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American Inventions #1

Based on the clues, name these things that were invented in the United States.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: September 12, 2018
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First submittedMay 9, 2014
Times taken30,366
Average score54.5%
Rating3.52
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Clue
Answer
Edison's most famous invention
Lightbulb
Wright Brothers' contribution to the world
Airplane
Modern computer chips have more than a billion of these
Transistor
Made rock & roll possible
Electric Guitar
The deadliest weapon ever used
Atomic Bomb
Synthetic fabric beloved by cyclists
Spandex
Protects a building from lightning strikes
Lightning Rod
When someone builds a better one the world will beat a path to their door
Mousetrap
A hard plastic way to ruin yourself financially
Credit Card
Faster way to heat your food
Microwave
Shoots a concentrated beam of light
Laser
What makes Miami inhabitable
Air Conditioning
Cheap way to fence your ranch
Barbed Wire
Keeps you warm in cold water
Wetsuit
Super-efficient light source
Light-emitting Diode
Tuba for marching bands
Sousaphone
Flying saucer found at parks?
Frisbee
Doctors using it yell "CLEAR!"
Defibrillator
Non-stick substance
Teflon
Way to avoid walking up stairs
Escalator
Combines reading glasses and regular glasses
Bifocals
Standing conveyance used by police and tourists
Segway
kalbahamut
+2
Level 82
May 15, 2014
Segway but no Internet?
Quizmaster
+13
Level ∞
May 15, 2014
This quiz is strictly about the important inventions.
kalbahamut
+7
Level 82
May 15, 2014
well in that case you missed velcro, Post-Its, and the Snuggie.
Calce1987
+1
Level 30
May 15, 2014
You don;t think the internet is important yet mousetrap and a frisbie are? Try updating your quiz on a frisbie!
tylerdavid
+1
Level 73
May 15, 2014
If it weren't for the internet, we wouldn't be taking this quiz.
scottyc
+10
Level 20
May 15, 2014
He's being sarcastic relax
tuzdayschild
+3
Level 56
Oct 23, 2018
You left out Pop Rocks, Poptarts, and Jiffy Pop. Basically all the significant Pops.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 82
Oct 24, 2018
Push pops, blow pops, and tootsie pops?
TheLetter4
+5
Level 70
Apr 10, 2019
I feel like everyone on this website is as dense as a cinderblock
Insaniot
+1
Level 59
Jun 7, 2019
Certainly seems to be the case sometimes.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jul 29, 2019
Wellplayed quizmaster :D
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jul 29, 2019
@tylerdavid, exactly! we would be doing more important things! (it is a fact internet keeps you from doing important things, in fact it keeps you from doing most things, besides the bare minimum of foodintakes and toilettrips..)
cyanidecarrot
+5
Level 32
Jul 1, 2015
England invented both the World Wide Web and the internet
kalbahamut
+8
Level 82
Sep 25, 2017
There isn't even a single part of that sentence that's accurate.
Hoofar
+2
Level 72
Oct 23, 2018
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web
kalbahamut
+4
Level 82
Oct 24, 2018
Hoofar, thanks for backing me up. That page helps verify that there is, in fact, not a single part of the above sentence that is true.
kalbahamut
+4
Level 82
Oct 24, 2018
Selections from the article:

"Not to be confused with the Internet."

"in 1990 while employed at CERN in Switzerland"

SenileS
+4
Level 49
Oct 24, 2018
CERN is not in the US...
kalbahamut
+1
Level 82
Nov 26, 2018
That's true. It's also not in England. And they also didn't invent the Internet.
smt42
+2
Level 20
Jan 5, 2019
CERN didn't invent the internet, DARPA did. The World Wide Web is something different.
TheWombat
+4
Level 74
May 15, 2014
Sousaphone? Nice! Technically, a defibrillator regulates the heart beat, it doesn't restart the heart if it stops altogether, but most people think it does so the clue's a good 'un, I'm just being pedantic.
PacoGee
+2
Level 44
Jan 21, 2015
from my knowledge which isn't tons, defibrillator check to see if their is a heartbeat and if the heart is "defibrillating" IE not beating properly it will shock the heart to a regular heartbeat. If there is no heartbeat i dont know what they do.
roleybob
+2
Level 75
Oct 26, 2018
Probably note the time of death
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jul 29, 2019
pretty sure defibrilators cant write.. He meant the defibs with they, and not the person(s) operating them.
Akkragh
+5
Level 45
May 15, 2014
I thought inhabitable meant that people couldn't live there. It's confusing that habitable and inhabitable mean the same thing...
mikeb
+3
Level 66
May 15, 2014
Just like flammable and inflammable.
MasterKenobi
+3
Level 60
Apr 16, 2015
Or valuable and invaluable
brandybuck96
+2
Level 83
Oct 14, 2015
The worst thing is when you're reading French and inhabitable actually means uninhabitable.
FractalDoom
+1
Level 44
May 15, 2014
Defibulators DO NOT restart hearts! They stop erratic heart beats, if you used one on someone who's heart has stopped, congratulations Dr. Frankestein, you just electrocuted a corpse.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
May 15, 2014
Haha. Good to know. I changed the clue.
PacoGee
+2
Level 44
Jan 21, 2015
more like shocked. duh
RDH131
+1
Level 40
May 15, 2014
Surely accept "plane" or "aeroplane" for The Wright Brothers?
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
May 15, 2014
Those will work now.
Berney
+6
Level 80
May 15, 2014
The Wright Brothers didn't 'invent' the airplane/aeroplane. They demonstrated the first, manned, powered flight with a heavier than air vehicle. The aeroplane they designed and used for that flight was an evolution of their own, and others', experiments with gliders and previous unsuccessful powered aeroplanes. Don't forget, gliders are also aeroplanes, just unpowered ones. The work they did to lead to the successful first flight in 1903 was fantastic but the airplane/aeroplane wasn't 'invented' at that point.
mikeb
+3
Level 66
May 15, 2014
So what was your answer to the question?
rgc1600
+2
Level 73
May 15, 2014
I knew this was coming when I saw the name of the quiz.
kalbahamut
+3
Level 82
May 16, 2014
Since airplanes are often not considered airplanes unless they are powered (otherwise they are gliders), and the Wright Brothers made the first successful powered flight, they are usually given credit for inventing the airplane. Yes, a glider includes a plane that is designed to move through the air but colloquially it's not the same thing.
lzdo
+2
Level 66
Jan 6, 2015
Clément Ader is the first man to constructed the first flying machine in 1886, the "Éole".
MasterKenobi
+1
Level 60
Apr 16, 2015
Ahh the good ol' Steampunk Era. Gotta love it.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Oct 25, 2018
Comparing anything that came before to what the Wright Brothers invented is just silly. I like this anecdote from Wikipedia:

Facing much skepticism in the French aeronautical community and outright scorn by some newspapers that called him a "bluffeur", Wilbur began official public demonstrations on August 8, 1908, at the Hunaudières horse racing track near the town of Le Mans, France. His first flight lasted only one minute 45 seconds, but his ability to effortlessly make banking turns and fly a circle amazed and stunned onlookers, including several pioneer French aviators, among them Louis Blériot.

Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jul 29, 2019
How about aviation? That is what I tried (after flight came to my mind first).

I reluctantly typed in airplanes cause in my logic they didnt event them, but were the first to take a succesfull flight with them, and was kind of surprised that answer was accepted. But that is besides the point of my request to accept aviation

irish41
+4
Level 59
May 15, 2014
I don't get the clue for mousetrap...?
fuanacdc
+1
Level 84
May 15, 2014
Yeah me neither
joeythelemur
+2
Level 84
May 15, 2014
It's a common saying, at least in the US. "If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door." More generally, it's meant to convey that you'll become very successful when you find ways to do everyday things in a better way.
irish41
+1
Level 59
May 15, 2014
Ahh, makes sense. Thanks! :)
ILikeQuizes
+3
Level 63
Nov 19, 2016
I've never heard it, and I've lived in the U.S. my entire life. Maybe it's regional?
jmellor13
+2
Level 67
Oct 23, 2018
It's not regional; it's just a little dated by now. You'll more frequently hear people allude to it than to say the whole phrase. A lot of business people say they're "trying to build a better mouse trap" as a euphemism for saying they are just trying to make a common process more efficient.
kapulani3
+1
Level 74
Oct 23, 2018
I heard the phrase in The Mummy Returns (at least the build a better mousetrap part) and never understood why it was said. This makes sense.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jul 29, 2019
I have never heard of it, does it come from a commercial or something? Doesnt sound like an age old saying but something relatively new (in the era where (financial) succes suddenly is important, so not something before 1800 atleast)
Salz
+2
Level 57
May 15, 2014
Can you accept "lightning conductor" for lightning rod please?
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
May 16, 2014
Okay
babbaloo7
+3
Level 51
May 15, 2014
Would you be willing to accept diving suit or scuba suit for wetsuit?
PacoGee
+1
Level 44
Jan 21, 2015
I used dry suit and it took it because a dry suit is designed to keep you warm in really cold water , a wetsuit traps cool water which gets warmed by body heat to provide insulation :) glad it took it.. wetsuit was my next guess if it didnt work :)
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jul 29, 2019
I tried scuba and diving suit first aswell.. took me a bit before I eventually came up with wet suit (we often call it surfsuit here)
Chris19
+1
Level 51
Aug 10, 2020
I tried "neoprene suit". Does not seem to be a very common term, though.
MilaMajerkowski
+1
Level 30
May 19, 2014
This is the one I liked best: "A hard plastic way to ruin yourself financially - Credit Card"!
SamusVII
+3
Level 44
Apr 8, 2015
Edison didn't invent the lightbulb, look it up. He improved it. And the quiz doesn't even take "incandescant lightbulb" for an answer.
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Apr 9, 2015
Almost no one really invented anything. Like Newton said: "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants".
Pimbard6
+1
Level 67
Apr 10, 2015
And King Solomon said "Nothing is really new under the sun."

By the way, isn't the flying disc spelled Frisbee?

Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Apr 11, 2015
Right you are. I fixed the spelling.
bezz
+1
Level 69
Oct 23, 2018
You are correct, Edison bought the patent from a British inventor called Swan.
orionschwert
+4
Level 15
Apr 16, 2015
Lightbulb ? Thomas Edison ? Nope !! Check out "Heinrich Goebel" who had a lightbulb running for 400 hours, far before Edison. Already 25 years before Edison's "invention", Goebel had his first successful tests ......
Aluminum
+2
Level 55
Apr 1, 2016
Powered flight ought to be accepted for the wright brother's invention
WreckerJack
+2
Level 36
Jun 12, 2016
The hint for mousetrap was too vague.

Also I answered scuba gear for wetsuit, I think that should count.

ander217
+1
Level 75
Oct 23, 2018
The mousetrap phrase is a well-known adage by Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th-century American poet and transcendentalist.
Sifhraven
+2
Level 67
Jul 29, 2019
It is not wellknown at all
idontkn1
+3
Level 90
Oct 17, 2016
Even tough I still got it, I think Neoprene should be acceptable for "Keeps you warm in cold water". It was invented in the US and is the basis of the wet suit and many other things like waterproof gloves, fishing waders etc. that make cold wet conditions tolerable.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jul 29, 2019
Peeing does too!
mrnafe
+3
Level 82
Nov 3, 2017
Let's be fair, America is just an extension of europe, so technically they're all European inventions ;) x
kalbahamut
+1
Level 82
Nov 26, 2018
They're not European. But you could group them in with achievements made by Western Civilization.

Could have thrown on some pre-Columbian Native American inventions, maybe... lacrosse, baby bottles, bunk beds?

mrnafe
+1
Level 82
May 29, 2019
Nibble nibble
ScottDozenNo
+3
Level 56
Dec 4, 2017
What makes Miami inhabitable???

This was a questionably phrased clue.

cornflakesfu
+4
Level 86
May 29, 2018
Controversies I expected to find and found in the comments: Edison didn't invent the lightbulb, Wright brothers didn't invent the airplane, rock and roll clue could be a lot of things (jazz, etc.)

Controversies I expected to find but did not find in the comments: Why no South American inventions?

Controversies I did not expect to find but found in the comments: People not knowing what inhabitable means.

ddddan
+1
Level 81
Oct 23, 2018
Don't forget US is amazing vs US is horrible
kenpo17
+1
Level 66
Jul 5, 2018
Maybe accept nuke for atomic bomb?
stone222
+3
Level 48
Oct 7, 2018
not sure if this has been raised, but why not elevator for a way of avoiding climbing stairs?
kalbahamut
+1
Level 82
Oct 23, 2018
Seems logical as the first elevator was put in use in New York City.
Jorissie
+3
Level 89
Oct 23, 2018
Why not accept Bifocal glasses
Chris19
+1
Level 51
Aug 10, 2020
That's what I tried, too.
jayhiatt
+1
Level 70
Oct 23, 2018
Most of these were good, but I had a problem with two of the questions. There are many things that were invented in the U.S. that made rock and roll possible. The other one I thought of was jazz or blues, which were invented in the U.S. and without which, rock and roll as we know it would not exist. The second question I had a problem with was the Miami one. I was trying to think of something that it would be completely uninhabitable without (e.g., levees in New Orleans or dykes in Amsterdam). I'm pretty sure Miami was inhabited well before the invention of air conditioning. Maybe reword the clue to "What makes Miami comfortable enough to live in?"
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jul 29, 2019
yea my first thought was something along the line of dykes aswell. Something that without that it would have been literally uninhabitable. Not just less comfortable. This is more, what invention makes living in miami more bareable
bezz
+3
Level 69
Oct 23, 2018
Air conditioning makes Miami inhabitable? As in not able to live there? There is an English lesson here somewhere.
UncleCharlesYall
+5
Level 75
Oct 23, 2018
I think the English lesson is "know the definition of inhabitable before you make a comment online that makes you look like a bozo."
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jul 29, 2019
You acting like a jerk is what is making you look like a bozo. Maybe he was actually saying, "I misunderstood this question, I guess there is something to learn here for me"
AdamC0912
+1
Level 82
Oct 23, 2018
If it weren't for AC everybody would live in Miami! Thankfully AC makes it inhabitable.
BobSaget
+2
Level 78
Oct 23, 2018
The blues made rock and roll possible. Still an (African) American invention.
jmellor13
+3
Level 67
Oct 23, 2018
And a lot of rock and roll (especially the earliest stuff) was centered around the piano, not the guitar. The consensus "first rock and roll" song is Rocket 88, which is on the piano. Little Richard is often considered the first rock and roll star...also piano. If not Little Richard, a lot of people would pick Fats Domino. Piano again. Jerry Lee Lewis is another huge rock and roll star who featured the piano. The electric guitar made a lot of genres possible, but I don't think rock and roll is one of them.
jmellor13
+1
Level 67
Oct 23, 2018
I like an escalator because an escalator can never break. It can only become stairs. Instead of an "Escalator out of order" sign, it should just say "Escalator temporarily stairs. Sorry for the convenience."
fromaj
+1
Level 70
Oct 24, 2018
Or something like this could happen.
Stef2
+1
Level 59
Oct 24, 2018
I think microtransistor should definetely be an option
SenileS
+1
Level 49
Oct 24, 2018
I find it hard to believe they didn't have a device to trap mice before the settlement of America
Corrode
+1
Level 60
Oct 25, 2018
There have been mouse traps for centuries, but the conventional one most people think of as a "mouse trap" now was invented in America.
Freestatebear
+1
Level 85
Nov 26, 2018
Perhaps the ancient Egyptians should get the credit, since they are believed to have domesticated cats, and kept them as pets...
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jul 29, 2019
that isnt a trap though, but a catcher
tralalalalala
+3
Level 47
Oct 25, 2018
You should accept bifocal for bifocals
blackwolf17927
+2
Level 41
Jan 16, 2019
can you make nuke work for atomic bomb?
Sifhraven
+2
Level 67
Jul 29, 2019
tried multifocal, multifocus, varifocal, varifocus, then out of desperation tried bifocal, bifocus (I dont think we call it that here, atleast only have heard of varifocal and multifocal) still no luck..

Is the plural really necessary here... (especially since the s is usually omitted even often in cases where it is an actual part of the word and not just the plural form)

oxfordyj
+1
Level 28
Jan 2, 2020
Poorly worded questions; way too ambiguous
Chris19
+1
Level 51
Aug 10, 2020
As a cyclist, I much prefer Kevlar as a synthetic fabric (also invented in the US, I believe). It is part of the reason I rarely have flat tyres :-)
Koopa
+1
Level 77
Dec 21, 2022
You might need to change your clue for atom bomb. More people have died via other weaponry means than the A-bomb.
TheRatmeister
+1
Level 85
May 14, 2023
A stairlift is also a way to avoid walking up stairs that invented in the US.
kcirceo
+1
Level 56
Mar 30, 2024
Rock and roll was around before the electric guitar.
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