Uncommon Trivia · Puzzle #42
Daily Trivia Answers for November 5, 2026
Replay the puzzle below, then open the answer notes to see why the rarest answers score the most.
7 questions. 25 seconds each. One guess.
Name a correct answer few people would think of. The rarer it is, the more it scores.
- 10+Common
- 40+Uncommon
- 70+Rare
- 90+Legendary
About Puzzle #42
Puzzle #42 was the Uncommon Trivia daily puzzle for November 5, 2026. It asked seven category questions, and every accepted answer is scored by how rarely its English Wikipedia page is viewed: the most viewed answer in each category earns 10 points and the least viewed earns 100. Play it above first if you want to avoid spoilers, then open the answer notes to see the most common and the rarest answers.
Rarity here comes from one public number per answer: the median of its monthly English Wikipedia page views over six full months, currently April to September 2026. Fewer readers means a rarer answer and a higher score. This edition freezes its answers and scoring data; future refreshes do not change this snapshot. For reconstructed history, the original publication remains unverified. Rarity is not a judgment of how important an answer is, only of how rarely people look it up.
Show the answer notes (spoilers)
1. Name one of the eight Ivy League universities
8 accepted answers. Most viewed: Harvard (117k views a month), Columbia (66k), Yale (61k). Rarest: Brown (42k views a month), Dartmouth (45k), Cornell (45k).
Only one answer is worth 90 points or more (Legendary): Brown.
Why Brown is the rarest answer here: its English Wikipedia article gets a median of 42k views a month, the fewest in this category. Harvard, the most viewed answer, gets about 3 times as many (117k). A typical answer sits in the middle of the list: Penn gets 53k views a month and scores 49 points.
2. Name one of the 32 London boroughs
32 accepted answers. Most viewed: Westminster (19k views a month), Tower Hamlets (13k), Islington (11k). Rarest: Sutton (2.7k views a month), Kingston upon Thames (3k), Barking and Dagenham (3.3k).
4 answers are worth 90 points or more (Legendary): Sutton, Kingston upon Thames, Barking and Dagenham, and Ealing.
Why Sutton is the rarest answer here: its English Wikipedia article gets a median of 2.7k views a month, the fewest in this category. Westminster, the most viewed answer, gets about 7 times as many (19k). A typical answer sits in the middle of the list: Brent gets 5.2k views a month and scores 55 points.
3. Name one of the 12 cranial nerves
12 accepted answers. Most viewed: Vagus nerve (33k views a month), Trigeminal nerve (9.6k), Optic nerve (2.9k). Rarest: Abducens nerve (1.1k views a month), Vestibulocochlear nerve (1.3k), Trochlear nerve (1.4k).
2 answers are worth 90 points or more (Legendary): Abducens nerve and Vestibulocochlear nerve.
Why Abducens nerve is the rarest answer here: its English Wikipedia article gets a median of 1.1k views a month, the fewest in this category. Vagus nerve, the most viewed answer, gets about 30 times as many (33k). A typical answer sits in the middle of the list: Accessory nerve gets 1.8k views a month and scores 51 points.
4. Name a novel by Charles Dickens
15 accepted answers. Most viewed: A Tale of Two Cities (49k views a month), Great Expectations (44k), David Copperfield (35k). Rarest: Dombey and Son (3k views a month), Barnaby Rudge (3.3k), Martin Chuzzlewit (3.8k).
2 answers are worth 90 points or more (Legendary): Dombey and Son and Barnaby Rudge.
Why Dombey and Son is the rarest answer here: its English Wikipedia article gets a median of 3k views a month, the fewest in this category. A Tale of Two Cities, the most viewed answer, gets about 16 times as many (49k). A typical answer sits in the middle of the list: Our Mutual Friend gets 7.1k views a month and scores 55 points.
5. Name a president of the United States
45 accepted answers. Most viewed: Donald Trump (1.3M views a month), Barack Obama (489k), John F. Kennedy (409k). Rarest: James Monroe (53k views a month), Millard Fillmore (56k), Benjamin Harrison (59k).
6 answers are worth 90 points or more (Legendary): James Monroe, Millard Fillmore, Benjamin Harrison, Franklin Pierce, Rutherford B. Hayes, and John Tyler.
Why James Monroe is the rarest answer here: its English Wikipedia article gets a median of 53k views a month, the fewest in this category. Donald Trump, the most viewed answer, gets about 25 times as many (1.3M). A typical answer sits in the middle of the list: John Adams gets 146k views a month and scores 55 points.
6. Name a US state capital
50 accepted answers. Most viewed: Boston (119k views a month), Atlanta (104k), Nashville (76k). Rarest: Concord (9.8k views a month), Dover (10k), Pierre (10k).
6 answers are worth 90 points or more (Legendary): Concord, Dover, Pierre, Frankfort, Jefferson City, and Augusta.
Why Concord is the rarest answer here: its English Wikipedia article gets a median of 9.8k views a month, the fewest in this category. Boston, the most viewed answer, gets about 12 times as many (119k). A typical answer sits in the middle of the list: Jackson gets 27k views a month and scores 54 points.
7. Name a club that has won the English top-flight league title
24 accepted answers. Most viewed: Arsenal (399k views a month), Manchester United (392k), Manchester City (367k). Rarest: Huddersfield Town (23k views a month), Portsmouth (38k), Preston North End (40k).
3 answers are worth 90 points or more (Legendary): Huddersfield Town, Portsmouth, and Preston North End.
Why Huddersfield Town is the rarest answer here: its English Wikipedia article gets a median of 23k views a month, the fewest in this category. Arsenal, the most viewed answer, gets about 17 times as many (399k). A typical answer sits in the middle of the list: Leeds United gets 114k views a month and scores 53 points.
The rarest answers in the November 5, 2026 puzzle
Uncommon Trivia never collects the answers players type, so this is not a ranking of what people guessed. It ranks the accepted answers from the puzzle's seven categories by their monthly English Wikipedia views, lowest first, with the points each one scores in its own category. To keep one category from filling the list, it takes at most two answers from each.
Show the 10 rarest answers (spoilers)
- Abducens nerve — 12 cranial nerves · 1.1k views a month · 100 points
- Vestibulocochlear nerve — 12 cranial nerves · 1.3k views a month · 92 points
- Sutton — 32 London boroughs · 2.7k views a month · 100 points
- Kingston upon Thames — 32 London boroughs · 3k views a month · 97 points
- Dombey and Son — Novel by Charles Dickens · 3k views a month · 100 points
- Barnaby Rudge — Novel by Charles Dickens · 3.3k views a month · 94 points
- Concord — US state capital · 9.8k views a month · 100 points
- Dover — US state capital · 10k views a month · 98 points
- Huddersfield Town — Club that has won the English top-flight league title · 23k views a month · 100 points
- Portsmouth — Club that has won the English top-flight league title · 38k views a month · 96 points
Questions about Puzzle #42
What were the categories in Uncommon Trivia Puzzle #42?
The November 5, 2026 puzzle had seven categories: Eight Ivy League universities, 32 London boroughs, 12 cranial nerves, Novel by Charles Dickens, President of the United States, US state capital, and Club that has won the English top-flight league title.
Which answer in Puzzle #42 is the rarest?
Abducens nerve, an accepted answer to "Name one of the 12 cranial nerves". Its English Wikipedia article gets 1.1k views a month, the fewest of any accepted answer in this puzzle, so it scores 100 points.
How are answers scored in Uncommon Trivia?
Each accepted answer is ranked within its category by the median of its monthly English Wikipedia page views over six full months, currently April to September 2026. The most viewed answer earns 10 points, the least viewed earns 100, and the rest are spaced evenly in between by rank. A wrong answer, or running out of the 25 seconds, scores 0.
Can I still play Puzzle #42?
Yes. The board at the top of this page replays the November 5, 2026 puzzle with the same seven categories, scored with the current view counts. Archive games don't change your stats or your daily streak.
When does the next puzzle come out?
A new puzzle unlocks for everyone at 00:00 UTC each day. Puzzle #43 followed on November 6, 2026, and today's puzzle is always on the home page.
More to play: today's puzzle, every past puzzle, or unlimited mode with random categories.