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Quiz about What a Difference a Day Makes
Quiz about What a Difference a Day Makes

What a Difference a Day Makes Trivia Quiz


While Rome wasn't built in a day, there certainly were individual days that stand out as major discoveries/accomplishments in the history of science. Let's take a peek at a few of them!

A multiple-choice quiz by merylfederman. Estimated time: 3 mins.
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Time
3 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
350,598
Updated
Jan 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
9 / 10
Plays
4516
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: Guest 185 (8/10), Guest 73 (8/10), Megadyptes (8/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. October 14, 1947 - A man proves, officially, that humans can move faster than sound. This speed barrier had typically been thought deadly, impossible, or otherwise prohibitively difficult to pass. Who finally proved that the barrier was not there at all? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. November 24, 1859 - We go back in time for a controversial publication of a book of scientific theory by Charles Darwin. The theory would prove revolutionary for the field of biology but create many complications from the religious sphere. Which book is this, whose central theory would go on to be so controversial? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. September 3, 1928 - On this day, Alexander Fleming returns to his office to discover that mold-contaminated bacteria colonies had been killed, possibly by the mold. Over the next ten years or so this led to the development of the first antibiotic. Which antibiotic? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. July 16, 1945 - The Trinity test took place in the desert of New Mexico, where the first-ever nuclear fission bomb was detonated. Which leader of the Manhattan Project, upon seeing the blast, was reminded of a line of Hindu scripture, "I am become Death, destroyer of worlds"? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. April 14, 2003 - The human genome is fully mapped! What exactly was sequenced and mapped, here? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. November 8, 1895 - The electromagnetic waves known as X-rays were first observed on this date, leading to their discoverer getting the first ever Physics Nobel Prize award. Who was this scientist? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. May 24, 1844 - The first telegraph line from the Capitol in Washington, DC to Baltimore, Maryland was demonstrated, with the inventor of the line sending the message "What hath God wrought". Who, a co-inventor of a code that bears his name, sent this message? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. December 3, 1967 - Dr. Christiaan Barnard performs the first ever of which type of surgery, one that now saves thousands of people every year? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. October 4, 1957 - On this day, the first ever man-made satellite was launched into space, triggering an era of space exploration and travel. What was the name of this satellite, both a Cold-War salvo and a massive scientific step forward? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. April 12, 1955 - Dr. Jonas Salk announced to the world on this date that a vaccine now existed to prevent which disease, a childhood scourge that killed and disabled many, even affecting president Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the United States? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 27 2024 : Guest 185: 8/10
Mar 26 2024 : Guest 73: 8/10
Mar 26 2024 : Megadyptes: 8/10
Mar 24 2024 : maryhouse: 10/10
Mar 24 2024 : Eleanor18: 3/10
Mar 21 2024 : Wyde13: 10/10
Mar 21 2024 : Guest 98: 9/10
Mar 20 2024 : Guest 8: 9/10
Mar 16 2024 : Guest 93: 7/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. October 14, 1947 - A man proves, officially, that humans can move faster than sound. This speed barrier had typically been thought deadly, impossible, or otherwise prohibitively difficult to pass. Who finally proved that the barrier was not there at all?

Answer: Chuck Yeager

Chuck Yeager flew at the first officially recorded supersonic speeds in his X-1 jet, showing that the speed of sound was no insurmountable limit to human engineering. There were a few other attempts before this that were either not documented or official, but this was the clear, unambiguous first success in the attempt to surpass the speed of sound.
2. November 24, 1859 - We go back in time for a controversial publication of a book of scientific theory by Charles Darwin. The theory would prove revolutionary for the field of biology but create many complications from the religious sphere. Which book is this, whose central theory would go on to be so controversial?

Answer: On the Origin of Species

"On the Origin of Species" set forth the theory of evolution, which has been so difficult to reconcile with the Church doctrines of the origins of Earth and animals that it is still being debated today. Most famously, in 1925, a court case known as the Scopes Monkey Trial would result from this theory being taught in schools.
3. September 3, 1928 - On this day, Alexander Fleming returns to his office to discover that mold-contaminated bacteria colonies had been killed, possibly by the mold. Over the next ten years or so this led to the development of the first antibiotic. Which antibiotic?

Answer: Penicillin

Alexander Fleming famously discovered penicillin by accident after returning to his lab to find that mold can kill bacteria. It was a very good day for medical science, and one that he himself has said he did not expect when he woke up that day.
4. July 16, 1945 - The Trinity test took place in the desert of New Mexico, where the first-ever nuclear fission bomb was detonated. Which leader of the Manhattan Project, upon seeing the blast, was reminded of a line of Hindu scripture, "I am become Death, destroyer of worlds"?

Answer: Robert Oppenheimer

Robert Oppenheimer was the director of the Los Alamos facility and had this reaction to the Trinity testing. He famously was recorded as saying he was reminded of the Hindu text upon seeing the blast. The bombs tested here went on to become the prototypes for the bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
5. April 14, 2003 - The human genome is fully mapped! What exactly was sequenced and mapped, here?

Answer: DNA

The human genome project went right to the core of how we're built, DNA! Each gene was mapped and defined, with new goals being added all the while during the project, but with the first mission - the analysis of one complete reference genome - officially reaching completion on this date in 2003.
6. November 8, 1895 - The electromagnetic waves known as X-rays were first observed on this date, leading to their discoverer getting the first ever Physics Nobel Prize award. Who was this scientist?

Answer: Wilhelm Roentgen

Wilhelm Roentgen is credited with discovering X-rays, first called "Roentgen rays" after their discovery. He not only discovered this particular frequency spectrum of radiation, but also used it in ways we recognize now, to take pictures of bones!
7. May 24, 1844 - The first telegraph line from the Capitol in Washington, DC to Baltimore, Maryland was demonstrated, with the inventor of the line sending the message "What hath God wrought". Who, a co-inventor of a code that bears his name, sent this message?

Answer: Samuel Morse

Samuel Morse was an American inventor who based his telegraph on prototypical European models and co-invented the language used in these messages, the Morse code. The event in question was a public demonstration of the telegraph, and the quote "what hath God wrought" was picked in advance.
8. December 3, 1967 - Dr. Christiaan Barnard performs the first ever of which type of surgery, one that now saves thousands of people every year?

Answer: Heart Transplant

The human-to-human heart transplant was first performed by Dr. Christiaan Barnard in South Africa in 1967. The patient only lived slightly longer than two weeks after his surgery, succumbing to infection, most likely because of the immunosuppresants he was taking.
9. October 4, 1957 - On this day, the first ever man-made satellite was launched into space, triggering an era of space exploration and travel. What was the name of this satellite, both a Cold-War salvo and a massive scientific step forward?

Answer: Sputnik 1

Sputnik 1, the first ever man-made object to orbit the Earth, was launched by the Soviet Union, and was indeed a major turning point in both the Cold War and the pursuit of space exploration. The United States space program was spurred by this demonstration of Soviet space domination.
10. April 12, 1955 - Dr. Jonas Salk announced to the world on this date that a vaccine now existed to prevent which disease, a childhood scourge that killed and disabled many, even affecting president Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the United States?

Answer: Polio

Poliomyelitis was a childhood disease that in its more serious instances would cause paralysis. After the vaccine for it came out, it was largely eradicated, cut down from hundreds of thousands of cases to a few thousand per year over the past few decades.
Source: Author merylfederman

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor WesleyCrusher before going online.
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