108 Fun Facts About Which Came First

Which of these inventions was patented first?

The fax machine was patented by the Scottish inventor Alexander Bain in 1843, more than three decades before Bell's telephone. By the 1860s a commercial service was wiring images between Paris and Lyon.

Which came first?

The University of Oxford was teaching by 1096 and grew fast after 1167, when Henry II barred English students from Paris. The Aztecs did not found their capital, Tenochtitlan, until the 14th century.

Which of these 17th-century milestones came first?

Harvard University was founded in 1636 by a vote of the Massachusetts colony's court, not by John Harvard, a minister who left the young college his library and half his estate. The Royal Society first met in 1660.

Which of these 18th-century milestones came first?

The Guinness brewery began on 31 December 1759, when Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on a disused Dublin brewery at £45 a year. American independence was still seventeen years away.

Which invention is the oldest?

The vending machine goes back to Hero of Alexandria, who described a device that took a coin and dispensed a measure of holy water in ancient temples, many centuries before eyeglasses or mechanical clocks.

All four date from 1889, but which came first?

The Eiffel Tower's completion came on March 31, 1889, when Gustave Eiffel climbed its stairs to raise a French flag because the lifts weren't ready. Nintendo began later that year as a maker of playing cards.

Which toy came first?

Lego bricks took their modern form in January 1958, a year before Barbie's debut, when tubes were added inside each brick so that models gripped together instead of falling apart.

Which of these postwar household items came first?

The microwave oven went on sale in 1947 as Raytheon's Radarange, which stood nearly six feet tall and weighed about 750 pounds, three years before Zenith's first TV remote.

Which of these 1970s computing and phone milestones came first?

Network email began in 1971, when Ray Tomlinson sent mail between two ARPANET computers and picked the @ sign to split the user's name from the machine's, a format still in every address.

Which of these 2001 launches came first?

Wikipedia went live on 15 January 2001, months before the iPod or Windows XP, as a side project of the expert-written Nupedia, whose slow review process had approved only a handful of articles.

All four date from 1928, but which came first?

Sliced bread first went on sale in July 1928 in Chillicothe, Missouri, two months before Fleming spotted penicillin, and caught on so well that a 1943 US wartime ban on it was quickly dropped.

Which of these 1990s tech arrivals came first?

USB 1.0 was published in January 1996, a year before the first Wi-Fi standard, to end a mess in which each new PC add-on needed its own kind of port.

Which of these 2007-08 arrivals could customers use first?

Netflix streaming began in January 2007 as 'Watch Now', with only about 1,000 films to choose from. The iPhone had been unveiled a week earlier but did not go on sale until that June.

Which of these sweet treats came first?

The Oreo arrived in 1912 as a copy of Hydrox, a near-identical sandwich cookie launched four years earlier, yet it so outsold the original that many people assume Hydrox is the knockoff.

Which of these everyday items came first?

The safety pin was patented in 1849 by Walter Hunt, who twisted it from a piece of wire to pay off a $15 debt and then sold the rights for just $400.

Which American landmark opened first?

The Brooklyn Bridge opened in May 1883 as the world's longest suspension bridge, and the first ride across went to Emily Roebling, who had run the site for years on behalf of her bedridden engineer husband.

Which of these late-1970s arrivals came first?

Star Wars opened on May 25, 1977 in fewer than 50 US theaters, a tiny launch for what became a surprise blockbuster. The Atari 2600 followed that September and Space Invaders in 1978.

Which board game went on sale first?

Monopoly went on sale from Parker Brothers in 1935, but it grew out of The Landlord's Game, which Lizzie Magie had patented three decades earlier to show how landlords grow rich at their tenants' expense.

Which burger chain came first?

White Castle opened in Wichita in 1921, when hamburger stands had a reputation for dirty kitchens and doubtful meat, so its founders picked a name meant to suggest purity and permanence.

Which soft drink came first?

Dr Pepper was first served in Waco, Texas in 1885, a year before Coca-Cola, at a drugstore soda fountain where customers ordered the pharmacist's new drink by asking him to shoot them a 'Waco'.

All four date from 1903, but which came first?

Ford Motor Company was incorporated on June 16, 1903, two weeks before the first Tour de France set off, and it was Henry Ford's third attempt at a car firm after two unsuccessful earlier ventures.

Which of these 1860s milestones came first?

The London Underground began in January 1863, when the Metropolitan Railway opened between Paddington and Farringdon Street with steam locomotives hauling the trains. Its first electric line did not come until 1890.

All four date from 1961, but which came first?

The Peace Corps was created by President Kennedy's executive order on March 1, 1961, six weeks before Gagarin flew. He had first aired the idea in a late-night campaign speech to students at the University of Michigan.

Which company came first?

Amazon was founded in July 1994 as Cadabra, a play on 'abracadabra', selling only books from Jeff Bezos's garage near Seattle. eBay followed in 1995 and Google in 1998.

Which launched first?

Facebook went live on February 4, 2004 as TheFacebook, open only to Harvard students, and well over a thousand of them signed up within 24 hours. Gmail launched that April Fools' Day.

Which of these ancient monuments was begun first?

Stonehenge was begun about 3000 BC as a circular ditch and bank, some four centuries before the Great Pyramid, though its famous standing stones were only raised around 2500 BC.

Which sporting event came first?

Wimbledon began in 1877, when a London croquet club that had taken up the newer game held a men's singles event for just 22 amateurs. The Stanley Cup was first awarded in 1893.

Which award came first?

The Nobel Prize was first handed out in 1901, five years after the death of dynamite's inventor Alfred Nobel, whose family had fought the will that gave away his fortune. The Pulitzers began in 1917.

Which of these comic-book heroes debuted first?

Superman debuted in Action Comics #1 in April 1938, after creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster had signed away their rights to him for just $130. Batman followed a year later.

Which cartoon character came first?

Mickey Mouse reached cinemas in Steamboat Willie in November 1928, dreamed up after Walt Disney lost control of his star Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Legend has it Walt wanted to call him Mortimer until his wife Lillian objected.

Which broadcaster came first?

The BBC began in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, a private firm formed by leading wireless manufacturers, and only became a public corporation in 1927. NBC followed in 1926.

Which band formed first?

The Beatles took that name in 1960 and grew out of the Quarrymen, the skiffle group John Lennon started in 1956, so they lead on either count. The Beach Boys formed in 1961 and the Rolling Stones in 1962.

Which country gave women the vote first?

New Zealand gave women the vote in September 1893, and they went to the polls in a general election that same November. Finland followed in 1906, the UK in 1918 and the US in 1920.

Which of these 19th-century American icons came first?

Levi's blue jeans date from an 1873 patent shared with Jacob Davis, the Reno tailor who thought of riveting the pockets but lacked the money to patent the idea alone. Heinz ketchup arrived in 1876.

Which coffee chain came first?

Dunkin' began as the Open Kettle, a doughnut shop Bill Rosenberg opened in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1948. Two years later he had his executives brainstorm a better name, and it became Dunkin' Donuts, long before Starbucks opened in 1971.

Which spacecraft launched first?

Despite its name, Voyager 2 lifted off on August 20, 1977, sixteen days before Voyager 1.

Which novel was published first?

Robinson Crusoe appeared in 1719 and is widely thought to draw on Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor who had spent four years alone on a Pacific island. Swift's Gulliver's Travels followed in 1726.

Which of these restaurant chains opened first?

Pizza Hut opened in Wichita in 1958, after student brothers Dan and Frank Carney borrowed $600 from their mother to start it. Little Caesars followed in 1959 and Domino's in 1960.

Which car came first?

The Volkswagen Beetle dates from 1938, when its factory was begun, but the plant turned to military vehicles in the war, and it was the occupying British who began mass production of the car in 1945. The Land Rover followed in 1948.

Which children's TV show came first?

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood went national in the US in 1968, growing out of Misterogers, a show Fred Rogers first made for Canada's CBC in the early 1960s. Sesame Street premiered in November 1969.

Which of these ways to pay came first?

Traveler's cheques were rolled out by American Express in 1891 to replace the letter of credit, which travelers could cash only at named banks and after a delay. Diners Club cards came in 1950 and the first ATM in 1967.

Which of these communication systems came first?

Braille dates from 1824, when 15-year-old Louis Braille reworked a raised-dot code devised by French army veteran Charles Barbier. Morse code followed in the late 1830s and the postage stamp in 1840.

Which of these chocolate treats went on sale first?

The Hershey's bar went on sale in 1900, the year Milton Hershey sold the caramel business that had made his fortune to concentrate on chocolate. Cadbury Dairy Milk arrived in 1905 and Toblerone in 1908.

Which race came first?

Inspired by the 1896 Olympics, Boston ran its first marathon in 1897 and is the world's oldest annual marathon.

Which breakfast cereal came first?

Corn flakes grew out of an 1894 accident at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, where the Kellogg brothers rolled dried-out boiled wheat dough into crisp flakes before turning to corn. Wheaties arrived in 1924.

Which of these games is the oldest?

Go has been played in China for more than 2,500 years, yet it held out against computers far longer than chess did: AlphaGo beat the champion Lee Sedol only in 2016, almost two decades after Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov.

Which of these 1991 records came out first?

Metallica's Black Album came out on August 12, 1991, and Kirk Hammett said its sound was shaped by three of the four members divorcing during recording. Ten followed on August 27, then Nevermind and Blood Sugar Sex Magik on September 24.

Which console launched first?

Xbox 360 went on sale in the US on November 22, 2005, about a year ahead of the PS3 and Wii, and many stores sold out on day one while buyers resold their consoles on eBay.

Which of these late-17th-century events came first?

The Great Fire of London broke out in a bakery on Pudding Lane in September 1666 and gutted the medieval City within days. Newton's Principia was not published until 1687.

Which of these medieval milestones came first?

Construction of Notre-Dame de Paris is traditionally dated to 1163, after Bishop Maurice de Sully decided to build a new and far larger church on the site. Magna Carta was not sealed until 1215.

Which of these 15th-century milestones came first?

Gutenberg's printing press, adapted from the screw presses used to crush grapes for wine, was running in Mainz by 1450 after a decade of experiments. Leonardo was born in 1452 and Constantinople fell in 1453.

Which of these institutions opened to the public first?

The British Museum opened in 1759 in Montagu House, a London mansion bought to show the vast collection of the naturalist Sir Hans Sloane. The Louvre opened in 1793, during the French Revolution.

Which city's underground railway opened first?

Budapest opened the European continent's first electric subway in May 1896 for Hungary's millennial celebrations, and Emperor Franz Joseph rode it that month and let it take his name. Boston's followed in 1897.

Which organization came first?

The YMCA began in London in 1844, when draper George Williams and eleven friends formed a club for young tradesmen, and a YMCA training school later gave the world basketball. The Red Cross dates from 1863.

Which watchmaker came first?

Omega dates to 1848, when Louis Brandt opened a watch workshop in Switzerland, but the name came only in 1894, from a movement his sons built with interchangeable parts. Seiko began in 1881 and Rolex in 1905.

Which social network launched first?

Friendster was founded in 2002 and was live before LinkedIn and MySpace arrived in 2003, the year it turned down a $30 million buyout offer from Google.

Which national park was established first?

Yellowstone became America's first national park in 1872, when President Grant signed it into law. Yosemite had been protected since 1864, but only as a grant to California, and became a national park in 1890.

Which home video game console went on sale first?

The Magnavox Odyssey went on sale in 1972, five years before the Atari 2600, and one of its games inspired Atari's Pong. Magnavox later won more than $100 million in lawsuits tied to its patents.

Which of these dinosaurs came first, dying out tens of millions of years before Tyrannosaurus?

Stegosaurus lived about 155 to 145 million years ago, nearly 80 million years before Tyrannosaurus reigned at the close of the dinosaur age. The other three all belong to that age's last 10 million years.

Which of these animals died out first, last reliably sighted on an Indian Ocean island in the 1660s?

The dodo was last reliably seen in 1662, only 64 years after Dutch sailors first recorded it on Mauritius. The great auk survived until 1844.

Which of these worlds was found first, spotted from a garden in Bath and first reported as a comet?

Uranus was spotted by William Herschel in 1781, the first planet ever found with a telescope. Ceres followed in 1801, Neptune in 1846 and Pluto in 1930.

Which of these North American settlements is the oldest, founded by a Spanish admiral in the 1560s?

St. Augustine was founded in 1565 by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, 42 years before Jamestown. No European-founded settlement in the contiguous United States has been lived in continuously for longer.

Which of these Hollywood classics premiered first, at New York's newly opened Radio City Music Hall?

King Kong premiered in March 1933, six years before The Wizard of Oz. Its giant ape was mostly a stop-motion model standing just 14 to 18 inches tall.

Which of these 1910s events happened first, five days before the first ballgame at Fenway Park?

The sinking of the Titanic came on 15 April 1912, and news of it overshadowed newspaper coverage of the new ballpark's opening. World War I and the Panama Canal both arrived in 1914.

Which of these fictional characters appeared in print first, while Queen Victoria was on the throne?

Sherlock Holmes first appeared in 1887 in A Study in Scarlet, printed in Beeton's Christmas Annual after many rejections. Peter Pan arrived in 1902, the year after Victoria died.

Which of these toys went on sale first, selling 400 units in 90 minutes at Gimbels in Philadelphia?

The Slinky was first demonstrated in November 1945, two years after naval engineer Richard James watched a spring knocked off a shelf step its way down. Mr. Potato Head followed in 1952.

Which of these financial bubbles burst first, more than a century before American independence?

Tulip mania collapsed in February 1637, when a single prized bulb could cost more than ten times a skilled artisan's yearly income. The South Sea Bubble burst in 1720.

Which of these sports was invented first, to keep a Massachusetts gym class active on a rainy day?

Basketball was invented by James Naismith in December 1891. Volleyball followed four years later in nearby Holyoke, designed as a less physically demanding alternative to it.

Which of these wars between countrymen began first, and saw a defeated king tried and beheaded?

The English Civil War broke out in 1642 and led to the execution of Charles I in January 1649. The victors then abolished the monarchy and declared England a commonwealth.

Which of these milestones in American expansion came first, while Thomas Jefferson was president?

The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 nearly doubled the size of the United States for $15 million, or about $18 per square mile. Texas was not annexed until 1845.

Which of these 1960s events came first, about a year before President Kennedy was assassinated?

The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted from 16 to 28 October 1962. It showed how slowly the two superpowers could talk, so a direct Moscow–Washington hotline was set up the following year.

Which of these world events came first, in the final spring of the 1980s?

The Tiananmen Square protests ran from 15 April to 4 June 1989 and spread to some 400 cities across China. Nelson Mandela walked free the following February.

Which of these World War II battles came first, over a year before America entered the war?

The Battle of Britain was fought from July to October 1940, the first major military campaign waged entirely by air forces. Midway and Stalingrad both came in 1942.

Which of these Cold War milestones came first, three years after the Second World War ended?

The Berlin Airlift began on 26 June 1948 and carried supplies to West Berlin for more than a year. NATO was founded the following April, while the planes were still flying.

Which of these ancient events came first, more than a century before Alexander the Great was born?

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in 480 BC, when about 7,000 Greeks under Leonidas blocked a narrow pass against the Persian army for three days of fighting. Hannibal crossed the Alps in 218 BC.

Which of these events of the Middle Ages happened first, soon after Viking raids on Europe began?

Charlemagne's coronation as emperor came on Christmas Day 800, when Pope Leo III crowned him in St. Peter's Basilica. The Normans did not conquer England until 1066.

Which of these events that shook Europe came first, while Leonardo da Vinci was still alive?

Luther's Ninety-five Theses were sent to the Archbishop of Mainz on 31 October 1517. Within ten years Luther and his friends were toasting that date as the start of the Reformation.

Which of these disasters struck first, with a blast heard nearly 3,000 miles away?

The Krakatoa eruption of August 1883 was heard on the island of Rodrigues, about 4,800 km away, and it produced spectacular sunsets around the world for many months.

Which of these 1890s discoveries came first, made by a German professor testing Crookes tubes?

X-rays were discovered by Wilhelm Röntgen on 8 November 1895, and he chose the letter X to mark an unknown type of radiation. The electron followed in 1897, polonium and radium in 1898.

Which of these landmarks of science came first, appearing before the American Civil War began?

Darwin's Origin of Species was published on 24 November 1859 in an initial run of just 1,250 copies. Mendel's pea-plant results followed in 1866 and Mendeleev's table in 1869.

Which of these medical advances came first, while George Washington was still president?

The smallpox vaccine dates to 1796, when Edward Jenner showed that catching mild cowpox gave immunity to the deadly disease. The stethoscope was invented 20 years later.

Which of these spacecraft was launched first, its hull converted from a surplus rocket stage?

Skylab was launched on May 14, 1973, and its crews stretched the record for time in orbit from 23 days to 84. Viking 1 left for Mars two years later.

Which of these arrivals came first, going on sale in Japan in a blue-and-silver metal case?

The Walkman went on sale on 1 July 1979. Sony predicted sales of about 5,000 a month and sold more than 30,000 in the first two months.

Which of these technologies reached the public first, invented at a physics lab near Geneva?

The World Wide Web was invented by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in 1989 and opened to the public in 1993. The PlayStation went on sale in Japan in December 1994.

Which of these messaging and social apps launched first, founded by two former employees of Yahoo?

WhatsApp was launched in 2009, with a name meant to sound like the greeting "what's up". Instagram followed in October 2010 and Snapchat in 2011.

Which of these internet arrivals came first, created with the help of four Estonian developers?

Skype was first released on August 29, 2003, and its calls at first ran on the peer-to-peer software behind the file-sharing program Kazaa. Reddit arrived in 2005.

Which of these geological periods came first, beginning in the aftermath of a mass extinction?

The Triassic began about 252 million years ago and lasted some 50 million years, long enough for the first dinosaurs to appear. The Jurassic and Cretaceous followed it.

Which of these science-fiction classics appeared first, anonymously, by a writer aged only twenty?

Frankenstein was published on 1 January 1818, having begun two years earlier when Lord Byron challenged Mary Shelley and their friends to each write a ghost story. The Invisible Man came in 1897.

Which of these Disney animated films came out first, launching the so-called Disney Renaissance?

The Little Mermaid was released on November 17, 1989, and was the last Disney animated feature made with hand-painted cels. Beauty and the Beast followed two years later.

Which of these sitcoms premiered first, and was nearly cancelled over its dismal first-season ratings?

Cheers premiered on September 30, 1982, to some of the worst ratings on television, yet it stayed on air for eleven seasons. Roseanne arrived in 1988 and Seinfeld in 1989.

Which of these rock bands formed first, growing out of an earlier group called the Yardbirds?

Led Zeppelin formed in 1968 and were first billed as the New Yardbirds. Aerosmith followed in 1970, the Ramones in 1974 and the Sex Pistols in 1975.

Which of these newspaper comic strips began first, debuting in just seven papers?

Peanuts began on October 2, 1950, and ran until February 2000, nearly half a century later. Doonesbury followed in 1970 and Garfield in 1978.

Which of these dishes was created first, for a society charity ball in the 1890s?

Waldorf salad was first served in March 1896 at a ball in aid of a children's hospital, and the earliest recipe contained no nuts. Caesar salad was not tossed together until 1924.

Which of these amusement parks opened first, more than fifty years before the next oldest?

Tivoli Gardens opened in Copenhagen on 15 August 1843 and is the second-oldest amusement park still operating, behind another Danish park, Dyrehavsbakken.

Which of these countries came into being first, declaring independence while Napoleon ruled France?

Haiti declared independence on 1 January 1804, the only country in history established by a slave revolt. Brazil broke from Portugal in 1822 and Canada was confederated in 1867.

Which of these films from 1999 reached American cinemas first, opening on the last day of March?

The Matrix was released on March 31, 1999, more than four months before The Sixth Sense. American Beauty and Fight Club both reached cinemas that autumn.

Which of these music events was staged first, during the 1967 Summer of Love?

Monterey Pop ran for three days in June 1967 and is remembered for the first major American appearance of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Woodstock followed two summers later.

Which of these famous figures, all born in 1926, was born first, at a house in Mayfair?

Queen Elizabeth II was born on 21 April 1926 at 17 Bruton Street, her grandfather's home. David Attenborough followed 17 days later, Marilyn Monroe on 1 June and Chuck Berry that October.

Which of these world landmarks was completed first, after only 14 years of building work?

The Forbidden City was built from 1406 to 1420 and housed 24 emperors over the next five centuries. Machu Picchu dates from around 1450 and the Taj Mahal from the 1640s.

Which of these famous figures was born first, and died before any of the other three turned 23?

Mozart was born in January 1756 and died in December 1791, aged 35. Napoleon was then 22, Beethoven 20 and Jane Austen only 15.

Which of these landmark books appeared first, only a few years into the seventeenth century?

Don Quixote was published in 1605 and is considered the first modern novel. The King James Bible followed in 1611 and Shakespeare's First Folio in 1623.

Which of these medieval treasures was made first, on pages of calfskin vellum around the year 800?

The Book of Kells was created around 800 in a Columban monastery in Ireland or Scotland, and ten of its pages are full-page illustrations. The Domesday Book was compiled nearly three centuries later.

Which of these condiment brands went on sale first, while Charles Dickens was writing Oliver Twist?

Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce was first sold in 1837 by two chemists from Broad Street, Worcester. Tabasco followed in 1868 and Heinz ketchup in 1876.

Which of these states joined the Union first, after fourteen years as a self-governing republic?

Vermont was admitted in 1791 as the 14th state, the first to join after the thirteen founding states. Kentucky followed in 1792 and Tennessee in 1796.

Which of these magazines was founded first, starting out as a four-page weekly newspaper?

Scientific American was founded in 1845 by the inventor Rufus Porter, and no magazine in the United States has been published continuously for longer. National Geographic began in 1888.

Which of these sporting events made its debut first, just over five years after the First World War ended?

The Winter Olympics began in 1924 at Chamonix as an International Winter Sports Week, and were only named the first Winter Games in retrospect. The Ryder Cup started in 1927.

Which of these long-running American TV shows began first, while Harry Truman was president?

Meet the Press made its television debut on November 6, 1947, and no programme on American television has run for longer. The Tonight Show did not arrive until 1954.

Which of these twentieth-century novels was published first, at the height of the Jazz Age?

The Great Gatsby was published on April 10, 1925, and sold fewer than 20,000 copies by that October, dashing Fitzgerald's hopes of a windfall. The Hobbit followed in 1937.