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Quiz about Sounds of the Century
Quiz about Sounds of the Century

Sounds of the Century Trivia Quiz


Many sounds of the 20th century are no longer heard in the 21st century. Can you use the photo clues to identify the sounds that were once heard in the USA, but have disappeared at this point?

A photo quiz by Trivia_Fan54. Estimated time: 3 mins.
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Author
Trivia_Fan54
Time
3 mins
Type
Photo Quiz
Quiz #
408,471
Updated
Mar 12 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
9 / 10
Plays
824
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 173 (7/10), zeroapoc (9/10), LauraMcC (9/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. During much of the 20th century, drivers would drive over a hose, or air line laid by the pumps. What was the purpose of the line? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The rotary phone produced a few interesting sounds. Did all rotary phones sit on tables?


Question 3 of 10
3. What sound occurred on most manual typewriters when the user was getting close to the right-hand margin? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. A coffee ___________ had a distinct sound when coffee was made.

Answer: (One Word-Starts with P-10 letters)
Question 5 of 10
5. How many flashes did the noisy flash cubes have in each one? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Before the advent of remote controls, televisions had UHF and VHF dials that could get rather noisy. For what did UHF and VHF stand? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. What was the first sound that was typically heard when the needle of a record player touched the record? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. "Beeeeeeeep" . . . What was the image called that was shown while the television was beeping? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. What noises were heard at the end of most retail transactions in the 20th century that are not heard very often in the 21st century? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. One of the noises that was heard in the USA in the 20th century was the "tick-tick-tick" sound during classroom and home movies. What caused that sound? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 27 2024 : Guest 173: 7/10
Mar 27 2024 : zeroapoc: 9/10
Mar 25 2024 : LauraMcC: 9/10
Mar 21 2024 : knethen222: 10/10
Mar 21 2024 : shadowzep: 8/10
Mar 20 2024 : Guest 98: 9/10
Mar 18 2024 : Liz5050: 10/10
Mar 17 2024 : Guest 174: 9/10
Mar 17 2024 : pfertel: 9/10

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. During much of the 20th century, drivers would drive over a hose, or air line laid by the pumps. What was the purpose of the line?

Answer: To ring a bell to let attendants know that you needed fuel

Years ago, there were no self-service gas stations. All offered full service, with fuel pumped by attendants. The air lines were laid across the drive-through area beside the pumps. When you drove over the lines, a bell would ring inside the station. This alerted the attendants that someone needed fuel.

The attendants would fill the tank, and while that was happening, they would wash the windshield and check the oil. How's that for full service? When things switched to a self-serve mode at most gas stations, the air lines and bells were removed.
2. The rotary phone produced a few interesting sounds. Did all rotary phones sit on tables?

Answer: No

Rotary phones had at least two interesting sounds. When dialing them, there was a distinct whirring noise as the finger was inserted into the hole that corresponded to the desired number, then pushed the dial around to the finger stop. A very similar whirring sound was made as the dial made its way back to its resting position.

Then, there was the ring. All rotary phones sounded quite similar because the ring was made by an actual bell inside of them. The ring was a very distinctive "rrrrring". That sound can be downloaded as a ringtone for smartphones today.

Some of the old rotary phones hung on walls instead of sitting on tables.
3. What sound occurred on most manual typewriters when the user was getting close to the right-hand margin?

Answer: A ding

Each of the sounds listed were encountered when using a manual typewriter. When the paper was inserted and the user set the margins, a bell would sound when they neared the right-hand margin as they typed. That was a signal that they had to stop typing and push the carriage on the left side back over to the right.

This returning of the carriage made sort of a "zippp' sound. While typing, they keys made a rather loud clacking noise as they were forced from their resting position up to the paper. When capital letters were needed, the user had to push the "shift" key down.

This elevated the carriage, causing the capital letter(s) to be typed. There was a bit of a "clunk" sound as the shift key was depressed and as it was released.
4. A coffee ___________ had a distinct sound when coffee was made.

Answer: percolator

A coffee percolator had a covered basket in which fresh ground coffee was placed. Then, cold water was placed beneath the basket that was held up by a hollow stem that fit through the basket and attached to the bottom of the pot. The percolator was then placed over a heat source.

In most cases, this was a stove or fire, but in some cases electric percolators were used. The heat would heat up the water that would then boil up the tube, hit the lid of the percolator, and seep back through the coffee basket. Percolators generally had a small clear glass extension in the centre of the lid so users could tell how strong the coffee was getting.

They had a very "bloop-hiss" sound as water was forced through the tube and ran back through the basket.
5. How many flashes did the noisy flash cubes have in each one?

Answer: 4

Flash cubes were quite the invention in the 1960s! They fit to the top of a camera in a special port like the one shown. When film was advanced after taking a photo, it made a rapid clicking sound. It also turned the flash cube port from the flashbulb that had just been used to a fresh one.

The four-sided flash cubes allowed users to take four shots relatively quickly without having to stop and change the flash after each one. Besides being very bright, the flash cubes had a distinct "pop" as they lit up the room.
6. Before the advent of remote controls, televisions had UHF and VHF dials that could get rather noisy. For what did UHF and VHF stand?

Answer: Ultra High Frequency & Very High Frequency

Before remote controls were common, television channels had to be selected by turning dials. The VHF (Very High Frequency) channels were numbered 2-13, and the UHF (Ultra High Frequency) channels initially were numbered 14-83. To change the channel to watch a different program, the user had to physically go to the television and turn the dial(s) until they got to the show they wanted.

There were "clunks" as the dials were changed, and the "sshhhh" sound of static or "snow" on the channels that did not broadcast a television signal.
7. What was the first sound that was typically heard when the needle of a record player touched the record?

Answer: Static

If a record player that used a changer for multiple records was used, the first sound that was heard was the record dropping from the centre post onto the turntable. Sometimes, the arm that held the needle would make a creaking sound as it moved into position.

Then, when the needle touched the record, a few seconds of "sshhhh" static was heard before the music started to play. If there was a scratch in the record, the needle would get to that point and would sometimes skip over and over again, playing the last few seconds before the scratch again and again.

Then, when the record was over, the arm that holds the needle would creak its way back to its resting point. That was a lot of sounds to hear besides just the music that was being listened to!
8. "Beeeeeeeep" . . . What was the image called that was shown while the television was beeping?

Answer: Test pattern

Before infomercials and 24-hour news, every night at around 2 am, television stations would sign off. They would first announce the end of their day, then provide some technical details like their broadcast frequency, the address of their local studio, and the parent company.

Then, they would play the National Anthem and switch to the test pattern at which point the "beeeeep" would go on and on. Sometimes, the beep sounded through until programming started the next morning at 6 am or 7 am, but other times it would stop after a while even though the test pattern remained.
9. What noises were heard at the end of most retail transactions in the 20th century that are not heard very often in the 21st century?

Answer: Cash drawers opening and change jingling

Back in the 20th century before the advent of scanners, cashiers had to punch prices into cash registers that were like heavy calculators. The button-punching made a rather loud noise. Now, many shoppers pay with cards or phones, but at the time, most shoppers paid with cash.

When the cashier had entered all of the items and announced the total, a drawer would open that had slots for bills and compartments for change. When the drawer flew open, the change would jingle. Another sound shoppers heard was when the cashier dropped the coins into their compartments.

These sounds might still be heard in some places with the scanning cash registers in the 21st century, but you have to keep your ears peeled for them because they aren't that common.
10. One of the noises that was heard in the USA in the 20th century was the "tick-tick-tick" sound during classroom and home movies. What caused that sound?

Answer: The sprockets in the machine

Each movie film had a series of holes on each side. When the film was fed into the projector, it grabbed these holes in sprockets that then pulled the film through the machine. The sprockets were quite loud as they "ticked" along. Nowadays, viewers don't have to worry about the noise from the sprockets drowning out the movie because movies are streamed directly to viewing devices.
Source: Author Trivia_Fan54

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