Who Invented That? – answers and explanations
Here are the answers to all 15 questions in the Who Invented That? quiz, each with a short explanation. Match history's greatest inventions with the minds behind them. Haven't played yet? Take the quiz first and compare your score.
Play the quiz · 15 questions1. A chocolate bar melting near radar equipment led Percy Spencer to invent what?
Answer: Microwave oven
Percy Spencer, a Raytheon engineer, noticed in 1945 that a candy bar in his pocket melted near an active magnetron. This led to the first microwave oven, the Radarange.
2. Burdock burrs stuck to his dog's fur inspired George de Mestral to invent what?
Answer: Velcro
Swiss engineer George de Mestral noticed burrs clinging to his dog's fur after a 1941 walk. He studied their tiny hooks and developed Velcro, which he patented in 1955.
3. In 1903, Mary Anderson patented which now-standard car accessory?
Answer: Windshield wiper
Mary Anderson received a US patent for a hand-operated windshield wiper in November 1903. She got the idea while watching a streetcar driver struggle in sleet in New York City.
4. Which inventor of dynamite used his fortune to found a set of famous prizes?
Answer: Alfred Nobel
Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in 1867. His will left most of his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes, first awarded in 1901.
5. Which British scientist invented the World Wide Web while working at CERN?
Answer: Tim Berners-Lee
British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee proposed the World Wide Web in 1989 while working at CERN. The first website went live in 1991.
6. Which Scottish engineer gave the first public demonstration of television in 1926?
Answer: John Logie Baird
John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of a working television system in London in January 1926. He showed it to members of the Royal Institution at his Frith Street laboratory.
7. Post-it Notes were developed by scientists at which company?
Answer: 3M
Post-it Notes were developed at 3M. Spencer Silver invented the weak reusable adhesive in 1968, and Art Fry later applied it to make sticky bookmarks and notes, which were sold widely from 1980.
8. In which modern-day country did Gutenberg build his printing press around 1440?
Answer: Germany
Johannes Gutenberg developed his movable-type printing press in Mainz, in present-day Germany, around 1440. His best-known work is the Gutenberg Bible, printed in the 1450s.
9. Around 1800, Alessandro Volta invented which device, the voltaic pile?
Answer: The electric battery
Alessandro Volta invented the voltaic pile, the first electrical battery, and announced it in 1800. It was a stack of zinc and copper discs separated by brine-soaked cardboard or cloth, and it gave the first steady electric current.
10. Ruth Wakefield created which treat at the Toll House Inn in the 1930s?
Answer: Chocolate chip cookie
Ruth Wakefield is credited with inventing the chocolate chip cookie around 1938 at the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts. Nestlé later bought the rights to use her recipe and the Toll House name.
11. Edwin Land founded which company, famous for its instant cameras?
Answer: Polaroid
Edwin Land founded Polaroid Corporation in 1937. It became famous for instant photography, and the first Land Camera was sold in 1948.
12. In 1965, DuPont chemist Stephanie Kwolek invented which bullet-resistant fiber?
Answer: Kevlar
Stephanie Kwolek invented Kevlar at DuPont in 1965. The para-aramid fiber is about five times stronger than steel by weight and is used in body armor.
13. Willis Carrier is credited with inventing which modern system in 1902?
Answer: Air conditioning
Willis Carrier designed the first modern air conditioning system in 1902. He built it for a Brooklyn printing company to control humidity, and it also cooled the air.
14. Josephine Cochrane patented which kitchen appliance in 1886?
Answer: Dishwasher
Josephine Cochrane patented the first commercially successful dishwasher in 1886. She later founded the company that became KitchenAid.
15. Hungarian journalist László Bíró patented which writing tool in 1938?
Answer: Ballpoint pen
László Bíró patented the ballpoint pen in Britain in 1938. He worked with his brother György, and the pen used quick-drying ink fed by a rolling ball tip.