Q 01/05

Around which year did Johannes Gutenberg invent a method for mass-producing movable type in Europe?

A) 1470

B) 1490

C) 1520

D) 1440

Answer · why

D) 1440

His hand mould let metal type be cast quickly and in quantity; Korean metal movable type already existed but produced only about 40 sheets a day.

Q 02/05

What first message did Samuel Morse telegraph from Washington to Baltimore on 24 May 1844?

A) Come here, I want to see you

B) What hath God wrought

C) The eagle has landed

D) Mr Vail, are you there?

Answer · why

B) What hath God wrought

It went from the Capitol to the Mount Clare depot; the first commercial needle telegraph, by Cooke and Wheatstone in Britain, was already seven years ...

Q 03/05

Which engineer working with Morse developed the alphabet-based code that replaced his original?

A) Alfred Vail

B) Joseph Henry

C) Ezra Cornell

D) Charles Wheatstone

Answer · why

A) Alfred Vail

The system is still named for Morse alone, though he was one of several developers.

Q 04/05

On what date was Alexander Graham Bell awarded the first US patent for the telephone?

A) 4 July 1875

B) 14 February 1877

C) 7 March 1876

D) 10 March 1878

Answer · why

C) 7 March 1876

Charles Bourseul, Antonio Meucci, Johann Philipp Reis and Elisha Gray have all also been credited with inventing the device.

Q 05/05

Which inventor is credited with popularising 'hello' (or 'hullo') as the standard telephone greeting?

A) Thomas Edison

B) Alexander Graham Bell

C) Elisha Gray

D) Nikola Tesla

Answer · why

A) Thomas Edison

Before the telephone, greetings usually named a time of day; connecting people across time zones made those awkward.