Question 1

What Enrico Fermi invented?

Accepted Answer

Invented in 1942.

Question 2

For whom high heeled shoes were invented?

Accepted Answer

King Louis XIV was very short and didn't like looking up at people he spoke to, so he had a tall pair of shoes made for him.

Question 3

When was barb wire patented?

Accepted Answer

Joseph F. Glidden was born in New York on Jan. 18, 1812. He invented barbed wire in 1873 and was granted the patent on Nov. 24, 1874. After a three year battle over the patent, which he eventually won, Gidden became known as the "Father of Barbed Wire".

Question 4

Who is the only U.S. President to invent and patent something?

Accepted Answer

In 1849 Honest Abe invented a method to aid ships that got stuck on sandbars. He called it A Device for Buoying Vessels Over Shoals. It was never used.

Question 5

Who synthesized the first wholly artificial gene?

Accepted Answer

Hargobind Khorana

Question 6

What now-ubiquitous device was invented by Zenith engineer Eugene Polley in 1955?

Accepted Answer

The first wireless remote control for television was called Flashmatic. (Remember when you had to get up to change the channel?)

Question 7

What beverage was invented by Charles Alderton in 1885 in Waco, Texas?

Accepted Answer

The cherry-flavored cola made its debut at Morrison's Old Corner Drugstore.

Question 8

What furniture item was invented by California furniture designer Charles Prior Hall in 1968?

Accepted Answer

Waterbed

Question 9

What groovy item was invented by Englishman Edward Craven Walker in 1963?

Accepted Answer

Groovy, baby! Lava lamps, which were a fixture in every hip pad in the 1960s and 70s, featured a mixture of water and colored oil that created swirl patterns when heated by a light bulb.

Question 10

When was Milk Tray first introduced?

Accepted Answer

Milk Tray was introduced in 1915 in open boxes arranged on wooden trays. Today, with its distinctive purple and gold cartons and popularised by the "Man in Black" television adverts, its one of the most popular chocolate assortments.

Question 11

Who had an explosive idea and first patented DYNAMITE?

Accepted Answer

Alfred Noble patented dynamite in 1876. Nobel left $9 million in his will to be used as awards for people whose work benefit humanity - The Nobel Peace Prize etc.

Question 12

Until Victorian times, chocolate was thought of as a drink. When did the first chocolate bar appear?

Accepted Answer

No one knows for sure when the first chocolate bar appeared or even who made it, but an important event occurred in 1828. The Van Houten press was invented, which extracted cocoa butter from the bean - the same press that brought the Cadbury Brothers success with Cocoa Essence.

Question 13

Who invented Dynamite?

Accepted Answer

Alfred B. Nobel

Question 14

What device for new parents did Ann Moore invent in 1969?

Accepted Answer

Ann got the idea for the Snugli infant carrier from the traditional African baby carriers she observed while a volunteer for the Peace Corps in Africa.

Question 15

What piece of clothing was invented by French fashion designer Louis Reard in 1946?

Accepted Answer

The bikini, a two-piece swimsuit named for the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific, made its debut on July 5, 1946.

Question 16

When was the Raggedy Ann doll patented?

Accepted Answer

Johnny Gruelle patented the Raggedy Ann doll in 1915. The Raggedy Andy doll and the Raggedy Ann books came later.

Question 17

In which decade with the first transatlantic radio broadcast occur?

Accepted Answer

On December 12, 1901, a radio transmission received by Guglielmo Marconi resulted in the first transmission of a transatlantic wireless signal (Morse Code) from Poldhu, Cornwall, to St. John's, Newfoundland.

Question 18

The first hand glider was designed by...?

Accepted Answer

Leonardo DaVinci

Question 19

What type of system did Paul Nipkow, John Baird, and Charles Jenkins all invent?

Accepted Answer

All of the inventors mentioned invented an early mechanical television system.

Question 20

What item of apparel was invented by Ellery Chun, a Hawaiian clothing merchant, in 1931?

Accepted Answer

An Aloha shirt is a brightly colored tropical print shirt that is a popular souvenir of Hawaii.

Inventions Questions