Q 01/05

Which Hollywood star co-invented a frequency-hopping radio system to stop torpedoes being jammed?

A) Ingrid Bergman

B) Lauren Bacall

C) Hedy Lamarr

D) Rita Hayworth

Answer · why

C) Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr patented the idea in 1942 with composer George Antheil. The US Navy turned it down, but related methods went on to protect Bluetooth signa...

Q 02/05

Which programming language did Guido van Rossum name after a British television comedy troupe?

A) Python

B) Pascal

C) Kotlin

D) Swift

Answer · why

A) Python

Python honours Monty Python's Flying Circus, which its creator was enjoying while he built the language. Its tutorials swap the usual placeholder name...

Q 03/05

What name did a mathematician's nine-year-old nephew coin for the number 1 followed by 100 zeros?

A) Centillion

B) Googol

C) Googolplex

D) Decillion

Answer · why

B) Googol

Googol was the suggestion of Milton Sirotta, nephew of the American mathematician Edward Kasner. Google later took its company name from a respelling ...

Q 04/05

Which fastener did George de Mestral invent after studying burrs stuck to his dog's fur?

A) Zipper

B) Safety pin

C) Press stud

D) Velcro

Answer · why

D) Velcro

Velcro copies the hundreds of tiny hooks he saw on the burrs under a microscope. Its name blends the French words velours and crochet, meaning velvet ...

Q 05/05

Which scientist is the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two sciences, physics and chemistry?

A) Linus Pauling

B) Marie Curie

C) Dorothy Hodgkin

D) Albert Einstein

Answer · why

B) Marie Curie

Marie Curie's papers are still so radioactive that they are kept in lead-lined boxes. Anyone who wants to consult them must wear protective clothing.