Q 01/05

Which short-range wireless technology is named after a tenth-century Danish king who united warring tribes?

A) Zigbee

B) Wireless USB

C) Bluetooth

D) Z-Wave

Answer · why

C) Bluetooth

Bluetooth borrows the nickname of King Harald, and its logo merges the runes for his initials. Intel's Jim Kardach proposed the name in 1997 because t...

Q 02/05

Which Hollywood actress co-invented a frequency-hopping radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes in the early 1940s?

A) Hedy Lamarr

B) Rita Hayworth

C) Ingrid Bergman

D) Greta Garbo

Answer · why

A) Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr devised it with composer George Antheil, but the US Navy rejected the idea as too bulky for a torpedo. Related spread-spectrum principles ...

Q 03/05

Which kitchen appliance works at roughly 2.45 GHz, the same band as many Wi-Fi networks, and can disrupt them?

A) Induction hob

B) Microwave oven

C) Electric kettle

D) Dishwasher

Answer · why

B) Microwave oven

A microwave oven leaks a little energy around 2.45 GHz, harmless to people but enough to disrupt Wi-Fi at close range. That band was chosen because it...

Q 04/05

Which birds carry the data in RFC 1149, a 1990 April Fools' networking standard later tested for real in Norway?

A) Ravens

B) Owls

C) Parrots

D) Pigeons

Answer · why

D) Pigeons

Pigeons delivered nine packets across about five kilometres when a Bergen Linux group tried it in 2001. Only four replies came back, the fastest after...

Q 05/05

What carries nearly all international Internet traffic, with capacity measured in terabits per second?

A) Submarine cables

B) Communications satellites

C) Radio relay towers

D) High-altitude balloons

Answer · why

A) Submarine cables

Submarine cables win because satellites carry only a very small percentage of international traffic. Sharks have even been recorded biting the lines.