I’ve been travelling in NZ this week on the AI Powered Agents tour this week. 

I’ve now taken the shuttle between Auckland and Wellington twice now and even though it’s already a quick flight (about 45 minutes in the air), it’s made quicker by two things:

1. Weirdly, and happily, the best coffee I’ve ever had on a plane (bravo, Air New Zealand!)

2. A rotating general knowledge quiz on the pull-down TV at the front of the plane.

I found myself staring at this quiz, mentally answering the questions (I love trivia!!) and quietly celebrating every correct answer before it was shown to me.

Before I knew it both times were landing - but this fixation on the rolling quiz above me made me remember a Facebook campaign well executed by Tara Bradbury from Active Agents in Hervey Bay.

She created a quiz called How Hervey Bay are you? which proved pretty irresistible to the locals trying to figure out how much they knew about their own local area, and by all accounts it went viral.

But creating quizzes including questions, right answers, wrong answers and a scoring system can be kind of time-consuming.

So it inspired me to see if we could create something with ChatGPT…

Prompt(s) of the day

I played with this one for a while to get the right blend of local and general knowledge; but to get the best results, obviously, inject the result with your own whimsy and nostalgia.

*Note to replace the bits in [brackets] with your suburb/area:

Create a quiz titled 'How Well Do You Know [Broadbeach, Gold Coast] consisting of 15 multiple-choice questions. The quiz should test participants' knowledge of the [Broadbeach] area of [the Gold Coast, Queensland], with a focus on local history and area-specific facts. Please ensure that the questions cover a range of historical aspects and landmarks in [Broadbeach]. Additionally, provide a scoring system based on the number of correct answers, and include options for different levels of historical knowledge, from novice to enthusiast. The goal is to help participants discover their level of familiarity with the history of [Broadbeach, Gold Coast].

The ChatGPT result I get from this prompt looks like this:

Welcome to the "How Well Do You Know Broadbeach, Gold Coast - History Edition?" quiz! This quiz consists of 15 multiple-choice questions designed to test your knowledge of the history and landmarks of Broadbeach, Gold Coast, Queensland. Choose the best answer for each question and see how well you know this beautiful area's past. At the end of the quiz, you'll receive a score that reflects your level of historical knowledge about Broadbeach.

Scoring System:

• 0-5 correct answers: Novice Historian

• 6-10 correct answers: Intermediate Historian

• 11-15 correct answers: Broadbeach History Enthusiast

Let's begin:

1. What was Broadbeach originally known for in the late 19th century? a) Farming b) Fishing c) Mining d) Tourism

2. Which year did the first hotel in Broadbeach, the Broadbeach Hotel, open its doors to the public? a) 1890 b) 1910 c) 1940 d) 1960

3. What is the name of the iconic shopping and dining precinct located in the heart of Broadbeach? a) Pacific Fair b) Oasis Shopping Centre c) Broadbeach Mall d) Beachside Bazaar

4. Which famous Australian outlaw was rumoured to have visited Broadbeach in the early 1900s? a) Ned Kelly b) Ben Hall c) Captain Thunderbolt d) Dan Morgan

5. What was the original purpose of the Gold Coast Exhibition Grounds, now known as Kurrawa Park? a) Horse racing b) A botanical garden c) An amusement park d) A military training ground

6. In what decade did the Kurrawa Surf Life Saving Club, one of the Gold Coast's oldest surf clubs, originate? a) 1920s b) 1950s c) 1970s d) 1990s

7. Which river forms the southern boundary of Broadbeach? a) Nerang River b) Tweed River c) Coomera River d) Tallebudgera Creek

8. What is the name of the annual music and arts festival held in Broadbeach since 2013? a) Broadbeach Blues Festival b) Gold Coast Music Festival c) Surfers Paradise Soundscape d) Broadbeach Arts Extravaganza

9. Which famous hotel and casino complex is located adjacent to Broadbeach and has been a significant landmark since the 1980s? a) Marriott Resort & Spa b) Palazzo Versace c) The Star Gold Coast d) Hilton Surfers Paradise

10. Which famous Australian singer-songwriter grew up in Broadbeach and attended Merrimac State High School? a) Keith Urban b) Kylie Minogue c) John Farnham d) Sia

11. What is the name of the historic lighthouse located near Broadbeach? a) Cape Byron Lighthouse b) Point Danger Lighthouse c) Cape Moreton Lighthouse d) Fingal Head Lighthouse

12. Which natural attraction, known for its cascading waterfalls and lush rainforest, is located just a short drive from Broadbeach? a) Springbrook National Park b) Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary c) Lamington National Park d) David Fleay Wildlife Park

13. In which decade did the Gold Coast Highway, a major road passing through Broadbeach, become a sealed and improved route? a) 1920s b) 1940s c) 1960s d) 1980s

14. Which international sporting event was hosted in Broadbeach during the year 2018? a) Olympic Games b) Commonwealth Games c) FIFA World Cup d) Rugby World Cup

15. What is the name of the prominent beachfront park and entertainment area in Broadbeach that hosts events and markets? a) Cascade Gardens b) Kurrawa Park c) Pratten Park d) Victoria Park

Good luck! After answering all the questions, tally your score to determine your level of knowledge about Broadbeach, Gold Coast history.

Obviously, this is a great start, but like I always say; it’s a first draft (and always fact check for accuracy!)

The other note I would leave here is that I think part of the reason Tara’s campaign was so successful was because of the quiz title “How Hervey Bay are you?” because it a) appeals to the “proud to be a local” feeling that most people have when they’ve lived in an area for a long time, and b) it demonstrates the curiosity aspect that many great hooks have.

Bonus Prompt

At the top of this post, I mentioned I did play around with this one a lot to get the result I wanted (I was about ten prompts in before I was happy!)

So I asked ChatGPT to combine my prompts to give me one prompt that would get the same result.

If you find yourself in this situation, here’s the prompt I use to combine prompts:

Could you please combine all of my requests about creating this quiz into one prompt to get to this end result quicker?

Those two lines are the gold that got me to the detailed prompt to create the quiz in one go instead of ten.

Happy Hunting 🚀