Historical Inventions Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 52
Which industry did Lewis Temple help improve in New England during the 1800s by inventing a toggle harpoon?
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whaling
In which country were the first rockets used as early as 1232?
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china
What invention by Ben Franklin in the 1780s was a relief for people with vision problems?
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bifocals
What was invented by Hippolyte Mege-Mouries in 1869 to satisfy an 'imperial' desire for a butter substitute?
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margarine
Leonardo da Vinci is credited with designing what early type of device intended to break falls?
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parachute
What electric device was first marketed by Schick in 1931?
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razor
Who invented the gin in the 1790s that significantly boosted the fortunes of cotton planters?
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eli whitney
Who developed a new Navy model of his 6-shooter in 1850?
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samuel colt
Which country is credited with the invention of paper around 105 A.D.?
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china
Which country is credited with inventing gunpowder as well as soy sauce?
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china
What dental tool did a Chinese dentist invent in 1498 that had modern bristles?
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toothbrush
What butter substitute was invented by Hippolyte Mege-Mouries of France in 1869 using beef fat?
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margarine
What device, invented by C. Latham Sholes, is often mistakenly attributed to Olivetti, Smith, or Corona?
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typewriter
What instrument, invented by Thomas Allbutt in 1867, reduced the registration time from 20 minutes to 5 minutes?
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thermometer
What device did Newton design that used mirrors in addition to lenses?
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telescope
Who invented the first earphone in 1876?
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alexander graham bell
What invention did Antonio Meucci create 5 years before Alexander Graham Bell, according to the Italian version of Encarta?
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telephone
Which echolocation device was invented by French physicist Paul Langevin too late for use during WWI?
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sonar
What adjective is commonly associated with Gustave Pasch's match and Walter Hunt's pin?
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safety
What rock-launching device was created by workers following orders from Dionysius to invent new weapons?
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catapult
What was installed in Gimbel's Philadelphia store in 1901 as the first one built by the Otis Elevator Co.?
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escalator
Which individual's samples did Thomas Hancock study before winning a British patent for the vulcanization of rubber?
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charles goodyear
What plant did Eli Whitney's gin mechanically separate seeds from?
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cotton
What type of can did Richard Nixon's friend Robert Abplanalp invent the valve for?
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aerosol can
What company introduced the first stick-on Band-Aids in 1921?
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johnson & johnson
What navigational instrument did the Chinese create by the 12th century using a magnetized needle?
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compass
What device was Thomas Edison aiming to improve with his 1876 invention of the carbon transmitter?
Medium
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telephone
Which telegraph company was Edison's stock printer invented for?
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western union
What device did Thomas Jefferson invent to measure the distance of his walks?
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pedometer
What innovation did Pi Sheng create out of clay in 11th century China, which Gutenberg later improved using metal around 1445?
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movable type
Which U.S. inventor launched a steam-driven paddle-wheel boat on the Seine in 1802?
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robert fulton
Who patented roll film for cameras in 1884?
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george eastman
Which religious community known for their furniture design invented the clothespin?
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shakers
What invention credited to Richard II's Queen Anne allowed women to ride horses?
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side saddle
Who surprised people in 1877 by playing back his recitation of 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'?
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thomas edison
What element did English inventor Peter Durand patent the use of in food storage cans in 1810?
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tin
Who patented vulcanized rubber in the United States a year after Thomas Hancock did in England?
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charles goodyear
In which country were both the turbojet airplane and the diesel engine invented?
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germany
In 1783, Jacques Charles took the first flight using a balloon filled with which gas, identified by atomic number 1?
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hydrogen
What invention marks the division between prehistoric times and historic times?
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writing
Who patented the foot treadle for the sewing machine in the 1850s?
Hard
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isaac singer
In which country was the aqua-lung invented in 1943?
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france
What type of vessel did Robert Fulton refer to as a 'plunging boat' after becoming interested in its development while in Paris?
Hard
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submarine
What substance did bricklayer Joseph Aspdin invent the 'Portland' variety of?
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cement
What grain was used to make the Kellogg brothers' first flakes, instead of corn?
Hard
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wheat
What type of craft did Ezra Lee pilot in David Bushnell's 'Turtle' during the Revolutionary War?
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submarine
Who invented a safety mechanism that prevents an elevator car from falling if its cable breaks?
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elisha otis
What metal items, used to protect horse hooves, became commonplace during the Middle Ages but were preceded by ornamental hipposandals in ancient times?
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horseshoes
What did Sequoya complete the invention of by 1821?
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alphabet
Which French mathematician is credited with inventing the first mechanical adding machine in 1642?
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blaise pascal
Which country is the origin of the inventors of the miner's safety lamp and the lawn mower?
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england
Which office machine, first sold by A.B. Dick on March 17, 1887, shares its debut date with St. Patrick's Day?
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mimeograph
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