Trivia quizzes are a great way to learn new things. Trivia quizzes are fun and entertaining, and people of all ages love to play them, but when you take a general knowledge test, you are not just having a good time, you are also educating yourself.
All animals, and humans are included in this, learn best through play, and indeed, all mammals have a tendency to entertain themselves through playing and competing with each other starting from the earliest age, thus gaining valuable skills that will be useful to them in the future. Trivia quizzes are just another form of play used to gain knowledge.
Many universities and schools, even primary schools and kindergartens, use trivia quizzes to help their students focus on the subject material, and add a sense of achievement and competition to what would otherwise be a boring routine.
Many times they employ trivia games that are reminiscent of famous general knowledge TV game shows like Jeopardy or who wants to be a millionaire, which have more or less branded their own forms of trivia quizzes, and everyone can easily step into the game since the rules and format are so well known.
Some schools even use wireless buzzer buttons and display the trivia questions and answers on a large screen, making the whole experience similar to an online trivia game.
In all likelihood, trivia quizzes in one form or another have been used for teaching since time immemorial.
Perhaps even cave men had their own version of Jeopardy.