Think you can pass our famous inventors quiz? Test your knowledge to see if you know the minds behind the innovations.
Who patented the first successful telephone?
Alexander Graham Bell
Michael Faraday
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Alexander Graham Bell is credited with the first patent for a telephone, although inventors Elisha Gray and Antonio Meucci also developed very similar technologies. Micheal Faraday is an English scientist who discovered electromagnetic induction, which led to electric transformers and generators.
While television relied on many inventors, the credit for its creation typically goes to Philo Farnsworth. The Bernstein brothers developed the frozen TV dinner in 1949, and sold more than 2.5 million foil dishes over the next five years.
Who invented the first commercially successful lightbulb?
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Edison
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Like television, the lightbulb had many contributors, but Thomas Edison patented the first bulb that ended up a commercial success. Benjamin Franklin had a few inventions of his own, including the lightning rod.
Which of these inventors transformed literature and learning with his movable-type printing press?
Johannes Gutenberg
James Watt
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Gutenberg changed the world with his creation of movable type in the 15th century. Watt came up with the first mechanical copy machine around 300 years later.
Marion Donovan developed the first disposable diapers in 1949, while an inventor named Michael Bay (not the film director) developed disposable contact lenses 30 years later.
The cotton gin revolutionized American industry - who invented it?
George Washington Carver
Eli Whitney
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Eli Whitney is credited with creating the cotton gin, while George Washington Carver transformed food science when he came up with more than 300 uses for peanuts.
Bette Nesmith Graham invented liquid paper, and went on to sell her company for $47.5 million. (Fun fact: She was also the mother of musician Mike Nesmith of The Monkees.) Laszlo Biro sold the world's first ballpoint pen in 1938.
