Everyday inventions quiz
Checked on 4 November 2026
Question 1 of 10
Discover
Swiss engineer George de Mestral came up with the hook-and-loop fastener after looking closely at burs from which plant?
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The answer is Burdock.
In 1941 George de Mestral studied the burdock burs that kept sticking to his clothes and his dog's fur, and this gave him the idea for hook-and-loop fasteners.
Discover
Karl Drais's 1817 running machine, an early ancestor of the bicycle, had no what?
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The answer is Pedals.
The rider moved the running machine (also called a dandy horse) by pushing their feet on the ground, because pedals only came with later bicycles.
Discover
In which city were traffic lights first introduced, in December 1868?
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The answer is London.
The first traffic lights went up on Parliament Square in London in December 1868.
Discover
The brand name Velcro is made from two words in which language?
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The answer is French.
Velcro joins the French words velours (velvet) and crochet (hook).
Practise
Why were the first Post-it Notes canary yellow?
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The answer is The only scrap paper next door was yellow.
The colour was chosen by chance: the scrap paper available in the lab next door to the Post-it team happened to be yellow.
Practise
The name zipper came from the B. F. Goodrich Company in 1923, which used the fastener on what product?
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The answer is Rubber boots.
B. F. Goodrich used the fastener on a new type of rubber boots (galoshes), and the name zipper stuck.
Practise
How is Gideon Sundback, the electrical engineer behind the modern zip, described?
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The answer is Swedish-American.
Gideon Sundback was a Swedish-American electrical engineer. He is sometimes wrongly thought to be Canadian because he worked with a Canadian firm.
Expert
In 1912, Salt Lake City's Lester Wire built one of the earliest electric traffic lights. What was his job?
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The answer is Policeman.
Lester Wire, a Salt Lake City policeman, built an early electric traffic light in 1912.
Expert
After patenting the safety pin in 1849, Walter Hunt sold the patent to W. R. Grace and Company for how much?
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The answer is $400.
Walter Hunt received US patent 6,281 in April 1849 and sold it to W. R. Grace and Company for just $400.
Expert
In which year did British merchant Peter Durand obtain an English patent for preserving food in tin cans?
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The answer is 1810.
Peter Durand obtained the English patent in 1810, on behalf of Frenchman Philippe de Girard.