Made in America – A Quiz

The original American Inventors

1. The inventor of this classic weapon of the American West got his first big order from the U.S. War Department. What did he invent?

2. What founding father invented, among other things, bifocals, an iron furnace stove, and an odometer to measure the length of mail routes?

3. Philo T. Farnsworth and Vladimir Zworykin are the two men most often credited with inventing what “tube”ular device?

4. Before it became the generic term for women’s stockings, nylon was first used commercially in toothbrush bristles. What company developed it in 1938?

5. In the 1950s, admiral and engineer Hyman O. Rickover was the first to use this vessel, which the United States now has many of.

6. Mary Anderson of Alabama wanted to improve drivers’ vision during stormy weather, so she invented and patented what?

7. Willis Haviland Carrier invented this chilly “Apparatus for Treating Air” in 1902. What do we call it today?

8. Which came first – dry cleaning or blue jeans?

9. Walter Hunt perfected this handy item in 1849 and sold it for $400. People who plan for emergencies – like a broken shoulder strap at a prom – carry one. What is it?

10. The Home Insurance Building in Chicago, built in 1884-85 by Major William Le Baron Jenney, was the first modern what?

11. In 1960, using a manmade ruby, physicist Theodore H. Maiman created the first working one of these items. What did he invent?

Answers:

1. Samuel Colt developed the Colt revolver, or “six-shooter”
2. Benjamin Franklin
3. The television
4. DuPont
5. Nuclear submarine
6. Windshield Wipers
7. Air conditioner
8. Dry cleaning. It was invented (accidentally) in 1855. Blue jeans were patented in 1873.
9. The safety pin
10. Skyscraper; the building was 10 stories tall.
11. The laser