General Knowledge
What's Older? Quiz
Sharks or trees? Oxford or the Aztecs? 50 questions where the answer is almost never what you think.
Sharks or trees? Oxford or the Aztecs? 50 questions where the answer is almost never what you think.
Sharks are older than trees by roughly 65 million years. Let that sink in. Sharks have been swimming Earth's oceans for about 450 million years, while the first trees didn't appear until around 385 million years ago. This quiz is packed with 50 comparisons like that — pairs of things where the older one is almost never the one you'd guess.
Each round pulls 10 randomized questions from a pool of 50. You'll compare everything from ancient species to modern inventions, historical institutions to everyday objects. Every answer comes with a detailed explanation so you'll learn something surprising even when you get it wrong — which, fair warning, will be often.
You'll explore mind-bending overlaps in history, nature, and technology. Discover why Cleopatra lived closer to the Moon landing than to the building of the pyramids, why dinosaurs never saw grass, and how France was still using the guillotine the same year Star Wars hit theaters. Every question is designed to make you see the world's timeline differently.
Sharks are older than trees by approximately 65 million years. Sharks first appeared around 450 million years ago during the Late Ordovician period, while the earliest trees evolved around 385 million years ago in the Late Devonian period. Sharks are also older than Saturn's rings, which scientists now believe may be only 100 to 400 million years old.
Some things are far older than most people realize. Chewing gum dates back over 9,000 years (birch bark tar). Vending machines existed in ancient Egypt. Oxford University started teaching in 1096, over 300 years before the Aztec Empire. Nintendo was founded the same year the Eiffel Tower was completed (1889). Horseshoe crabs are 450 million years old, predating even the dinosaurs.
Many things we take for granted are shockingly recent. Sliced bread wasn't sold until 1928. Swiss women didn't get full voting rights in every canton until 1991. Mauritania didn't criminalize slavery until 2007. The can opener was invented 48 years after canned food. Pluto was discovered, classified as a planet, and reclassified — all within a single human lifetime.
Last updated: March 2026