Q 01/05

The word karaoke is a clipped compound of two Japanese words meaning what?

A) Singing box

B) Night song

C) Loud voice

D) Empty orchestra

Answer · why

D) Empty orchestra

Empty orchestra: Daisuke Inoue said even the word wasn't his invention, since it was already show-business slang before his machines.

Q 02/05

Daisuke Inoue later invented a way to kill which pests that crawl into karaoke machines and eat the wires?

A) Termites

B) Cockroaches

C) Moths

D) Silverfish

Answer · why

B) Cockroaches

Cockroaches: Inoue never patented karaoke, so he missed out on its fortune, but he has made money selling pesticide to kill them.

Q 03/05

What did Daisuke Inoue call his original coin-operated karaoke machine?

A) 8 Sing

B) 8 Juke

C) Mic Box

D) Sing Juke

Answer · why

B) 8 Juke

8 Juke: Inoue leased the first machines to bars in Kobe, where a ¥100 coin bought five minutes of singing.

Q 04/05

How did Daisuke Inoue get customers to try his machines after Kobe's bars ignored them?

A) He gave away drinks

B) He had a woman sing on them

C) He placed them in hotels

D) He advertised on radio

Answer · why

B) He had a woman sing on them

He had a woman sing on them: Inoue says he sent a female employee around the clubs as a decoy, and the stunt soon got customers interested.

Q 05/05

Which award did the man credited with inventing karaoke receive?

A) The Ig Nobel Peace Prize

B) The Ig Nobel Acoustics Prize

C) The Golden Raspberry Award

D) A Grammy Trustees Award

Answer · why

A) The Ig Nobel Peace Prize

The Ig Nobel Peace Prize: when he accepted it at Harvard, the audience gave him a standing ovation.