Back to What Came First?
Run this live with your team

Everyone answers on their phone, you control each question, live scores and a podium. £5 includes five rounds; add up to five more for £1 each.

Host it live - £5
WorkplaceHero

What Came First?

Compare named inventions, events and products. Watch the dates: a launch is not a maiden voyage.

Free to use with your own team, courtesy of WorkplaceHero - workplacehero.co.uk

Question sheet

  1. 1. Which was patented first? Bain’s fax precursor or Bell’s telephone?
    • A. Bain’s fax precursor
    • B. Bell’s telephone
  2. 2. Which patent came first? Yeates’s can opener or Durand’s food-preserving tin can?
    • A. Yeates’s can opener
    • B. Durand’s food-preserving tin can
  3. 3. Which happened earlier in 1889: Nintendo’s card business began or the Eiffel Tower was inaugurated?
    • A. The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated
    • B. Nintendo’s playing-card business began
  4. 4. Which came first? Teaching at Oxford or The Aztec Empire’s Triple Alliance?
    • A. The Aztec Empire’s Triple Alliance
    • B. Teaching at Oxford
  5. 5. Which vehicle was built first? Benz’s petrol-powered Patent Motor Car or Thomas Parker’s battery-electric car?
    • A. Thomas Parker’s battery-electric car
    • B. Benz’s petrol-powered Patent Motor Car
  6. 6. Which happened first? Titanic was launched into the water or Oreo cookies debuted?
    • A. Oreo cookies debuted
    • B. Titanic was launched into the water
  7. 7. Which happened first? Commercial machine-sliced bread went on sale or Baird demonstrated working television to invited observers?
    • A. Baird demonstrated working television to invited observers
    • B. Commercial machine-sliced bread went on sale
  8. 8. Which came first? A public handheld cellular-phone call or The first Sony Walkman?
    • A. The first Sony Walkman
    • B. A public handheld cellular-phone call
  9. 9. Which came first? Play-Doh as a children’s modelling product or The original Radarange microwave oven?
    • A. The original Radarange microwave oven
    • B. Play-Doh as a children’s modelling product
  10. 10. Which came first? Yellowstone became a national park or Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis patented riveted work pants?
    • A. Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis patented riveted work pants
    • B. Yellowstone became a national park
  11. 11. Which happened first? Abraham Lincoln died or London’s first Underground line opened?
    • A. London’s first Underground line opened
    • B. Abraham Lincoln died
  12. 12. Which happened first? Sundback developed the modern zipper or Garrett Morgan patented his traffic signal?
    • A. Garrett Morgan patented his traffic signal
    • B. Sundback developed the modern zipper

Answer sheet (for the quizmaster)

  1. 1. A - Bain’s fax precursor
    Bain patented an image-transmission precursor in 1843, 33 years before Bell’s telephone patent.
  2. 2. B - Durand’s food-preserving tin can
    Durand’s tin-can preservation patent dates to 1810; Yeates’s purpose-built opener followed in 1855.
  3. 3. A - The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated
    The tower was inaugurated on March 31, 1889. Nintendo’s original card shop began on September 23 that same year.
  4. 4. B - Teaching at Oxford
    Teaching existed at Oxford by 1096. The Aztec Triple Alliance rose to power in 1428, more than three centuries later.
  5. 5. A - Thomas Parker’s battery-electric car
    Parker built a battery-electric car as early as 1884; Benz completed his petrol-powered three-wheeler in 1885.
  6. 6. B - Titanic was launched into the water
    Titanic entered the water on May 31, 1911. Oreo’s official birthday is March 6, 1912.
  7. 7. A - Baird demonstrated working television to invited observers
    Baird’s demonstration was on January 26, 1926. Commercial machine-sliced bread debuted in Chillicothe on July 7, 1928.
  8. 8. B - A public handheld cellular-phone call
    Motorola demonstrated a handheld cellular call in 1973; Sony introduced its first Walkman in 1979.
  9. 9. A - The original Radarange microwave oven
    The large early Radarange appeared in 1947. The Play-Doh brand began in 1956.
  10. 10. B - Yellowstone became a national park
    Yellowstone was established on March 1, 1872. The riveted work-pants patent followed in 1873.
  11. 11. A - London’s first Underground line opened
    The Metropolitan Railway opened on January 10, 1863. Lincoln died on April 15, 1865.
  12. 12. B - Sundback developed the modern zipper
    Sundback had created the modern zipper by December 1913. Morgan’s traffic-signal patent followed in 1923.