History trivia
Name a famous explorer
175 answers count for this history prompt. Here is what floats on top, what sits just below the waterline, and how far down the rest go.
Floating on top
These are the answers most people give first. They count, but they barely move you: 10 points each.
- Christopher Columbus
- Marco Polo
- Ferdinand Magellan
- Captain James Cook
- Vasco da Gama
Below the waterline
Second thoughts land here, at 25 points:
- Amerigo Vespucci
- Lewis and Clark
- Ernest Shackleton
- Roald Amundsen
- Robert Falcon Scott
- Edmund Hillary
- Tenzing Norgay
- Leif Erikson
- Ibn Battuta
- David Livingstone
- Walter Raleigh
- Francis Drake
- Henry Hudson
- John Cabot
- Jacques Cartier
- Hernan Cortes
- Francisco Pizarro
- Juan Ponce de Leon
- Abel Tasman
- Bartolomeu Dias
- Erik the Red
- Zheng He
- Neil Armstrong
- Hernando de Soto
The iceberg for “Name a famous explorer”
| Level | Accepted answers | Points |
|---|---|---|
| The Tip | 5 | 10 |
| Below the Surface | 24 | 25 |
| The Deep | 45 | 50 |
| The Abyss | 100 | 85 |
| Below the Iceberg | 1 | 100 |
The Deep holds 45 answers starting with A, B, D, F, G, H, I, J, L, M, P, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y and Z. The Abyss has 100 more, and one legendary answer waits below them all.
By the numbers
- 175 answers in total, 171 of them longer than one word.
- Shortest: “Faxian”. Longest: “Pierre Gaultier de La Verendrye”.
- J, A and F are the most common first letters; together they start 29% of the answers.
- 118 answers can be typed more than one way: “Ballard” counts as Robert Ballard.
Tips for a rarer answer
- More answers begin with J than with any other letter (23). Run through it first.
- Skip Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo and Ferdinand Magellan; everybody says them.
- Walk a dynasty in order: the rulers in the middle are rarely named.
Play history trivia nowSee all 175 answers A–Z
Words in this prompt
People also ask
- What are the most common answers to “Name a famous explorer”?
- Most people start with Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo, Ferdinand Magellan, Captain James Cook and Vasco da Gama. In Icillion they are worth 10 points each, the least of any level.
- How many answers does Icillion accept for “Name a famous explorer”?
- 175 in all: 5 on The Tip, 24 Below the Surface, 45 in The Deep, 100 in The Abyss, and a single legendary answer Below the Iceberg.
- What is the shortest answer to “Name a famous explorer”?
- The shortest accepted answer is “Faxian” and the longest is “Pierre Gaultier de La Verendrye”.
More history trivia
- Name a famous battle
- Name an English or British king or queen
- Name a writing system or script
- Name an archaeological site
- Name an ancient civilisation
- Name an ancient Egyptian deity
Something different: Name a Python library or framework · Name a gemstone · Name a form of energy
How deep does your knowledge go?
Seven prompts a day, twenty seconds each. Obvious answers float on the tip of the iceberg; rare ones sink all the way to the trench.
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