Businesses started as bets
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Businesses Started as Bets — Daily trivia Friday, July 31, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01Which streaming service's $40 Apollo 13 late-fee origin story has been contradicted by its own co-founder?
- ANetflix
- BPeacock
- CMax
- DHulu
Show answer
Netflix
Netflix. Reed Hastings blamed a $40 late fee, but co-founder Marc Randolph writes that the idea 'had nothing to do with late fees', and Netflix even charged them at first.
Q 02Which sportswear brand did a German shoemaker name from his nickname plus surname after a split with his brother?
- AUnder Armour
- BAsics
- CAdidas
- DBrooks
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Adidas
Adidas. Adolf 'Adi' Dassler registered the company in August 1949, and the brothers' feud split loyalties in their hometown of Herzogenaurach.
Q 03Which sportswear company did Rudolf Dassler found after splitting from his brother, first calling it 'Ruda'?
- AFila
- BPuma
- CLotto
- DNew Balance
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Puma
Puma. 'Ruda' came from Rudolf Dassler, just as Adidas came from Adi Dassler, but he soon renamed his firm.
Q 04Which logistics company was founded by a man who sketched the idea in a Yale economics term paper?
- AUPS
- BFedEx
- CUSPS
- DDHL
Show answer
FedEx
FedEx. Fred Smith reportedly got a C on the paper, and he later kept the young company flying by turning its last $5,000 into $27,000 at blackjack.
Q 05What was the magazine 16-year-old Richard Branson launched with Nik Powell called?
- AStudent
- BYoung Voices
- CCampus Life
- DThe Pitch
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Student
Richard Branson launched Student in 1966 with Nik Powell, the first issue appearing in January 1968. He advertised popular albums from his mail-order record business in it, and that business became Virgin Records in 1972.
Q 06Which car marque was founded by an Italian tractor maker fed up with the clutch in his Ferrari 250 GT?
- APorsche
- BLamborghini
- CMcLaren
- DMaserati
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Lamborghini
Ferruccio Lamborghini complained that his Ferrari 250 GT's clutches needed continuous rebuilds and that Enzo Ferrari dismissed him; he later recalled telling Ferrari 'your cars are rubbish!', though the exchange is as much legend as fact.
Q 07Which European low-cost airline did Stelios Haji-Ioannou launch with a £5 million loan from his father?
- ANorwegian Air Shuttle
- BRyanair
- CWizz Air
- DEasyJet
Show answer
EasyJet
EasyJet. Stelios modelled it on America's Southwest Airlines, and its first flight took off from Luton for Glasgow in November 1995.
Q 08Which software company's founders left Xerox PARC to bet on their own page description language?
- AAdobe
- BOracle
- CIBM
- DMicrosoft
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Adobe
John Warnock and Charles Geschke left Xerox PARC and founded Adobe in December 1982 to sell PostScript themselves. Apple licensed it for its LaserWriter printers in 1985, helping spark the desktop publishing revolution.
Q 09In which country did the first professional bookmaker set up fixed-odds horse racing in the late 18th century?
- AUnited States
- BFrance
- CAustralia
- DUnited Kingdom
Show answer
United Kingdom
United Kingdom. Harry Ogden took bets at Newmarket Heath in the 1790s and was the first to price each horse individually, with his own margin built in.
Q 10A shooting-party argument over Europe's fastest game bird led directly to which publishing venture?
- ARipley's Believe It or Not!
- BGuinness World Records
- CThe Book of Lists
- DTrivial Pursuit
Show answer
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records. Brewery boss Sir Hugh Beaver missed a golden plover in County Wexford, and the argument that followed inspired the first book in 1955.
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