Italian Inventions

Can you name these Italian inventions?
Includes ancient Roman inventions
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: January 1, 2020
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First submittedMay 10, 2014
Times taken17,332
Average score63.2%
Rating3.79
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Clue
Answer
Wireless communication
Radio
Place to gamble
Casino
Help for the myopic
Eyeglasses
Easy-to-hold firearm
Pistol
Harpsichord replacement
Piano
Where the fat ladies sing
Opera
Method to propel a ship
Paddle Wheel
Necessary tool for narcissists
Mirror
Adagio, Forte, etc...
Musical Notation
Active ingredient in dynamite
Nitroglycerin
Way to prevent syphilis
Condom
Device for measuring atmospheric pressure
Barometer
Forcing hot water through finely ground beans
Espresso
Place to gather debt while learning (Hint: Bologna 1088)
University
Martini ingredient
Vermouth
The family business of the Medicis
Banking
Instrument that made Paganini famous
Violin
Money from the government for doing nothing
Welfare
Centuries before airplanes, Leonardo invented this way to jump out of one
Parachute
+1
Level 75
Jun 3, 2014
Interesting, fun, and fairly easy.
+7
Level 44
Jun 26, 2014
Radio was invented by Tesla, who let Marconi have the credit, because Tesla was awesome, I'm 90% sure condoms were invented in the Middle East, unless you mean latex condoms which I don't know about, and welfare isn't for nothing, it's for preventing extreme poverty and the economic black hole that comes with it. Also you should take percolation for espresso.
+2
Level 45
Jun 26, 2014
It's for nothing. And yes, Nikola Tesla was awesome. Did you know he liked pigeons?
+5
Level 76
Jul 25, 2014
It's not for nothing, it's for preventing extreme poverty and the economic black hole that comes with it.
+4
Level 36
Jun 26, 2014
The clue says "for doing nothing." It does not imply that welfare is useless, only that you don't have to do anything (work) to receive it.
+5
Level 66
Mar 23, 2017
Not in all countries. In Australia people are often made to work for the dole. Begging the question, if the work is there, why are they not being paid like a normal employee. Ultimately, however, unemployment is kept at a certain level in this country to maintain a certain level of job insecurity to keep employees more acquiescent. It also helps to drive wages down because a ready supply of unemployed workers makes it more difficult for employees to negotiate pay rises. When you also have large numbers of immigrants coming into the country also, it makes it easy for certain political elements to stir up racism as a cause of unemployment, rather than blaming the political parties and the business interests that donate money to them to shape immigration policy. For example, the Business Council of Australia constantly lobbies the government for both increased immigration and wage stagnation and the removal of wage penalty rates. How does it go down in your country?
+1
Level 57
Jun 26, 2014
Missed one. Anyone else read the clue as "forcing hot water through finely ground BEEF"?
+1
Level 44
Jun 29, 2014
Put "gun" instead of "pistol".....is it the same?
+2
Level 51
May 7, 2015
No. A pistol is a kind of gun.
+1
Level 75
Mar 28, 2017
Not all guns are easy to hold.
+1
Level 52
Jul 2, 2014
I kept typing in benefits but it wouldn't work, please accept this. The term 'welfare' isn't used in the UK.
+1
Level 48
Mar 23, 2017
Disagree. Many benefits aren't given for free.
+1
Level 67
Jul 5, 2014
I think you should accept prophylactic for those of us who are too pure to put condom.
+1
Level 85
Dec 24, 2021
Such a monumental mistake to confuse prudishness with purity.
+1
Level 76
Jul 25, 2014
With all the popes in Italy (the Vatican wasn't a separate country until the 20th century) I tried "abstention" for the way to prevent syphilis. No cigar. Not sure if not-doing-something is an invention, though.
+17
Level 78
Jan 19, 2016
In most of the civilized world, a university is not a "Place to gather debt while learning". I would suggest changing the definition to a less US-centric one.
+6
Level 69
Mar 23, 2017
Seconded
+9
Level 56
Mar 23, 2017
When I read the clue, I thought they meant some kind of bank account. People don't gather debt into a university.
+2
Level 48
Mar 23, 2017
This clue seemed to be intentionally misleading. Also, I paid my own way through university without ever a loan.
+1
Level 83
Feb 18, 2018
The UK also heaps debt on its student population, just in a less direct manner.
+1
Level 56
Jul 26, 2019
First thought when looking at the answers! Talk about US-centric question...
+11
Level 62
Mar 28, 2016
Saying that welfare is given out "for doing nothing" is a bit offensive and just politically triggering. There are many types of welfare, including old-aged pension, which you get for wasting the good years of your life working, and unemployment "benefit", which you get for looking for jobs.
+1
Level 66
Jul 31, 2019
What does politically triggering even mean? And it's certainly accurate that welfare, in its essential form (as opposed to workfare, etc.) is paid without any requirement that the recipient do anything of value. It's not a wage, it's not a reward, it's not a dividend, it's just a hand-out.
+1
Level 66
Aug 10, 2019
In most countries there are a lot of requirement you need to fit, before even being considered to get it. You must continually apply jobs for even if it is for scrubbing toilets. you have to come in every week to show what you have done to get a job. take courses to better you chance to get a job etc. If there is really no job that accepts you, you are required to do volunteer work.

So the requirement actually is that you do something of value or you will not be granted anything. You either have to work hard to be a better candidate for jobs ( by taking courses for instance) or help the community by doing volunteer work.

+1
Level 76
Mar 23, 2017
I never even knew that a lot of these were Italian.

"Opera" might be debatable though, since other countries like China also have their styles own operas which have existed for a long time.

+1
Level 55
Mar 23, 2017
I thought the piano was invented in Ireland?
+3
Level 72
Mar 23, 2017
Radio was invented by Nikola Tesla, parachute by Faust Vrancic.
+2
Level 50
Mar 26, 2017
The parachute was invented by Leonardo a century before Vrancic, who btw was venetian. So still an italian invention. The radio invention is a bit more disputable
+1
Level 57
Jul 25, 2019
I’m not going into dispute about the invention of parachute, but Vrančić was a Croat. He himself said it.
+2
Level 80
Oct 2, 2018
Radio transmissions were demonstrated between 1894 and 1896 by Bose (India), Popov (Russia), and Marconi. Works by Hertz, Hughes, Branly, and Lodge preceded those. All these were mostly kind of "if I make a spark here, I see a current over there," i.e., wireless telegraphy.

First audio came in 1900 by Fessenden.

So there's a lot of names to mention if proper credit is to be given. Marconi is globally most well-known since he was brilliant both technically and commercially, turning the spark detector into a mass medium, and selling a radio station even to the Pope.

+9
Level 64
Mar 23, 2017
I think the clue for a place to gather debt while learning is not the best, as in some countries it really doesnt happen.
+1
Level 75
Mar 28, 2017
I had no problem with the gathering debt part, it's the "while learning" part that might be debatable for some. :)
+1
Level 66
Aug 10, 2019
Lmao. But yea. I really didnt get that one either. I first thought maybe libraries, with books that are overdue so you need to pay a fine. you owe a debt then, but would never get big enough to get you in debt.

I did type universities at the end, but thought no way that can be it, that would be weird. but well there arent that many places that have to do with learning.

+1
Level 74
Mar 23, 2017
Do you JUMP OUT OF parachute? Or my English is not good enough?
+2
Level 72
Jul 25, 2019
A better wording for the clue might be "a way to SAFELY jump out of a plane", since one can easily jump out of a plane without a parachute, though it's not recommended.
+1
Level 66
Aug 10, 2019
yea I totally misread the sentence first too, on the 3rd attempt I got it haha. I thought huh, plane cant be the answer because it is in the sentence allready... glider? nope ahhh

I think even window crossed my mind..

+10
Level 65
Mar 23, 2017
Based on the clue for welfare, it would appear as though the creator of this quiz is Republican.
+6
Level 60
Mar 23, 2017
Well, that's what it is in a nutshell.
+2
Level 82
Mar 24, 2017
What about money you get for several children? Which you can get even when both parents are working?
+4
Level ∞
Mar 24, 2017
Chill out, people. The clue is fine. Welfare is not payment for a service, it is charity meant to help the individual and/or society. I'm not trying to make a political statement, and like any reasonable person, my opinions on welfare are nuanced.
+8
Level 69
Jul 25, 2019
Technically the clue is not fine. Various forms of 'welfare' are paid in different countries to those in work (child benefit, tax credits etc etc) and as the Australian correspondent above says - in some countries you have to do something for the welfare. Also, what about job seekers, that's not 'doing nothing'. You should rephrase the incorrect clue to 'money paid by the government to those in need' or similar.
+1
Level 20
Jul 28, 2019
Is that really what welfare is? I think of it more as a concept, where resources are devided for the countrys better good. Is it really something one can give away? Isn´t the thing you physically give unemployed people better described as "subsidies" or something along those lines?
+2
Level 20
Jul 28, 2019
And furthermore I believe it is wrong to call welfare something you get for doing nothing, since welfare also provides cheaper schools and healthcare for the people that pay taxes. Or is my perception of the concept/word wrong? It might be used differently in English than in Swedish, idk.
+2
Level 64
Sep 25, 2021
Welfare is not charity. Your views are objectionable. I'm disgusted that you think people on welfare do nothing. Disgusted.
+2
Level 79
Aug 11, 2023
Oh, yes. You were absolutely trying to make a subtle political statement and it's obvious in the language used and your continued refusal to even consider rethinking the clue (because welfare is absolutely not "charity" in so many cases and it takes on many forms). But keep on gaslighting everyone on here and acting like that wasn't 100% the intention!
+1
Level 85
Dec 24, 2021
Perhaps, though the university clue might imply the opposite.
+1
Level 21
Mar 23, 2017
When you define welfare, it seems a lot more pointless and like a waste of money
+5
Level 69
Jul 25, 2019
OK, Jacob Rees Mogg! Back to the dark ages we go :-D
+1
Level 70
Mar 23, 2017
I find it odd that Tesla gets credit for inventing the radio but Meucci does not get even a nod for inventing the telephone. In Europe they teach that Meucci was the inventor of the phone, not A. G. Bell, whereas in the US Meucci is a non-entity. Read about him.
+2
Level 80
Oct 2, 2018
Meucci? Not all Europe... Reis is the guy who was taught to us. Why don't teachers tell the whole story and name them all, several persons have made different contributions, even Bell.
+1
Level 49
Mar 24, 2017
Had no idea! Very interesting. Great quiz.
+1
Level 54
Mar 25, 2017
Condoms are actually Egyptian in origin. Might I suggest adding confetti to the list?
+1
Level 48
Oct 28, 2018
didn't they used to use pig's intestines????
+1
Level 72
Jul 25, 2019
I thought it was lamb intestine, but I don't think it matters what they are made of, his point is that the condom was an Egyptian invention. Though I don't think they invented it to prevent syphilis
+1
Level 67
Jan 11, 2018
Isn't the University of Bologna the oldest EXISTING university, which means universities which existed before (and closed later) invented the concept and not Italy? Btw, University of Karueein is also cited as the oldest existing university in many sites. Not sure which one is older, but what has 'invention of university' got anything to do with 'still operating/existing' university?
+1
Level ∞
Jan 11, 2018
Many people don't consider the earlier Arabic universities to be true universities. I don't have time to look up the reason why, but I'm sure Wikipedia will have more info.
+1
Level 73
Jun 27, 2018
The history of musical notation is complicated. The earliest legible writing that survives we know of is ancient Greek (the Epitaph of Seikilos). We have no notated music from ancient Rome. The first "modern" notation is from 9th century French monasteries (Musica enchiriadis, schola enchiriadis.) Italians were responsible for some advances in notation (Franconian notation being the main one), but it's doubtful they invented it.

You know what Italians did invent, though? Published music. The Odhecaton by Petrucci, 1501. BAM!

+1
Level 91
Jun 29, 2018
Difficult 7/19
+5
Level 72
May 27, 2019
I second the suggestion of changing the universities clue. Especially as in Italy students do not take out loans, but rather pay different fees according to their (or their families') economic status.
+1
Level 35
Jul 16, 2019
All these comments and they don't accept 'Coffee' for espresso, I'm not american is there something I'm missing?
+1
Level ∞
Jul 16, 2019
Coffee was invented in Yemen or Ethiopia.
+1
Level 66
Jul 25, 2019
The Italians invented many fun and sociable things.
+1
Level 66
Aug 10, 2019
I like to think that they invented playing chess on the streets :) I always find it such a lovely picture to see older people sitting outside on a little square socializing and playing games in the shadow of small trees :)
+1
Level 60
Jul 25, 2019
Mirrors existed since the Bronze Age and weren't an italian invention
+1
Level 67
Jul 25, 2019
Italy also invented the sub machine gun which is also easy to hold
+1
Level 43
Jul 25, 2019
Ugh I tried viola and cello and a bunch of other instruments but forgot Violin
+2
Level 49
Jul 26, 2019
*Laughs in free university*