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Quiz about Doomed I tell you  Doomed
Quiz about Doomed I tell you  Doomed

Doomed, I tell you! Doomed! Trivia Quiz


Instead of the actual outcome recorded, I imagine the following ten inventors and pioneers would have sat, quietly, with their heads in their hands, and uttered something along the lines of "From the word 'go', things certainly seemed doomed."

A multiple-choice quiz by lmoodie101. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
lmoodie101
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
350,220
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
620
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 175 (5/10), Guest 2 (9/10), PurpleComet (7/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Medical engineer and chemist, Thomas Midgely Jr, was part of a team that developed tetraethyllead (known as TEL - an additive used in gasoline) and chlorofluorcarbons (CFC's - one of the damaging elements of ozone). However, after contracting polio in later life, he invented a complicated system of pulleys and ropes to assist movement while bedridden. Can you guess the outcome? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. After carrying out numerous tests with dummies dropped from the fifth floor of his apartment building, Frantz Reichelt, an Austrian born French tailor, died when he jumped from the first platform of the Eiffel Tower in February 1912. He was convinced that his invention would save the lives of aviators, should they ever be forced to leave the aircraft during flight. For what invention did he pay the ultimate price? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. William Bullock was an American inventor, born in 1813. His invention, the rotary printing press, revolutionised the printing industry, due to its speed and versatility. However, after an unfortunate incident, Bullock died due to an injury sustained while making an adjustment the press. What was the injury that Bullock sustained? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Marie Curie, the French-Polish physicist and chemist, pioneered research in radioactivity. She is the only person to have won two Nobel prizes in different sciences (for Physics in 1903, and Chemistry in 1911). She discovered two elements, Polonium and Radium, developed a technique for isolating radioactive isotopes (isotopes are atoms with the same atomic number, but different atomic masses, due to the nucleus having the same number of protons, but a different number of neutrons) and a theory of radioactivity. How did this remarkable lady die? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Valerian Ivanovich Abakovsky was the inventor of a high speed railcar, the "Aerowagon". It was fitted with an aeroplane engine, and propeller traction. Designed to transport Soviet officials, the railcar was tested during a maiden voyage between Moscow and Tula. The passengers arrived safely, but on its return trip, what happened to the "Aerowagon", resulting in the death of all aboard? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Otto Lilienthal was a German pioneer of human aviation known as the "Glider King" and later as the "Father of Flight" . He was the first person to make numerous successful flights in a glider. He convinced scientists and the nation that human flying machines were indeed a possibility. In August 1896, he returned to one of his favourite places to undertake another routine flight. The weather was ideal. His first flight was successful, carrying him 350 meters, but during his second flight, the engine stalled. He attempted to correct the problem, by thrusting his body weight backwards. What caused his death? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. J. G. Parry-Thomas was chief engineer at Leyland Motors and successfully applied for and received a number of patents for automotive and electrical engineering. While trying to regain his land speed record at Pendine Sands in 1927, one of the chains that drove his much loved motor vehicle, Babs, came loose while he was travelling at 270km per hour. What was the outcome of this mechanical failure? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Invented as a severe and lethal punishment by Li Si of the Qin Dynasty (221-208BC), it involved 5 inhumane and cruel forms of disfigurement, the final phase leading to a certain death. What was the name given to this method of execution, to which Li Si himself succumbed? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Henry Winstanley, a British engineer, constructed the first Eddystone Lighthouse in 1696. This octagonal wooden building was first lit in 1698. Winstanley's lighthouse lasted until the Great Storm of 1703. Winstanley and five others were in the lighthouse making adjustments to the structure. What happened to Winstanley and his crew? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. In the 1930s, Robert Cornish, researcher at Berkeley, California thought he had discovered how to raise the dead, however his experiments on fox terrier dogs caused such outrage he was asked to leave. By 1947, after continuing work at home, Cornish announced he was ready to attempt a resurrection on a human. Who volunteered? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Medical engineer and chemist, Thomas Midgely Jr, was part of a team that developed tetraethyllead (known as TEL - an additive used in gasoline) and chlorofluorcarbons (CFC's - one of the damaging elements of ozone). However, after contracting polio in later life, he invented a complicated system of pulleys and ropes to assist movement while bedridden. Can you guess the outcome?

Answer: He was strangled when he became entangled in the ropes

Midgely Jr contracted severe polio in 1940 which left him bedridden at the age of 50, and was strangled by the very complex system of pulleys and ropes, which he invented to assist others when moving him. He was 55 when he died.
2. After carrying out numerous tests with dummies dropped from the fifth floor of his apartment building, Frantz Reichelt, an Austrian born French tailor, died when he jumped from the first platform of the Eiffel Tower in February 1912. He was convinced that his invention would save the lives of aviators, should they ever be forced to leave the aircraft during flight. For what invention did he pay the ultimate price?

Answer: A parachute coat

Reichelt was convinced that his parachute coat, intended to convert to a parachute if aviators were forced to leave the aircraft mid flight, would save lives. He was granted permission to conduct his experiment from the Eiffel Tower using dummies, but on arrival, declared that he was to jump himself.

Despite attempts to dissuade him, he jumped. The parachute failed to open, and he fell to his death.
3. William Bullock was an American inventor, born in 1813. His invention, the rotary printing press, revolutionised the printing industry, due to its speed and versatility. However, after an unfortunate incident, Bullock died due to an injury sustained while making an adjustment the press. What was the injury that Bullock sustained?

Answer: His leg was crushed in the machine, causing gangrene, which killed him

Bullock also designed a cotton and hay press used for baling during the harvest season, a seed planter enabling farmers to sow multiple rows of seed simultaneously, and a lathe cutting machine. He also invented a grain drill (used for precise placement of seed and then covering them), which won him a prize from the Franklin Institute in 1849.
4. Marie Curie, the French-Polish physicist and chemist, pioneered research in radioactivity. She is the only person to have won two Nobel prizes in different sciences (for Physics in 1903, and Chemistry in 1911). She discovered two elements, Polonium and Radium, developed a technique for isolating radioactive isotopes (isotopes are atoms with the same atomic number, but different atomic masses, due to the nucleus having the same number of protons, but a different number of neutrons) and a theory of radioactivity. How did this remarkable lady die?

Answer: Long term exposure to radiation

Marie Curie was a pioneer. Unfortunately, the protective clothing and safety equipment that we now know to be necessary when working with radiation were not known at the time, and as a result of prolonged exposure, she died of aplastic anaemia in 1934, at the age of 66. Numerous statues have been erected in her honour, and her laboratory can be viewed at the Musée Curie.

However, her papers (even her recipe book) are still considered too dangerous to handle, and are kept in lead boxes.
5. Valerian Ivanovich Abakovsky was the inventor of a high speed railcar, the "Aerowagon". It was fitted with an aeroplane engine, and propeller traction. Designed to transport Soviet officials, the railcar was tested during a maiden voyage between Moscow and Tula. The passengers arrived safely, but on its return trip, what happened to the "Aerowagon", resulting in the death of all aboard?

Answer: The railcar derailed

Abakovsky was only 25 when the "Aerowagon" derailment caused the death of all 6 passengers aboard. All six victims were buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.
6. Otto Lilienthal was a German pioneer of human aviation known as the "Glider King" and later as the "Father of Flight" . He was the first person to make numerous successful flights in a glider. He convinced scientists and the nation that human flying machines were indeed a possibility. In August 1896, he returned to one of his favourite places to undertake another routine flight. The weather was ideal. His first flight was successful, carrying him 350 meters, but during his second flight, the engine stalled. He attempted to correct the problem, by thrusting his body weight backwards. What caused his death?

Answer: He slipped from the glider, and fell 17 meters

Lilienthal was transported to a physician who diagnosed him with a fracture of the third cervical vertebra. He was then taken by rail to a surgeon, but unfortunately died 36 hours after the accident. Cause of death - a fracture of the spine. His final words were: "Sacrifices must be made".
7. J. G. Parry-Thomas was chief engineer at Leyland Motors and successfully applied for and received a number of patents for automotive and electrical engineering. While trying to regain his land speed record at Pendine Sands in 1927, one of the chains that drove his much loved motor vehicle, Babs, came loose while he was travelling at 270km per hour. What was the outcome of this mechanical failure?

Answer: Severe head injury, causing his death

On the day of the accident, Parry-Thomas, who was suffering from flu at the time, was offered a good luck charm by a young girl. Declining her gesture, he said, "I will put my faith in my maker". Babs, his Liberty engine car, used chains to connect the engine to the wheels, and the high hood forced Parry-Thomas him to drive the car with his head tilted to the right. During his last attempt to regain the land speed record, the right hand side chain snapped and caused a fatal head injury.
8. Invented as a severe and lethal punishment by Li Si of the Qin Dynasty (221-208BC), it involved 5 inhumane and cruel forms of disfigurement, the final phase leading to a certain death. What was the name given to this method of execution, to which Li Si himself succumbed?

Answer: The Five Pains

Due to political shenanigans in 208BC, Li Si was ordered executed by means of "The Five Pains". I won't go into detail here, but you may want to do your own research!
9. Henry Winstanley, a British engineer, constructed the first Eddystone Lighthouse in 1696. This octagonal wooden building was first lit in 1698. Winstanley's lighthouse lasted until the Great Storm of 1703. Winstanley and five others were in the lighthouse making adjustments to the structure. What happened to Winstanley and his crew?

Answer: They disappeared without a trace

Eddystone Lighthouse is situated on the Eddystone rocks, 14km from Rame Head in the United Kingdom. Winstanley's structure was originally an octagonal wooden lighthouse, and survived its first winter, but a decision was taken to alter the lighthouse to a dodecagonal structure (from 8 sides to 12).

It was during these modifications that the Great Storm of 1703 struck, presumably killing Winstanley and his crew of five. Their remains were never found.
10. In the 1930s, Robert Cornish, researcher at Berkeley, California thought he had discovered how to raise the dead, however his experiments on fox terrier dogs caused such outrage he was asked to leave. By 1947, after continuing work at home, Cornish announced he was ready to attempt a resurrection on a human. Who volunteered?

Answer: A man on death row

Cornish's method of reversing death involved asphyxiating the fox terriers and leaving them for ten minutes, and then restoring them back to life by swinging their bodies up and down, while administrating a mixture of anticoagulants and adrenalin. Two out of four of the dogs, all named Lazarus, survived and he considered them successes. That may well depend on one's personal definition of success! The resuscitated dogs were blind, brain damaged, and supposedly caused terror in other dogs. After being shown the door at Berkeley, Cornish set up a new laboratory in a tin shed by the side of his house and, ignoring complaints from neighbours about mystery fumes, he went on to develop a home-made heart and lung machine, fashioned from radiator tubing, parts of a vacuum cleaner and 60,000 shoe lace eyes.

When he asked for a human guinea pig to come forward, Thomas McMonigle, on death row, volunteered. The state of California refused, worried that if he survived they would have to let him go - a very optimistic person made that decision.

At this point in his career, Cornish changed direction and went on to spend the rest of his life selling a toothpaste he had invented!
Source: Author lmoodie101

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