Surprising origins of familiar things
0Loading crowd target
Questions and sources
Surprising Origins of Familiar Things — Daily trivia Saturday, October 10, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01Which office device for sending pages down a wire was patented decades before the telephone?
- APhotocopier
- BFax
- CPaper shredder
- DOverhead projector
Show answer
Fax
The fax. Alexander Bain patented the idea in 1843, and by the 1860s a fax service linked Paris and Lyon, over a decade before the telephone.
Q 02Which symbol did Ray Tomlinson pick to link user and computer in email addresses?
- A@ (at sign)
- B# (hash)
- C& (ampersand)
- D* (asterisk)
Show answer
@ (at sign)
The at sign, in 1971. He chose @ because no usernames used it and it read naturally as 'at', as in user at computer.
Q 03London's first traffic light, worked by a policeman, later exploded. Which landmark did it stand outside?
- ABuckingham Palace
- BTower of London
- CHouses of Parliament
- DSt Paul's Cathedral
Show answer
Houses of Parliament
The Houses of Parliament, in 1868. Railway engineer J. P. Knight gave it semaphore arms by day and gas-lit red and green lamps by night, until the gas exploded.
Q 04Which aircraft carried a sheep, a duck and a rooster before it ever carried people?
- AGlider
- BAirship
- CHot-air balloon
- DParachute
Show answer
Hot-air balloon
A hot-air balloon, in 1783. That November, Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes made the first free flight by people.
Q 05Nearly 1,900 years ago, Zhang Heng's bronze jar dropped a ball from a dragon's mouth whenever what happened far away?
- AA solar eclipse
- BAn earthquake
- CA thunderstorm
- DA flood
Show answer
An earthquake
An earthquake. Han records say a ball once dropped though no one in the capital felt a tremor, and days later a messenger brought news of a quake to the west.
Q 06Which fairground sweet did a dentist co-invent, before it sold by the thousands at a World's Fair?
- ACandy apples
- BSaltwater taffy
- CCaramel popcorn
- DCotton candy
Show answer
Cotton candy
Cotton candy. Dentist William Morrison and candy maker John C. Wharton sold it as Fairy Floss at the 1904 fair, and it was another dentist who later named it cotton candy.
Q 07In the 1890s, Svante Arrhenius worked out that burning which fuel could warm the whole planet?
- ACoal
- BOil
- CNatural gas
- DWood
Show answer
Coal
Coal, the fuel of factories and steam trains. Rather than fear the warming, Arrhenius hoped it would bring milder climates and bigger harvests.
Q 08Far from modern slang, 'Xmas' is centuries old. Which Greek letter is its X?
- ARho
- BPsi
- CKappa
- DChi
Show answer
Chi
Chi, which opens Khristos, Greek for Christ. English scribes were abbreviating Christ with its Greek letters around 1100, so Xmas takes nothing out of Christmas.
Q 09Nearly 3,800 years ago, a customer wrote an angry complaint on a clay tablet about poor-quality what?
- ACopper
- BTin
- CGold
- DIron
Show answer
Copper
Copper. The customer, Nanni, accused the merchant Ea-nasir of selling him substandard copper and of treating his servant rudely.
Q 10Ancient Egyptian women tested for pregnancy by urinating on what?
- AFrog spawn
- BLotus petals
- CGrain seeds
- DSalt crystals
Show answer
Grain seeds
Wheat and barley seeds. Sprouting meant she was pregnant, and which grain sprouted was said to predict a boy or a girl.
How to play
- One question at a time, four options. Tap an answer to lock it in.
- You see the answer and a short explanation right away.
- Harder questions and faster answers earn more points. Share your score at the end.