farmers, started in what state, before spreading east?
Answer: Oklahoma
17. What group of settlers to what is now the U.S. state of Oklahoma got their name from the way they entered the territory and staked their claims before the official start of the 1889 Land Rush?
Answer: Sooners
18. Which lake in the Cookson Hills is one of the state’s deepest lakes and known as Oklahoma’s “clear water wonderland?”
Answer: Tenkiller Ferry Lake
19. David Boren was the last Democrat to serve as Senator from Oklahoma. Boren resigned from office in 1994 when he took a position as President of what university?
Answer: University of Oklahoma
20. What show, reportedly the first to be filmed entirely in Oklahoma and sporting a mostly Native American cast, has released two seasons on Hulu?
Answer: Reservation Dogs
21. The annual football match-up between the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas is known by what name, referring to the river that separates the two states?
Answer: Red River Showdown
22. The NBA's SuperSonics played their last home game in Seattle in 2008, after which they moved to Oklahoma City to become what team?
Answer: Thunder
23. In 1985, influential politician and activist Wilma Mankiller became the first woman to be elected Principal Chief of what tribal nation, one of the largest in the U.S., headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma?
Answer: Cherokee Nation
24. For its 2024 sequel, only the letter “S” was added to the original title of what 1996 film starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton as storm chasers who get caught in the midst of a tornado outbreak in Oklahoma?
Answer: Twister
25. Sam Walton was born not in Arkansas, but in nearby Oklahoma in 1918. The town where he was born has a regal-and-maritime-sounding name. What is that name?
Answer: Kingfisher
26. Extending beyond football, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State face off in a rivalry series known by what chaotic word that appeared in the title of James Blunt's first album?
Answer: Bedlam
27. If you’re a Food Network fan on a trip to Oklahoma, you might visit Ree Drummond’s mercantile in Pawhuska. She’s better known by which nickname that’s also the title of her cooking show?
Answer: The Pioneer Woman
28. Commonly nicknamed “Black Wall Street” due to the thriving African American business within the area, what district in Tulsa, Oklahoma was burned to the ground during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre?
Answer: Greenwood
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