Daniel Craig or Rubik's Cube? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig came first, as he was born on the 2nd of March, 1968, in Chester, England. Mainly known for being 'Bond' in the 'James Bond' franchise, you might be surprised to learn he has been in at least 48 movies. His first role, in 1992, was in 'The Power of One', which was written by Bryce Courtney. Craig, who is 5'10" tall, was in 5 Bond movies in all, and was the first man to play the role who was under 6' tall.

The Rubik's Cube on the other hand, was patented in 1975 (although it was originally called 'The Magic Cube' and was renamed in 1980 to the 'Rubiks Cube'). It was developed by a Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture, who went by the name of Ernõ Rubik. (No guesses as to how the 1980 name came about then!) He originally created the cube to help his students understand three-dimensional spaces. Over 450 million cubes have been sold since they hit the market. Just as an aside, the people who can solve the Rubik's Cube super quickly are called 'speedcubers.'

Answer: The Barbie Doll

If you said the Barbie Doll, you were correct. The Barbie Doll was patented in 1961 but was first introduced on March 9, 1959 in New York, at the American International Toy Fair. The doll in question was 11 inches tall, had a blonde pony tail, and wore a black-and-white striped bathing suit. She cost US$3. Since then, Mattel, the manufacturer, has sold over a billion Barbie dolls, making these dolls Mattel's biggest and most profitable line.

The first crewed Moon Landing happened quite a bit later, on 20 July 1969. The three-man crew who made this historic feat consisted of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. 'Apollo 11', the name of the Spaceflight, took 76 hours to reach the moon from Cape Canaveral and the crew spent 21 hours, 36 minutes on the moon. Though it might have been 'one small step for man', it certainly wasn't one small cost. It is estimated that the cost of the mission in today's terms was around 200 bn US dollars.

Answer: Windscreen Wipers

Windscreen Wipers won this one by quite a margin. They were invented by an American lady by the name of Mary Anderson, who incidentally, didn't even drive. She got a patent on the idea in 1903 and by 1916 windscreen wipers were standard on most vehicles. Unfortunately, Mary's patent had run out by the time windscreen wipers were commonplace, and, as a result, it is believed Mary, like many inventors of her time, didn't make any profits from her idea.

Penicillin wasn't invented until 1928, some 25 years later. It came about when Scotsman, Dr Alexander Fleming, returned from a vacation to find mould growing in a Petri dish of Staphylococcus (bacteria that causes boils, and abscesses). He noticed that the bacteria had stopped growing when the mould was around it. This led him to the belief that the mould was most likely producing a chemical that could kill the bacteria. A lot of work still had to be done, but Penicillin really came into its own in WWII. Prior to this, the major killer in wars wasn't battle injuries, it was infection. As a case in point, in WWI, bacterial pneumonia accounted for 18% of deaths, but in WWII, primarily because of Penicillin, this figure dropped to less than 1 percent. Fleming's discovery went on to save millions more lives and he was acknowledged for this when he jointly won the 1945 'Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine' with co-scientists Ernst Boris Chain and Sir Howard Walter Florey.

Answer: Safety Pin

The wire Safety Pin was actually invented a whopping 65 years before WWI started. An American mechanic named Walter Hunt got the patent on the Safety Pin (originally called a 'dress pin') in 1849. He went on to sell the patent to 'W. R. Grace and Co.' for US$400 (which is around US$15,000 in today's terms). By 1914 (the start of WWI), 1.3 billion safety pins were being manufactured in US factories alone. Needless to say, W.R. Grace and Co. made millions from Hunt's invention. Luckily, this didn't worry Hunt overly. He just went on inventing, getting patents on another 2 dozen-odd items, including the fountain pen and the first workable sewing machine.

WWI, of course, started in 1914 and ended in 1918. Initially called 'The Great War', it involved 30 nations. 65 million men were directly involved in the fighting, having either volunteered or been conscripted to fight. Sadly, an estimated 16 million of these lost their lives in the conflict. In 1919, King George V decided to begin a new tradition to commemorate the lives lost. This was to be 'Remembrance Day' which would be held every year on the 11th of November. (The timing of the ending of hostilities was the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (1918), which is why Remembrance Day is on 11/11). At 11.00, a 1 or 2-min silence is still observed in all Commonwealth countries and many other countries as well.

'Armistice Day' and 'Veterans Day' are other names for 'Remembrance Day'.
The official ending of the war didn't occur, of course, until June 1919, when the 'Treaty of Versailles' was signed.

Answer: Tiger Woods

Well done if you got this, because they weren't that far apart. But Tiger Woods did pip the post by 4 years.

Tiger was born in 1975 in California, USA. His birth name was Eldrick Tont Woods, and his father, Earl Woods, was a Vietnam vet. There are few people who haven't heard of Tiger Woods, who is arguably one of the greatest golfers of all time. A child prodigy, he started playing golf at the age of just two. He took up professional golf when he was 21 and won his first major tournament the following year. In the 'Guiness Book of World Records', Woods achieved the 'Most Weeks Ranked No 1 in Golf,' with a mind blowing 683 weeks - from 15 June 1997 to 17 May 2014.

Sony Walkman cassette players were considered cutting-edge technology when they were released in 1979. They came into being because one of the co-founders of Sony wanted to listen to his own music - opera - on international flights. The prototypes were based on the recording devices reporters used, i.e. lightweight, and not much bigger than a cassette tape. Original Walkmans were made of aluminium but in later years were made of plastic. More than 200 million of these cassette-tape units were sold by Sony before they were discontinued in 2010. (Even though the Walkman cassette tape was discontinued, the name 'Walkman' continued, being used for CD players, transistor radios, mobile phones, etc).

In terms of a patent, a German named 'Andreas Pavel' actually patented a "portable small component for the hi-fidelity reproduction of recorded sound" in 1977. So he took exception to the 'Sony' Walkman. After a 20-odd year battle, Sony finally agreed Pavel deserved some compensation and settled out-of-court with Pavel for an undisclosed sum.

Answer: Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen was born in 1965, making him older than the invention of Bailey's Irish Cream, which started being sold in 1974.

Charlie Sheen was born 'Carlos Irwin Estévez' on 3 September 1965 and is the son of actor, Martin Sheen. Charlie is perhaps best known for his role in (and subsequent departure from) 'Two & A Half Men'. However Charlie Sheen has also starred in more than fifty movies, including such classics as 'Apocalypse Now', 'Platoon', 'Wall Street' and 'The Three Musketeers'.

Bailey's Irish Cream - a delicious concoction of Irish whisky, cream and cocoa - is actually manufactured in Ireland, however it was a team in London who were professionally hired to create Ireland's 'next big spirit export'. They created it in the early 70's but it took a few years to perfect the recipe to the product we know and love today, so it wasn't introduced to the market until 1974. (If you are wondering how the cream doesn't go off, its not - according to the manufacturer 'Diageo' - because of preservatives, but rather because the alcohol preserves the cream). Bailey's Irish Cream is now one of the top selling liqueurs worldwide, with approximately 82 million bottles sold annually. It comes in a number of different flavours now, and according to the official website, there is a Vegan version also available.

Answer: Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Lenin (whose birth name was Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov), came first in this case, being born in April 1870. The first glass of 'Coca Cola' was not sold until 1886.

Lenin was many things, a politician, a political theorist and a Russian revolutionary, but above all he is probably best known as the founder of the Russian Communist Party. He rose to prominence during the Russian Revolution of 1917, which saw the murder of Czar Nicholas II and his entire family. Their murders effectively closed the book on the 'Romanov' dynasty, a dynasty which been hundreds of years in the making. With the way clear and the monarchy dead, Lenin took over as leader of the Soviet Union, and made it the world's first communist state. He served in politics from 1917 to 1924, when he died at age 53. His last words were "Good job," which he said to his dog. His death was ruled as a result of severe atherosclerosis (essentially cardiovascular disease.)

Coca Cola was invented by Dr John Pemberton, a chemist. He sold his first glass of Coca Cola at Jacobs Pharmacy in Atlanta, USA in 1886. His original recipe did, in fact, contain actual cocaine, but this was removed in 1903. For those interested, Pepsi was also invented by a chemist, but in 1893. It was called 'Brad's Drink' until it was renamed to Pepsi in 1898.

Answer: Marilyn Monroe

Though they were only 7 years apart, Marilyn Monroe did indeed, come first.

Marilyn was born on 1 June 1926 in California in the US. Her birth name was 'Norma Jeane Mortenson' and her mother was Mexican. Though she married three times, she had no children. Marilyn was an actress, model and singer with a sexy husky voice, who quickly became an icon of the 1950's/60's. She starred in movies such as 'Some Like It Hot' and 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'. Her death, at age 36, was a shock to the nation and was the subject of much speculation, including suspicions that she was murdered. The official verdict though, was that she died as a result of an overdose of barbiturates.

The first 'Zippo', on the other hand, was produced in 1933 and patented in 1936. It and can be seen in the Zippo Museum in Bradford, USA. The inventor and founder was George Blaisdell, an American. Since the company commenced, more than 400 million lighters have been produced. Because of their craftsmanship and prestige, Zippo's were a particular favorite of Hollywood movie stars and American GI's. In fact, many GI's had their lighters engraved with personal mottos, and it is these that are highly sought after by collectors.

Answer: Bubble Wrap

Bubble Wrap is older than the dapper Mr Depp, by 6 years.

Bubble Wrap was another invention in history that came about by accident. It happened when American, Alfred Fielding, and his Swiss business partner, Marc Chavannes were trying to make a new kind of 3D wallpaper. They essentially sealed 2 shower curtains together and then ran them through a heat machine. When it came out, air bubbles had been trapped between the two. They patented the result in 1957 and then came up with... wait for it... 400 uses for it! (For the record, it was a flop as wallpaper.) In 1960 they found a good use for it - packaging material... and that's when the popping started!

Johnny Depp was born on June 9, 1963 in Kentucky, US. As well as being an actor, he is also a producer and musician. He started his acting career in 1984 with a role in 'Nightmare on Elm Street'. From then on, he took on many roles where his character was rather, shall we say, eccentric. This was very much evidenced by his portrayal of 'Captain Jack Sparrow' in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise, but also was evident in his parts in 'Edward Scissorhands,' 'Cry Baby,' 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' and 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory'. In 2012, Johnny Depp was listed as 'the world's highest-paid actor,' by the Guinness World Records. At that time he had earnings of US$75 million in the year.
(I have to say it, I love Johnny Depp and will watch whatever he's in).

Answer: Sinking of RMS Titanic

The sinking of the Titanic occurred 10 years before the BBC came into existence.

As most trivia buffs would know, the Titanic sank on 14/15 April, 1912 when she hit an iceberg just four days out from her very first voyage. Though not the deadliest maritime disaster of modern times, it is still considered to be one of the greatest maritime disasters in history, with more than 1500 lives lost. (The Wilhelm Gustloff takes out the deadliest of the 20th century. When this German Military Transport ship sank in 1945, 9,000 people were killed).

The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) wasn't around to televise the sinking of the Titanic, not being formed until October 1922. A group of 6 leading wireless manufacturers, including the famous 'Marconi*', formed the corporation, which had its first broadcast on November 14, 1922 in a studio in London. The BBC now produces both radio and television content and is still going strong with their annual income in 2020 being a staggering £4.943bn.

*Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor who went to the UK in 1896 because the Italians weren't interested in his work. In 1897, he sent the first radio message across open water on a device he'd developed. He called it a 'telegraph without wires' - and it was this we know today as a 'radio'. Without his radio being on the Titanic, it is acknowledged that many more lives would have been lost. In fact, Britain's Postmaster General was quoted as saying "Those who have been saved, have been saved through one man, Mr Marconi...and his marvelous invention." Sadly there was a Marconi employee on the Titanic who was still desperately calling for help on the radio, even as the ship sank. As an added note, Marconi was supposed to be on Titanic... he was offered a free ticket, but instead took the Lusitania three days earlier.