Q 01/05

The wheel and axle is one of how many classical simple machines?

A) Three

B) Six

C) Twelve

D) Thirty

Answer · why

B) Six

Six: none of them creates energy, so any that eases the force you need makes you push over a longer distance instead.

Q 02/05

Why did department stores first turn away Bernard Sadow's wheeled suitcase?

A) It seemed unmanly

B) It looked too cheap

C) Wheels kept jamming

D) It cost too much

Answer · why

A) It seemed unmanly

It seemed unmanly: Sadow recalled a 'macho feeling' at the time, when men were expected to carry luggage for their wives.

Q 03/05

The English word 'wheel' shares a Proto-Indo-European root with which Sanskrit word for 'circle'?

A) Chakra

B) Karma

C) Dharma

D) Mandala

Answer · why

A) Chakra

Chakra: the seven chakras familiar from yoga are only one tradition's version; older texts counted four, five, six or even more.

Q 04/05

The oldest wooden wheel ever found was dug out of a marsh in 2002 in which country?

A) Egypt

B) Slovenia

C) Bulgaria

D) Iraq

Answer · why

B) Slovenia

It sat about 20 km south of Ljubljana in a prehistoric pile-dwelling settlement now on the UNESCO list.

Q 05/05

Found in a Slovenian marsh in 2002, the Ljubljana Marshes Wheel is older than which of these?

A) Göbekli Tepe

B) Çatalhöyük

C) The city of Jericho

D) The Great Pyramid

Answer · why

D) The Great Pyramid

The Great Pyramid: the wheel was locked onto its axle, so rather than spinning around the axle, wheel and axle turned together.