'Til He Knows Trivia Quiz

It seems fitting to begin this discussion with Columbus' discovery of the Americas, since it was made by accident and had such a profound impact on the world. Historians agree that a new scientific age was one of the outcomes of the Age of Discovery, as it led to new map making techniques, advances in navigation equipment and astronomy, and new views regarding natural history, as well as cultural exchange.

Remember that Columbus' original plan was to reach the Indies by sailing west - and it would have worked if the Americas hadn't been in the way. It seemed to take some time, however, for people to realize that it was a new land that Columbus had found. He obviously believed he had reached the Indies, as that is what he called his initial discovery. Three more voyages did not lead him to a different conclusion; he died sick and impoverished, still thinking that he had made it to Asia. It was not until the travels of Amerigo Vespucci just a few years later that people began to realize that an entirely new continent had been discovered.

As a result of Columbus' voyages, however, a massive exchange was set to take place. New food sources - like beans, corn, and potatoes - were taken to Europe, while livestock, pigs, horses, rice, and wheat were introduced to the Americas. It also led to a better understanding of geography, including the locations of the continents. Unfortunately, it also transmitted European diseases to Native Americans, who had no immunity to smallpox or measles. The world was never going to be the same - in a lot of different ways!

Prior to 1829 there had been a lot of experimentation related to making fire in a way easier than using flint and steel. There was an invention called the Prometheus match, which was a glass vial of sulphuric acid wrapped with paper. The match was lit by breaking the glass vial, which could, at times, be risky.

John Walker, an English chemist and pharmacist, had been trying for some time to think of an idea for an easy way to start a fire. Scientists knew how to start a fire with certain chemicals, however, the result was typically a sudden explosion. In addition, once the explosion and resulting fire had taken place, a method for transferring the fire to wood still had to be discovered.

The story that involves Walker's breakthrough has two versions; in one he had been experimenting with his chemicals, and one day accidentally scraped a coated stick across a brick on his hearth. In the other, he noticed an accumulation of chemicals on the end of one of his sticks. When he tried to scrape it off, it burst into flame. Anyway, both had the same result. By 1827 he was selling cardboard sticks coated with chemicals, which he called Congreves, at his store. The sticks would ignite when they struck sandpaper.

Walker refused to patent his invention, as he believed that his friction matches would benefit more people that way. There is no doubt that his discovery revolutionized everyday life, as it made starting a fire - a basic need for everyone - so much easier than had previously been the case.

Largely self-taught, Charles Goodyear heard about the discovery of gum elastic, or natural rubber, and began his quest to find items that could be manufactured with the new resource. His experiment failed when items made with the gum elastic were returned because they had rotted.

Goodyear then discovered India rubber and began experimenting with it; the problem was, however, that any item made with it ended up being too sticky to use. He thought that his experiments took him to the solution to the problem, however, he was not entirely successful, and the chemicals that he had used in his experiments left him in poor health. He had little money to even feed his family.

It was when Goodyear began to use sulphur as a chemical in his experiments that his luck changed. By accident some rubber that had been treated with the sulphur ended up on a heated stove. Surprisingly, it did not melt, but became a hard, waterproof substance. He found that heating his mixture with steam produced the best results.

Finally! Goodyear's discovery meant that the vulcanized rubber was a viable material that could be used for a wide variety of items, including tires, waterproof clothing, life jackets, and other industrial products.

Can you imagine undergoing any type of surgery or dental work without the use of anesthesia? Dentist William Morton was looking for a way to make common tooth extractions less painful. While attending Harvard Medical School he attended lectures about the use of ether, the byproduct of the hydration of ethylene, to make ethanol as an anesthesia. He also knew that some participants in ether and nitrous oxide parties (!) said that during the euphoria they had experienced they did not feel pain for injuries that had been sustained.

Morton didn't finish medical school, but went on to experiment - on himself and others - on the properties of ether. Using a device called an inhaler, which was made out of a glass flask with a mouthpiece, he found that inhaled ether made it possible for dentists and doctors to control how much was given to a patient in order to control his level of consciousness.

After successful public demonstrations, Morton was able to patent his product, called Letheon, named after the river in Hades, according to Greek mythology, that rendered those who drank from it forgetful. While there is some evidence that others used ether as an anesthesia before Morton, there is no question that his efforts popularized its use, and popularized the use of surgical techniques as well. The reduction of pain and suffering during surgery led to new discoveries and procedures in the field.

Early workers in the oil industry hated a substance that they called rod wax. Rod wax formed on their equipment during changes in temperatures which caused paraffin molecules in the oil to crystallize. It was potentially very damaging to their equipment and the waxy buildup would clog tubing and cause expensive operational problems.

What does a young chemist do when his last discovery is no longer relevant? Robert Chesebrough visited the oil fields in Pennsylvania to see if new materials might be created from the new industry. He found oil workers using the black rod wax to treat their burns and other skin problems. Chesebrough took the rod wax back to his lab and found a way to extract usable petroleum jelly from it, distilling it to create a purer, light-colored gel.

The result was a medicine that he called Vaseline; the name was derived from the German "wasser" for water, and the Greek "elaion" for oil. He received a patent on his Vaseline in 1872, and his Chesebrough Manufacturing Company produced it until 1955, when it was merged with another company.

Vaseline was an almost instant success. It was marketed as a topical ointment, and while it was not a cure-all, it was used for many aliments, such as diaper rash, toenail fungus, nosebleeds, burns, and cuts, as well as cosmetic purposes. It could even be used to protect metal parts from corrosion, and to bring out the shine on wood and leather products. Pets liked it too; it could be used to keep a dog's paws moist and was mixed with a hairball medicine for cats. Many of these uses for the product are still popular today; I wouldn't recommend, however, eating a teaspoon a day as Chesebrough did. He thought it could cure anything that ailed him!

When Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity, he was actually studying the relationship between the newly discovered X-rays and phosphorescence; what he wanted to do was to use sunlight to expose his photographic plates along with using uranium salt. Well, it was a cloudy day, so in disgust he put his plates and the uranium salts in a drawer separated by wooden crosses. When he later developed the plate, the crosses were exposed, and he deduced that it was the uranium salt that was responsible for the development.

Marie Curie, his student at the time, named what was discovered radioactivity, and, along with her husband and Becquerel, received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics for their study of radiation. The discovery led to an increase in scientific knowledge; it proved that atoms are not immutable and can undergo transformations, and that radioactive isotopes can be used in diagnostic imaging. In addition, it led to the development of nuclear reactors, which provide an important energy source, and radioactive carbon-14 dating which allows archaeologists to better assign a date to organic materials they discover.

Evidently a bacteriologist named Alexander Fleming had a filthy laboratory. After being away for some time for a well-earned vacation, he returned to his lab, only to notice some petri dishes with Staphylococcus bacteria cultures had mold growing on them. He noticed, however, that the space around the mold in one of the dishes had none of the bacteria, and deduced this was due to the mold secreting what he called Penicillium notatum. He took the time to write a paper about the discovery and name it, but was not sure if the discovery would have any worth.

It was not until 1940 that some chemists read Fleming's paper, collaborated with him, and made the bacteria-killing discovery into a medicine that could be tested on patients. By 1942 it was in use as an antibiotic. Finally! Doctors had access to a medicine that could cure infections that had once been fatal. And - more antibiotics were discovered as well. The Antibiotic Age had begun!

Engineer Percy Spencer was actually working on a new vaccuum tube called a magnetron that would be used to improve military radar during WWII. During his experiments he noticed that the magnetron caused a chocolate bar that was in his pocket to melt. He continued to experiment on eggs and other items, and deduced that the heat that was being generated was caused by microwave energy. He filed for a patent for his discovery in 1945.

Interestingly, the first microwave, called the 1161 Radarange, was 5'6" (168 cm) tall, and weighed 750 pounds (340 kg). It was introduced to the world in 1954; the first one made to fit on a countertop was not introduced until 1965, but eventually more people would have access to the new invention. The convenience of cooking and reheating food is a must for busy people these days!

Back in the day, when people heated their homes with coal, it was difficult to keep soot off the walls. The McVicker brothers had a company called Kutol Products that actually made a cleaner that could be rolled over the walls to remove the messy soot. This worked well until the introduction of vinyl wallpaper, which could be cleaned with water.

Kay Zufall, a member of the brothers' extended family, was a nursery school teacher, who found that her students enjoyed playing with the wallpaper cleaner. She believed it would provide a great motor-skill building activity for her students, and suggested that the family turn their thoughts in another direction. The cleaning agent was removed from the formula and replaced with coloring. A new toy that helped children to develop hand-eye coordination and social skills was born!

Wilson Greatbatch was actually trying to construct an instrument to record the heart's rhythm, when he discovered the pacemaker. He was completing the circuitry in the device when he accidentally tried to use a resistor that was the wrong size. What happened with his gadget was that it began to give off impulses similar to a beating heart.

Dr. Greatbatch had already been thinking that electrical stimulation could improve heart rhythm, and through experimentation found that his pacemaker could send electric shocks through the body which made the right muscles flex at the right time. From this mishap he came up with the idea of inserting a small device into the body to help stimulate the heartbeat. His 1958 experience on a dog was successful, and the pacemaker was patented by 1962. It has helped to improve the quality and length of life for millions of people throughout the world.