50 free Dynamite trivia questions with answers — science & nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This dynamite trivia quiz is mostly about the real thing: the nitroglycerin-soaked explosive that Alfred Nobel patented in 1867 and that blasted the tunnels, mines and railways of the modern world. The easy questions are the ones any science fan knows: who invented it, what it is made of, the Greek word behind the name, and why it is not the same as TNT. From there it moves into the chemistry and the history: the Italian who first made nitroglycerin and begged people not to use it, the explosion that killed Nobel's brother, the fossil algae that made nitro safe to carry, the blasting cap, and the shelf life of a stick. The harder end is for people who like the details: the percentages behind '40% dynamite', why boxes have to be turned over in storage, the South African gold-mine factories that once led the world, the DuPont breakup, the ammonium and military versions, and the myth of the 'merchant of death' obituary. Because the word has escaped the quarry, the last stretch covers dynamite in pop culture: the BTS and Taio Cruz hits, J.J.'s catchphrase on Good Times, the British Bulldog wrestler, and a nerdy kid from Preston, Idaho. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries on dynamite, nitroglycerin, Alfred Nobel and the songs and shows named before publishing, and the supporting sentence is stored with each question. For the inventor's whole life and the prizes, try our Alfred Nobel trivia quiz.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which year was dynamite patented?
1867
Nobel took out patents in England in May and Sweden in October of that year.
Q 02Dynamite is usually sold with a 'weight strength', or nitroglycerin content, in what range?
20% to 60%
The rest is sorbent and stabiliser.
Q 03Which Ancient Greek word, meaning 'power', gives dynamite its name?
Dynamis
Nobel had originally planned to call it Nobel's Safety Powder.
Q 04In which country was dynamite invented, at Geesthacht?
Germany
Nobel had moved there after founding Dynamit Nobel.
Q 05Which Italian chemist first synthesised nitroglycerin in the 1840s?
Ascanio Sobrero
He called it pyroglycerin and warned vigorously against using it as an explosive.
Q 06What did Nobel find that finally stabilised nitroglycerin into a portable explosive?
Diatomaceous earth
He had tried cement, coal and sawdust first; the fossil algae came from a river near his Hamburg factory.
Q 07Which river near Nobel's Hamburg factory supplied the fossil-algae absorbent that made dynamite possible?
Elbe
Some American firms dodged Nobel's patent by using other absorbents such as resin.
Q 08Which device did Nobel invent to detonate nitroglycerin safely from a distance?
The blasting cap
His 1863 detonator used a copper percussion cap.
Q 09Which member of Nobel's family died in the 1864 nitroglycerin explosion at Heleneborg?
His brother Emil
Five people were killed and Nobel lost his licence to make explosives in Stockholm.
Q 10Which three chemicals did Nobel's 1864 patent use to synthesise nitroglycerin?
Sulfuric acid, nitric acid and glycerin
The same year he patented his detonator.
Q 11Where did Nobel found the company Nitroglycerin Aktiebolaget after the Heleneborg disaster?
Vinterviken
He wanted a more isolated site, then moved on to Germany to set up Dynamit Nobel.
Q 12Dynamite was the first safely manageable explosive stronger than which older explosive?
Black powder
It rapidly replaced it in mining and construction.
Q 13Roughly how much energy does a standard 190-gram stick of dynamite contain?
1 megajoule
Sticks are cardboard cylinders about 200 mm long and 32 mm across.
What does the 'dope' in dynamite refer to?
Q 21Where is the only US facility still producing dynamite?
Carthage, Missouri
Other firms buy it from Dyno Nobel and put their own labels on the boxes.
Q 22Why do cartoons like Bugs Bunny label every bomb 'TNT' rather than dynamite?
The initialism was shorter and needed no literacy
The confusion between the two explosives largely comes from those cartoons.
Q 23Why has dynamite never been popular in warfare?
It degenerates quickly and can be set off by fire or a bullet
The absorbent medium mixed with stabiliser
So 40% dynamite is 40% nitroglycerin and 60% dope.
Q 15What is the recommended maximum shelf life of nitroglycerin dynamite?
One year
Old sticks 'weep' nitroglycerin, which pools in the box.
Q 16Why do explosives manuals recommend regularly turning boxes of stored dynamite upside down?
Because sticks weep nitroglycerin that pools at the bottom
Crystals forming on the sticks make them more sensitive to shock and friction.
Q 17In drop-hammer tests, which of these detonates from the smallest drop height?
Mercury fulminate
With a 2 kg hammer it goes off at 1-2 cm, against 15-30 cm for dynamite.
Q 18Which country was the world's largest dynamite producer for decades from the 1940s?
South Africa
Demand came from the Witwatersrand gold mines; De Beers opened the Somerset West factory in 1902.
Q 19Who first manufactured dynamite in the United States, under exclusive rights from Nobel?
Giant Powder of San Francisco
DuPont later bought Giant, and the DuPont monopoly was broken up in the 1911-12 Powder Case.
Q 20Which two companies were formed when DuPont's explosives monopoly was broken up?
Hercules and Atlas
Today only Dyno Nobel makes dynamite in the US.
TNT, by contrast, is stable enough to be melted and poured into shells.
Q 24At what temperature can TNT be melted so it can be poured into shells?
81 °C
It re-solidifies with no change in its characteristics.
Q 25TNT was first made in 1863 for what purpose?
A yellow dye
Julius Wilbrand's compound was so insensitive that its explosive potential went unnoticed for thirty years.
Q 26Which army adopted TNT as a shell filling in 1902?
The German
That was some 40 years after dynamite was invented.
Q 27What did Russell Penniman's cheaper 1885 'Extra' dynamite substitute for nitroglycerin?
Ammonium nitrate
Ammonium nitrate has only 85% of nitroglycerin's chemical energy but is much cheaper.
Q 28What is the main ingredient of so-called 'military dynamite' (M1)?
RDX
It is 75% RDX and 15% TNT, with only 60% of the strength of commercial dynamite but far safer to store.
Q 29Which more powerful jelly-like explosive did Nobel patent in 1876?
Gelignite
Also called blasting gelatin, it combined nitroglycerin with nitrocellulose compounds.
Q 30How many patents did Alfred Nobel hold in his lifetime?
355
He filed his first at 24 and was fluent in six languages.