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I know what you're thinking … "Wow, he
has an entire staff helping him write his column each week. And they
must have offices all over the world because he just said that it
comes from their world headquarters."
First, let's
clear up both rumors (and I have no idea how they got started). It's
a staff of two, and that's only if you include my dog, Patent. And
this is the only office that "Invention Mysteries" has; I just think
it gives us (the dog and I) more of an international flair by
referring to a world headquarters.
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Now, back to the quiz. The following
inventors all have one thing in common: They had an invention named
after them, for better or worse, whether they wanted it that way or
not. The names of the inventors are shown first, followed by the
clues. Each inventor's name is used only once. Good luck!
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Clues
1. On a
scale from 1 to 10, his invention might measure a 6.5.
2. The
first part of his oath says to “do no harm.”
3.
People have been toasting this Frenchman since 1670.
4. This
French physician's invention was an attempt to make executions more
humane.
5. He
has a mouse that's more than 70 years old.
6. This
U.S. president was not an inventor, but he had an animal named after
him.
7. This
type of screw is capable of raising water and was invented by a
Greek scientist and mathematician born in the third century B.C.
8. This
18th-century inventor of the seed drill had a 1970s band named after
him.
9. This
Frenchmen could really weave a yarn.
10.
Blinded by an accident at age 3, this Frenchman invented a
stereoscope, but that's not what made him famous.
11. The
popularity of his invention went up in smoke when the Hindenburg
crashed.
[to top of
second column in this quiz] |
12. His father
was a friend of Noah Webster, of dictionary fame, and he was
commissioned to paint President James Monroe as well as Eli Whitney.
Oh, by the way, he also invented the telegraph and a well-known
code.
13.
This chemist was the logical choice for being the person who
invented the process for purifying milk because his name sounds like
a place where cows hang out.
14. Going up? This
inventor will take you for a
ride with his elevator safety brakes.
15.
This inventor of dynamite also established the world's most famous
peace prize.
16.
When this inventor died, his wife became
America's first female CEO rather than being “swept under the
carpet” in sympathy.
17.
This inventor could use his own invention to sign his patent
applications.
18.
It's a good thing this inventor didn't become a beer maker. His
creation of the Jeep helped us win World War II.
19. He
invented the artificial heart. The first one lasted only a couple of
months, but it was still considered a success.
20.
While he could not predict the future, he did show us how to
forecast the weather. |
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Answers
1. Charles Richter; 2. Hippocrates; 3.
Dom Pérignon; 4. Joseph Guillotin; 5. Walt Disney; 6. Teddy
Roosevelt; 7. Archimedes; 8. Jethro Tull; 9. Jacquard (inventor of
Jacquard's loom); 10. Louis Braille; 11. Count Ferdinand von
Zeppelin; 12. Samuel Morse; 13. Louis Pasteur; 14. Elisha Otis; 15.
Alfred Nobel; 16. Melville Bissell; 17. Ladislo Biro (inventor of
the ballpoint pen); 18. Karl Pabst; 19. Robert Jarvik; 20. Christian
Andreas Doppler
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In case you were keeping score at home,
here's your grade -- using a scale of 100 percent, 90 percent, etc.:
18- 20: A -- Congratulations! Thomas
Edison would be proud.
16-17: B -- Keep trying.
14-15: C -- Better luck next time.
12-13: D -- Go back to the drawing
board.
11 or fewer: F -- You'll do better once
you start reading this column EVERY week.
[Paul
Niemann]
"Invention Mysteries" is written each
week by Paul Niemann. He can be reached at
niemann7@inventionmysteries.com.
© Copyright
Paul Niemann 2004
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