Inventors You Have Never Heard of - until now Quiz | People

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. For more than 50 years, millions of children have been delighted by the invention of an American woman called Ruth Handler. What did she introduce in 1959?

Answer: Barbie doll

Ruth Handler invented Barbie in 1959 and named the doll after her daughter. Since then, more than a billion have been sold.
Barbie was similar to a German doll, Lilli, which was introduced in 1953 and was based on a cartoon character in the "Bild-Zeitung" (newspaper). The "Bild-Lilli Doll", as it was sometimes referred to, was to become the subject of a movie "Lilli - ein M�dchen aus der Gro�stadt", "Lilli - a Girl From the Big City" in 1958. In 1964 the US corporation Mattel (which had acquired the rights to Barbie) bought the rights to Lilli and production was stopped.

By the way, chocolate-coated potato crisps (aka potato chips) are not a joke; an American company produced a limited run in Autumn 2013.

2. You would think that a big-screen actor would not need another job, but Reginald Denny invented something in 1940 that, in the early years of the 21st century, was turned into a deadly weapon. What was it?

Answer: Aerial drone

The first drones were made in 1940 and sold to the US Army, which used them to train anti-aircraft gunners. Reginald Denny was born in England in 1891 and died there in 1967. He appeared in dozens of movies between 1925 and 1966. They included "Batman" (1966); "Anna Karenina" (1935); "Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1953).

His characters were usually comedic or eccentric Englishmen.

3. In 1956, Eugene Polley invented something that changed the way people watched television forever. What was it?

Answer: Remote control channel changer

The 'Flash-Matic' looked a bit like a ray gun and was used to send a signal that could cause photocells at each corner of the TV screen to change channel or sound levels.

4. An Illinois farmer called Joseph Glidden invented something that changed the face of agriculture in the American west forever and was also to have a dramatic impact on warfare. What was it?

Answer: Barbed wire

Glidden used a coffee grinder to bend nails that he fitted to ordinary wire to keep cattle contained. It was to be the end of the large scale open prairie farming of cattle and the beginning of enclosed pastures. Just a few years later, barbed wire was allied to trench warfare to become one of the most enduring images of the First World War. His design, today's barbed wire, was patented in 1874. It improved on existing designs by using a double strand of wire to hold the barbs (securely) in place.

By the way, The Kansas Barbed Wire Museum at LaCrosse claims to be the world's only museum dedicated to the product. On exhibit are more than 2,000 barbed wire varieties.

5. In 1913, a New York socialite called Mary Phelps Jacob invented something that was to be of great support for generations of women thereafter. What was it?

Answer: Bra

With the help of a maid, she stitched two handkerchiefs and ribbon together. She sold her patent for just $1,500 dollars. She might as well have invented burning the bra at the same time.

6. Hero ... or villain? A chemist called Thomas Midgley invented something that was to prove to be a 'cure' for a problem, but which was to have devastating harmful health effects. Which of these was it?

Answer: Tetra Ethyl Lead

Tetra Ethyl Lead was added to petrol/gasoline used to eliminate the knocking effect in automobile engines and increase performance and fuel economy. Sadly, the substances was to cause to numerous deaths and other series health implications through lead poisoning.

It was first used in the early 1920s, but its effects were to become clear within just a few years. However, it took until the 1970s before 'leaded petrol' began to be phased out in the USA. It was banned in the US in 1996. It took another 15 years though before it was banned worldwide.

7. Smile for the camera ... Oh, you are smiling, it's just your face isn't moving ... What did a Canadian couple called Jean and Alastair Carruthers develop that was to be a boon for aging thespians, and others who just wanted to keep on looking young?

Answer: Botox

Botulinum toxin, to give its full name, can cause serious life-threatening illnesses, yet it is used to reduce the appearance of wrinkles in human skin. (Other uses include stopping excessive sweating). The main visual effect is to 'freeze' the face, giving a stiff, unmoving look.

The Carruthers used it to cure cross-eyed people and noticed that it softened frown lines. It is now used by millions and the Carruthers made a mint from their 'invention', didn't they? Sadly for them, no. They failed to patent it for cosmetic use.

8. " ... I gave it up for music and the free electric band ...", or so sang Albert Hammond. He had cause, then, to be grateful to the invention of George Beauchamp. What was it?

Answer: Electric guitar

Beauchamp teamed up with Adolph Rickenbacker to patent the first electric guitar in 1937. Early models were nicknamed "the frying pan", because that is what they looked like.

9. "Hoover" and "Biro" are just two examples of specifically named products that have become generic for other similar items. Louis Reard did not quite invent the thing he is most associated with, but what he called it has become an ubiquitous name. Which of these was it?

Answer: Bikini

There were two-piece swimsuits before Reard came up with the smallest ever example in 1946 and named it Bikini after the location of nuclear bomb tests.
MINI is a trademark of BMW cars. Jet Ski is a trademark of the Kawasaki corporation.

10. The "swinging sixties" were known for protest, revolution and free love. What did an Austrian called Carl Djerassi invent that had an important impact on the last of these three?

Answer: Contraceptive pill

Djerassi and his team of scientists created a pill that mimics natural hormones and tricks a woman's body into thinking it is already pregnant.

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Inventors You Have Never Heard of - until now Quiz

We are all familiar with really famous inventors, but there are many more out there who are a little more obscure but have contributed to inventions that we know, love, and perhaps even hate, today.

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