1. What African-American inventor received 5 patents in the field of shoemaking?
a) Elijah McCoy
b) Jan Ernst Matzeliger
c) Ernest Just
d) Lewis Latimer
Explanation: Jan Ernst Matzeliger received 5 patents in the field of shoemaking.
2. It travels over land and water. Who invented the hovercraft?
a) S. Sperrow
b) O. Stricheg
c) T. Henman
d) C. Cockerell
Explanation: Christopher Cockerell invented the hovercraft in 1956. His early experiments with the idea involved a cat food tin, a coffee tin and an industrial blower.
3. In which decade was the AEEE (now the IEEE) founded?
a) 1850s
b) 1880s
c) 1930s
d) 1950s
Explanation: The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) was formed in 1963 by the merger of the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE, founded 1912) and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE, founded 1884).
4. What type of system did Paul Nipkow, John Baird, and Charles Jenkins all invent?
a) Telephone
b) Early Warning
c) Electricity
d) Television
Explanation: All of the inventors mentioned invented an early mechanical television system.
5. What Sir Isaac Newton invented?
a) Reflecting telescope
b) Chronometer
c) Microscope
d) Spectacles
Explanation: Sir Isaac Newton invented Chronometer.
6. What Karl Benz invented?
a) Gasoline powered automobile
b) Streetcar
c) Glider
d) Steam turbine
Explanation: Karl Benz gets the credit for inventing the automobile because his car was practical, used a gasoline-powered internal-combustion engine and worked like modern cars do today.
7. When were bar code scanners invented?
a) 1940s
b) 1950s
c) 1970s
d) 1960s
Explanation: The first scanning of the now-ubiquitous Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode was on a pack of Wrigley Company chewing gum in June 1974 at a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio, using scanner produced by Photographic Sciences Corporation. QR codes, a specific type of 2D barcode, have recently become very popular.
8. When was the game Frisbee invented?
a) 1920s
b) 1900s
c) 1870s
d) 1950s
Explanation: The first Frisbee were pie tins from the Frisbee Pie Company in Connecticut. In the 1950s, the pie tins were changed to plastic plates. The name then became the Flying Saucer, but later changed to Frisbee.
9. What piece of clothing was invented by French fashion designer Louis Reard in 1946?
a) Zoot suit
b) Mini-skirt
c) Bikini
d) Tank top
Explanation: The bikini, a two-piece swimsuit named for the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific, made its debut on July 5, 1946.
10. In which year was MIDI introduced?
a) 1987
b) 1983
c) 1973
d) 1977
Explanation: The MIDI specification was published in August 1983. The MIDI standard was unveiled by Kakehashi and Smith, who received Technical Grammy Awards in 2013 for their work. In 1982, the first instruments were released with MIDI, the Roland Jupiter-6 and the Prophet 600.