Q 01/05

What did Johannes Gutenberg invent?

A) Wood-pulp paper making

B) The mechanical typewriter

C) The movable-type printing press

D) The steam-powered rotary press

Answer · why

C) The movable-type printing press

Movable type already existed in East Asia, but his press made printing vastly faster.

Q 02/05

In which German city on the Rhine was Gutenberg born?

A) Mainz

B) Cologne

C) Nuremberg

D) Frankfurt

Answer · why

A) Mainz

The Gutenberg Museum was founded there in 1900 for the 500th anniversary of his birth.

Q 03/05

What was Gutenberg's major work, acclaimed for its aesthetic and technical quality?

A) The first printed newspaper

B) The first printed atlas

C) The first printed dictionary

D) The first printed Bible

Answer · why

D) The first printed Bible

It is also called the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42.

Q 04/05

What three metals made up Gutenberg's type-metal alloy?

A) Silver, tin and bismuth

B) Lead, tin and antimony

C) Lead, copper and gold

D) Iron, copper and zinc

Answer · why

B) Lead, tin and antimony

It melted at a low temperature for cheap casting and produced durable type.

Q 05/05

What kind of ink did Gutenberg introduce for printing books?

A) Oil-based ink

B) Water-based ink

C) Wax-based ink

D) Milk-based ink

Answer · why

A) Oil-based ink

Scribes' water-based inks would not adhere to metal type; his ink was mainly carbon with copper, lead and titanium.

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